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October 5, 2007 > Arts & Entertainment > Dans la Lune creates new world of paper and light

Dans la Lune creates new world of paper and light

By Rachel Green | Thresher staff

“I want to go to another planet, but I want to take you with me,” artist Kirsten Hassenfeld said of her installation Dans la Lune, the latest exhibit to open in the Rice Gallery.

The installation, on view until Dec. 9, invites viewers to lose themselves in a delicate fantasy world of paper and light.

Hassenfeld, a Brooklyn-based artist originally trained as a printmaker, began working with paper in three dimensions in 1999. Since then, she has shown her work in such venues as the Museum of Modern Art. Dans la Lune includes the largest forms she has ever constructed in an immersive environment.

This installation represents an enchanting world filled with images of jewels, crystals and delicate silhouettes recreated with ethereal white paper — an expression of the artist’s “latent girlishness,” in her words. Five droplet-shaped forms hang from the ceiling like chandeliers on paper-bead chains, adorned in blankets of gem facets and paper cameos. Light radiates from the center of each, filling the gallery with an ethereal glow. When viewed at night, the creations emanate a wonderfully otherworldly feel.

Variations in the size of the figures echo the magical nature of the exhibit, as well. Hassenfeld juxtaposes enormous pendants and Faberge eggs with miniature horses and female figures, inviting the viewer to “get lost, forget what size you are.”

Although a superficial reading might render the installation purely ornamental, Hassenfeld uses her paper jewels and delicate arabesques to explore familiar notions of wanting and satisfaction. The artist’s goal is, as she said, “to create a place … where there is no longing,” where the extravagance of the space fulfills all desires. Dans la Lune, with its lavish Louis XIV-era undertones and mythological tableaux, is Hassenfeld’s manifestation of such a place, the epitome of “fanciness” and material wealth.

The installation’s unique interaction of form and light succeeds because of the exclusive use of archival paper for construction. The stark palette, limited solely to shades of white and gray, highlights the delicate and ethereal nature of the paper. A limited color variation also invites the viewer to more closely examine the three-dimensionality of each of the forms, focusing on shadows and curves rather than vivid colors.

The glowing orbs, exploring luminosity but lacking distinct color, elicit the curiosity of even the most tentative observer, drawing him in for a closer read.

“The light brings the magic out of the material, just like light comes through a stained glass window or lights a TV screen,” Hassenfeld said. “It’s like fire — everyone is drawn to it. I want to harness the hypnotic quality of light.”

Hassenfeld’s world of curious fantasy is one of subtle irony as well. Paper, a two-dimensional medium traditionally used in small-scale works, is here employed to produce mammoth three-dimensional structures. The forms that this flimsy and disposable material creates recall images of precious gems that, unlike paper, are both valuable and permanent.

Through her delicate and captivating paper forms, Hassenfeld indeed achieves her goal of transporting her audience to another world through her installation Dans la Lune. One gradually forgets on which side of the looking glass he is standing; reality is cast aside for a few brief moments in favor of a more attractive view of life.

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