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Most Secret Butterfly
2009
90 x 85 x 35 in. (228.6 x 215.9 x 88.9 cm)
Tam Van Tran (Kontum, Vietnam, 1966 - ) Primary
Your Mind, This Moment: Art and the Practice of Attention, February 17, 2017 - August 17, 2017, Second Fl. North Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Momentum: An Experience in the Unexpected, October 2, 2014 - February 22, 2015, New Wing, Second Floor, North and Central Skylight Galleries, San José Museum of Art.
Variations on a Theme, May 23, 2009 - February 7, 2010, New Wing, Second Floor, Central Skylight Gallery, San José Museum of Art. (Included in Part II: August 1, 2009-February 7, 2010.)
Your Mind, This Moment: Art and the Practice of Attention (2017)
Tam Van Tran is a devout Buddhist; for him, nature alludes to meditation and the spiritual exploration of the potential of the human mind. In Most Secret Butterfly, Tran embraces chance and chaos. He starts by painting a piece of paper, cutting it into strips, then crimping or punching holes into the strips. Tran then reconnects the pieces using thousands of ordinary office staples. The staples offer support to the strands, yet often warp the paper into a three-dimensional sculpture as it emerges from the wall. Tran blurs the boundaries between painting, drawing, and sculpture. Though he treats his materials casually, he extends to them the opportunity to redevelop and heal, as if he were stitching and bandaging a wound.
Momentum: An Experience in the Unexpected (2014-2015)
Much of Tran’s work is about natural materials and process: blurring the boundaries between painting, drawing and sculpture, Tran employs unconventional materials to create abstract compositions that reference both the natural and super-natural worlds. Tran is a devout Buddhist and for him, nature alludes to meditation and the spiritual exploration of the potential of the human mind.
This work was commissioned specifically for the San Jose Museum of Art, and is part of Tran’s Beetle Manifesto series. In this series, he is still painting, but he has begun shredding his paper support and adding feather-like elements that come out from the wall, creating a 3-D effect. Tran started with a piece of paper he painted, then cut the paper into strips, crimps or punches holes into each strip. The pieces are reconnected using thousands of ordinary office staples, which not only hold the strands together, but add texture to the surface of the work. The malleable strips of paper combined with the rigid metal staples often warp the paper and push the artwork into the realm of three-dimensional sculpture as opposed to two-dimensional work on paper.
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Most Secret Butterfly
Sculpture
200990 x 85 x 35 in. (228.6 x 215.9 x 88.9 cm)
Tam Van Tran (Kontum, Vietnam, 1966 - ) Primary
Object Type: Sculpture
Medium and Support: Acrylic, staples, and colored pencil on paper and canvas
Credit Line: Created in part with funds provided by the James Irvine Foundation; commissioned by the Council of 100
Accession Number: 2009.06
Exhibition
Your Mind, This Moment: Art and the Practice of Attention, February 17, 2017 - August 17, 2017, Second Fl. North Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Momentum: An Experience in the Unexpected, October 2, 2014 - February 22, 2015, New Wing, Second Floor, North and Central Skylight Galleries, San José Museum of Art.
Variations on a Theme, May 23, 2009 - February 7, 2010, New Wing, Second Floor, Central Skylight Gallery, San José Museum of Art. (Included in Part II: August 1, 2009-February 7, 2010.)
SJMA Label Text
Your Mind, This Moment: Art and the Practice of Attention (2017)
Tam Van Tran is a devout Buddhist; for him, nature alludes to meditation and the spiritual exploration of the potential of the human mind. In Most Secret Butterfly, Tran embraces chance and chaos. He starts by painting a piece of paper, cutting it into strips, then crimping or punching holes into the strips. Tran then reconnects the pieces using thousands of ordinary office staples. The staples offer support to the strands, yet often warp the paper into a three-dimensional sculpture as it emerges from the wall. Tran blurs the boundaries between painting, drawing, and sculpture. Though he treats his materials casually, he extends to them the opportunity to redevelop and heal, as if he were stitching and bandaging a wound.
Momentum: An Experience in the Unexpected (2014-2015)
Much of Tran’s work is about natural materials and process: blurring the boundaries between painting, drawing and sculpture, Tran employs unconventional materials to create abstract compositions that reference both the natural and super-natural worlds. Tran is a devout Buddhist and for him, nature alludes to meditation and the spiritual exploration of the potential of the human mind.
This work was commissioned specifically for the San Jose Museum of Art, and is part of Tran’s Beetle Manifesto series. In this series, he is still painting, but he has begun shredding his paper support and adding feather-like elements that come out from the wall, creating a 3-D effect. Tran started with a piece of paper he painted, then cut the paper into strips, crimps or punches holes into each strip. The pieces are reconnected using thousands of ordinary office staples, which not only hold the strands together, but add texture to the surface of the work. The malleable strips of paper combined with the rigid metal staples often warp the paper and push the artwork into the realm of three-dimensional sculpture as opposed to two-dimensional work on paper.
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions: - Variations on a Theme San Jose Museum of Art , 5/23/2009 - 2/7/2010
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