Two Artists... One... million cups?

Hoke, Lisa. "A Drink of Color" (2008) Donovan, Tara. "Untitled" (2003) Styrofoam Cups, Hot Glue



Two Artists, One… million cups?



Lisa Hoke vs Tara Donovan, two of the greatest “cup” artists of our time. Lisa Hoke’s cup works (above left) seem to still be bound to the wall, while Donovan’s works (pictured above right) try to break free and move into dimensional space. Hoke does venture off the wall, but primarily does so with purely abstract shapes while Donovan keeps to tight geometric, or semi-geometric masses/forms. In this way does Hoke and Donovan distinguish their 3D works from the 2D abstract artists, like Pollock. By using a 3D medium, it allows for interaction by relation of space to the audience- a different experience, to allow the viewer to experience the work with both haptic and optic senses. In this way I felt like I was in a bubble bath, staring at suds forming along the ceiling. With Hoke, her works invoke a surrealistic feeling with such vibrant colors and pattern that move your eye, making it follow the cups along the wall to an eventually end, but sometimes due to the scale, the works seems like it goes on forever. These artists seek the Gestalt with their uniform use of plastic cups, unifying their works in materials, and create works that have a soft curve to them, forms and shapes that please the eye. Hoke had to take time to find that one special kind of cup with the right color and pattern before making her work. Hoke and Donovan didn’t have a strict blueprint/battle plan before starting their work, they let the work guide them in shaping their artwork. These two artists found inspiration in their materials, letting the material guide them to create the art, in the sense the material used the artist to become art in of its self.