Tools for Change 1993

Harriet Bart made this intriguing piece called ‘Tools for Change’ with mixed media, and like any good artist, she seems to be asking questions more than giving answers. It’s a wooden box, open, with a handsaw mounted inside the lid, and filled with shredded paper. There's something about the dark, earthy tones of the wood against the pale paper that makes you pause. I’m drawn to the physical presence of the saw. It’s solid, worn, a real object with a history. The teeth, once sharp, now seem blunted by time. The paper filling the box is visually chaotic, but if you look closely, each strand is delicate, almost fragile. The title seems like a wink and a nudge. Tools for change, but what kind of change? Is it about building something new, or dismantling the old? Maybe Bart is suggesting that change itself is a messy, complicated process. This reminds me of Haim Steinbach's assemblages, where everyday objects are placed together to create new meanings. In the end, art is never about providing easy answers. It is a way of seeing and thinking that embraces the unknown, and invites you to join the conversation.