Semiha 1969

Curator: Immediately, I notice how "Semiha," realized in 1969 by Étienne Hajdu, uses a gleaming metal to create a fluid, biomorphic form. The play of light is mesmerizing, isn’t it? Editor: Absolutely, but the smoothness and reflectivity almost obscure its potential. The high polish draws your eye, but the sculpture strikes me as evoking broader, urgent narratives around labor and craft that can otherwise be overlooked. Curator: Tell me more. Editor: Considering it was created in '69, we have to ask—what commentary, conscious or unconscious, exists in these metal forms? How do the processes of molding, shaping, and polishing – likely carried out by specific, yet unseen, artisans – embed social and political histories? The material and its crafting aren't neutral. Curator: I see your point. Hajdu, with this piece, seems to negotiate that tension between material reality and aspirational ideals, reflecting how materials become central to Modernism’s claim of its own originality, challenging art history itself. I think the formal simplicity contributes to its power – reducing complex emotional forms into manageable materials for industrial, perhaps even feminist interpretations. Editor: Definitely, by using sleek metal he perhaps tries to reconcile this by stripping it down to a more primitive expression. It presents form almost as a pre-gender state, raw and waiting to be defined by labor, society, and context. "Semiha" speaks volumes if you listen for it, even decades later. Curator: The abstract form certainly lends itself to varied readings. Its scale allows it to almost embody the domestic setting but in that way could invite dialogues about what has been seen as purely "women's work" and invite more interrogation than pleasure, as you point out. It encourages that reading through sheer, undeniable presence. Editor: Ultimately, what endures is that a simple-seeming construction sparks complex conversation by making it apparent as pure material. Thank you.