At first sight the pinkish-red colour scheme and cluster of hearts in Heart On are reminiscent of a valentine, but the stain-like shapes also incite more unsettling associations with bodies and blood. The loosely hanging canvas resembles a crumpled bedsheet, and female viewers may be reminded of accidental menstrual bloodstains. Wieland situates artmaking in the very midst of the everyday—in the domestic sphere, in the bedroom, and within intimate human relationships.
Joyce Wieland: Crafting a New Political Art
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Joyce Wieland, Heart On, 1962
Red electrical tape, chalk, crayon, and ink, with linen and wool on unstretched canvas, 177.8 x 251.5 cm, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa