Delirious Matter, a Brief Explanation

“For many years now, I’ve been working with two fictitious women in my studio. They have been slowly circulating in the dust and debris, showing up in my drawings on Mylar, in wall panels, and in sculptures. One woman, Gradiva, comes from an early-twentieth-century novella by the same name.” This is the beginning of the artist statement by Diana Al-Hadid as she explains her public artwork, “Delirious Matter”. 

Memling's "The Grotto"

Delirious Matter was the first public artwork of Diana Al-Hadid. Diana began working on the artwork in 2014 and it was installed in Madison Square Park from May 14 to September 3, 2018. In the introduction for her artwork, the Deputy Director for Madison Square Park, Brooke Kamin Rapaport, explains that the title “Delirious” is derived from the artist’s pursuit of materials that are transformed as if in a state of delirium, or disorder; a nod to Sigmund Freud’s 1907 psychoanalytic essay “Delusion and Dream in Jensen’s Gradiva”; and the winding Park pathways.” 

Without researching the background of her inspiration, at first glance of the artwork I perceived that the artist was inspired by the pain of femininity. From my perspective, the depiction of Synonym resembles a female placed on a pedestal that is slowly melting and succumbing to the pressures to womanhood that have put upon her. She is headless and painted white, I assume to represent purity. 

The entire artwork consists of 4 pieces and they are made of aluminum, steel, fiberglass, concrete, polymer modified gypsum, and pigment. The four pieces are the Grotto, Citadel, Synonym, and Gradiva. 

Grotto 
The Grotto is a 165 x 435 inch wall. Grotto resembles a piece of architecture that is collapsing. It is also
Grotto

shrouded in white and has a beautiful, mountain-like landscape in the background. Diana used polymer-infused liquid plaster, and layered it upon sheetrock to create the architectural lines. The piece was inspired by Memling’s, The Grotto, through his Allegory of Chastity. The intention was to spark a question within the viewer and experiencer of the artwork, and make them wonder whether or not the woman in the artwork is being protected or caged. The Grotto is placed across of the other wall, Gradiva. 

Grotto and Citadel Across from Each Other
Gradiva 
Gradiva
Gradiva measures 162 x 180 inches. The artist explains that “Gradiva’s is the story of a relief sculpture come to life, pulling away from a flat wall and emerging as a figure in the round.” The piece was inspired by Gradiva, a German novella from 1903. In the novella, an archaeologist is exploring Pompeii and “believes he has encountered his Gradiva come to life, erupted like Memling’s virgin from the old stones.” The concept of Gradiva has inspired multiple artists, philosophers, and psychologists, from Sigmund Freud to Salvador Dali. For Al-Hadid, the artwork also resembles an architecture ruin. It too has a mountain-like backside, but upon closer look, the piece has a slight swirl that is created through layers of polymer-infused liquid plaster. 


Citadel 
Citadel
The Citadel is comprised of steel, polymer gypsum, fiberglass, paint, aluminum, bronze. It is clear that the artist has created a form of protection and separation between the woman on top of the mountain and the public. The artist explains that “the footprint of the sculpture is an oval, which sits in a round pool, and has a distinct front–back orientation.” The artwork measures 161 x 253 x 217 inches and is also inspired by Memling’s artwork. 




Synonym 
Synonym

My personal favorite of the four piece artwork, Synonym depicts a headless and legless woman that is living in the garden. Synonym measures 78-3/4 x 60 x 60 inches and was meant to be opposite of a previous work “Antonym”. Both pieces are molds of women without heads, however Antonym is slightly more constructed. Antonym has legs and resembles a melting woman, also perched upon a disintegrating pedestal. 










References: 
https://madisonsquarepark.org/art/exhibitions/diana-al-hadid-delirious-matter/ http://www.dianaalhadid.com/work/gradiva 
https://artmuseum.williams.edu/diana-al-hadid-delirious-matter/ https://www.facebook.com/DanBrown/photos/a.10151246156661523/10153512453001523/

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