I employ the French knot as the basic unit of measure for the work of the hand. In this series of diptychs, I worked with an assistant to construct two identical compositions of French knots. The two pieces are displayed side-by-side and are virtually identical. The only meaningful difference between the two pieces is price: that which is constructed by my assistant is priced at exactly half of that which is constructed by me. This price discrepancy is by no means intended as a critique of my assistant’s technique—her careful knots are often even more perfect than my own. Instead, it is my strategy for making visual those intangible questions I am asking about locating the true value of art. When exhibited, it is my intention to draw attention to the extremely subtle variations between the two pieces that necessarily arise when two different sets of hands construct them; to introduce questions of authenticity; and to lovingly tease an art world that is generally more concerned with name recognition than any other indicator of quality.
Jeana Eve Klein 