Images(4)

Nedotykompectomy

Object NameStained Glass Panel

Artist Judith Schaechter (American, b. 1961)

Made FromSheet Glass, Vitreous Paint, Swarovski Crystals, Lead Came and Copper Foil

Date1986

Place MadeUnited States, PA, Philadelphia

TechniqueCut, sandblasted, assembled

SizeOverall H: 66.7 cm, W: 33.4 cm, Th: 1.6 cm

Accession Number87.4.38

Curatorial Area(s)

Postwar and Contemporary

Exhibitions

Title Unknown (Nexus Gallery)

The Path to Paradise: Judith Schaechter's Stained-Glass Art

Glass 1

On ViewBen W. Heineman Sr. Family Gallery of Contemporary Glass.

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

Throughout her work, Schaechter depicts characters experiencing suffering, loss, and redemption. Nedotykompectomy, a made-up word, was directly inspired by a 15th-century painting by Hieronymus Bosch that shows a patient undergoing a lobotomy. In this panel, a bound, bleeding individual has a small figure plucked from its forehead by a disembodied hand descending from above, much as the hand of God is depicted in early European painting. The Punk/Gothic style of Schaechter’s characters recalls the anxious but beautiful figures of medieval art, as well as early 20th-century German Expressionist painting.

Physical DescriptionStained Glass Panel, “Nedotykompectomy.” Multi-colored (largely deep red, cobalt blue, and black) sheet glass, vitreous paint, Swarovski crystals, lead came and copper foil; cut, sandblasted, assembled. Vertical rectangular panel; leaded panel with overall linear drawing; panel format consists of internal vertical section framed by narrow band of leaded cobalt, in turn framed by a wider band of small squares and rectangles etched or sandblasted to depict parts of the body (brain, teeth, eye, heart, or red veining); central panel has paired and etched image of a small node with outstretched arms standing on an open hand attached to arm that extends into picture plane from outside border; a second arm with closed hand extends in from opposite side to touch the turned head of a large, double-plated figure with closed eyes, bound hands, straight legs that extend to corners with feet with upturned soles; applied overall red crystal drops applied to head and torso; unsigned.
Provenance

Source Judith Schaechter (American, b. 1961) - 1987-05-20