Forty Five Divided by Nine

1984

Forty Five Divided by Nine, 1984. Dorothy Ceruti (American, 1932-). Dyed, wrapped and twined construction: linen and gold filé; overall: 21 x 31.2 x 31.2 cm (8 1/4 x 12 5/16 x 12 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Wishing Well Fund 1984.72 An artist with an expansive interest in sculptural forms, Dorothy Ceruti often experiments with combinations of materials to create a desired effect. In Forty Five By Nine, Ceruti says she was inspired by the bound stick bundles she often saw lining the streets in her neighborhood of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Each bundle of linen is tightly and neatly bound in the center section with dyed thread in a color gradation from orange to purple, and delicately twined with gold metal thread. The five bundles are each secured to the arcylic box armature with vey fine monofilament, so that the small bundles of wrapped fibers appear to be suspended in space. An artist based in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Ceruti studied as an undergraduate at Kent State University, and then went on to study textiles and weaving at the Cleveland Institute of Art.