Kiki Smith’s Daisy Chain by Catie Wildman

Kiki Smith’s Daisy Chain by Catie Wildman

Daisy Chain by Kiki Smith

            Kiki Smith made the sculpture Daisy Chain in 1992 and it is now located WHERE? This sculpture is made with 100 feet of steel chain and dark metal. Daisy chain depicts a woman with severed limbs connected by metal chain sprawled on the floor like a dead body. The artist, Kiki Smith, was a known feminist, and at the time the sculpture was made there was violence in America towards women. The sculpture illustrates women’s fight for freedom during a time of sexism and violence. The hands in the sculpture are reaching out, almost as if this woman is waiting for something to come to her, anticipating freedom. The name of the sculpture, Daisy Chain, suggests innocence and youth, however the chains and severed limbs, contradict this initial message. The use of chains represents the struggle for freedom from oneself, and from others in a society of oppression.

            Although the name hints at innocence, the sculpture portrays a woman caught in the battle for her freedom from herself and society’s wrath. The chains and severed limbs show that this woman was a casualty in the countrywide women’s equality movement.