In 1969, Lynda Benglis began to experiment with pouring liquid rubber latex to explore the idea of
chance and
spontaneity and to find out what the material might do. She added bright colors to the latex and poured it in layers, sometimes directly onto the floor. It was hard work to mix all the colors, lug the containers, then pour the mixtures, one by one!
Benglis called the pours “frozen gestures” because the spilled latex dried and became hard where she had poured it, recording her actions and movements. The scale of Contraband was determined by the place where it was made. Its edges are defined by the natural flow of the latex on the surface where it was formed.
