Invisible Labor

Invisible Labor

Invisible labor is work that contributes to the making of an object but remains difficult to detect in or absent from its encountered form. Invisible labor takes many forms, including: tools that are destroyed in the process of making; cleaning, as both a discrete step in a process and a general studio/factory/making space requirement; and maintenance work, such as tool sharpening.

Many processes involve the creation and subsequent destruction of tools. The creation of these ephemeral tools or intermediaries is often the most labor intensive step of a process. For example, the mold, which provides the negative counterpart of the positive form of the object, is often the location of much of the labor and expertise in the production of cast objects. Molds are sometimes ephemeral, rarely preserved, and not exhibited with the objects they fashioned. Because intermediary tools are physically distinct from the final form, while they may represent a critical facet of an object’s production, they are often excluded from analysis.

Cleaning, key in an object’s successful production, is another example invisible labor. Cleaning often facilitates the transition between multiple steps in production, yet rarely discussed in step-by-step accounts of process. However, as cleaning is a removal of traces, it is often illegible in the final product. The invisibility of cleaning labor resonates with political and cultural concerns. Traditional women’s work, which involves similar invisible work such as housekeeping and carrying children to term, has been historically marginalized. A consideration of invisible labor elevates such work, illuminating the hidden effort that lies behind objects, systems, and hierarchies and displaying its importance.  

Amateur Making is one way to access invisible labor. It is difficult to conjure the parts of an object that are no longer present and direct attention to negative labor sites by simply examining an object. In contrast, the process of Making involves many more tools, materials, and processes than are visible in an object’s final form. Even a discrete experience, such as trying to pull a single print from an etching, is sufficient to draw attention to the importance of absent intermediaries and invisible steps in a process.