textiles in the court

 

 

While I was enduring the torturous civil duty of jury duty I got all caught up on my New York Times app (and did some stitching) and found the wonderful article and slide show unfortunately named "Fruits of the Loom." an article showcasing the textile industry in the US today including an incredible series of photographs by Christopher Payne.

 

Payne's images are gorgeous documents and celebrations of the beautiful and labor intensive process of textiles.

 

The article is quite interesting so take minute and read it but do not miss the photos: Here.

not writing, but still working.

some peeks into the studio.  The top image is some progress I made on a new text piece during jury duty. It is a work done in the lineage of the design I made for anthropologie. I like the process I used for them so thought I would try a piece for myself done in the same vain.

2nd is another small text work that I foresee going into my show next month- all the text is gathered from notebooks, calendar's and scraps of paper (the small things that you write to yourself.) This one says "Sometimes it feels so miserable to be happy."

3rd still trucking, trucking, trudging along on the large scale white on white house plant piece. I am PRAYING it turns out to be a strong piece as it really is CENTRAL to the exhibit next month. It is just impossible to tell as it so much more subtle then any other work that I have done. So----- until it is finsihed, washed and ironed I really will not know. Though I am really far into the work it still has a very long way to go and I only have 14 days left. So... you know what I am doing all day today. YEP.

thank goodness for npr

wool of another kind.

As I said I went to NYC this past week- my intention was to go see the Mike Kelley exhibit at PS1 and I was very frustrated and disappointed to find that they are closed Tuesday and Wednesday (the days I was there.)  But I did not let it get me down and decided to trek to a few museums that when I lived there I rarely trekked to. First, the Guggenheim and the Christopher Wool exhibit.  I had decided to go there as Roberta Smith and Jerry Saltz had both given the exhibition rave reviews so I figured it has to be a good show.

I walked in and felt pretty unsure- at first look not really my kind of thing; Painting/Prints, large, a combo of pop and abstract expressionism and non narrative work. But... I loved the exhibit. It was inspiring and motivating to see that a show almost entirely of just black and white can hold down a space like the Guggenheim. As I myself move away from color and am more interested in the subtly that exists in monochromatic works I felt excited and validated that Wool's work rarely left the black and white palate.

 

I also was very attracted to his prints that used "Wallpaper" pattern rollers to create fields of decorative marks, however he embraced and emphasized the tools flaws by over inking and allowing smears and smudges to organically occur, interrupting the decorative.

My favorite works were when he did an aggressive mark on top of the decorative and careful. The contrast of the repetitive decorative and the feminine patterns with the large and aggressive painterly marks were surprisingly powerful and evocative.

 

and of course I enjoyed the text work too.

 

I did not leave this show finding a new favorite artist but I was opened up to an artist that I did not know and left with a notebook of thoughts and observations. The work looks incredible within the space of the Guggenheim and is a wonderfully unique body of work.

Go see it if you can. Read more about it here and read Smith's review here.

where oh where?

I know, I know you are asking where in the hell are you Joetta? Well it has been a busy start to the new year. I went to NYC for 3 days last week. I did not see the show that I went to see which was frustrating but did see so many good things that I look forward to sharing with you.
I also spoke at a wonderfully friendly event here in Cambridge on Friday- which you will be able to see online soon. 
Sent images re sized and color corrected for a catalogue for an exhibit that opens this week..
Taught a workshop.
Got offered an adjunct teaching position for the spring semester, yeah.
And am frantically working to finish all the work that needs to be finished for my exhibit that opens early next month.
And had jury duty-eck, eck.

So I hope, fingers crossed will have some reviews and writings and musing to share with all of you about all of the above. 

stitched together.

Did you see this article in the NY TIMES on the current show featuring contemporary Quilters at the Folk Art museum.  Read it here.

return

Lovely work by Malala Andrialavidrazana

"For the artist, ancestral land implies a return towards personal history (this history of the "self" is apparent across her photographic work), apprehended by an anthropology of what surrounds her. She concentrates on the environment and objects, and then her look escapes these domestic elements in order to examine the human figure that she captures in fragments."

See more.

 

last seen.

Beside the fact that everyone should go to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum just because it is very unique and wonderful I HIGHLY recommend seeing the Sophie Calle exhibit currently on view. I am a huge fan of Calle's work and she is rarely exhibited in the US so even more reason to see it.

Last Seen focuses on the infamous thefts of a number of Vermeer's and other valuable works that occurred in the early 90's. The original work was done soon after the theft while the newer part of the project was done very recently. Calle photographs the "space" where the missing artwork once was and asks people what do they see? Exhibiting the transcription of their responses next to the image.
The fascinating part is that some people do not even realize the artwork is missing (which if you know the museum makes more sense then if you don't) and those that do remember the artworks  reminisce about them and their power or beauty in utterly different ways from each other. Describing varied works of art that are actually the same piece. It simply seemed to prove to me that beauty is completely  in the eye of the beholder and how a viewer responds to a work is totally and utterly based on their unique point of view.

Go see it. Read more about it here.

Read previous post about Calle's "sleeper" project and "ceremony" project.

whoah?

What do you think?

Future Heirlooms- Crytsal Gregory

If you missed this post last week don't miss it now. My most recent Future Heirlooms with the amazingly talented and sweet Crystal Gregory. Her newest work is truly blow your socks off. Read about it here.

art critical

Read this fabulous interview with Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith.  I respect both of their work so much and especially how they are always honest, frank and keep it about art. Read.

another excellent article by Smith on the danger and shame of the current art market.