Today, fiber related craft processes are commonly used in contemporary art practice. Yet the debate over craft versus art seems to always lurk in the shadows. What is craft and where it belongs in the art world is an inevitable discourse when discussion craft in contemporary art. Fiber related crafts such as knitting, weaving, sewing, and embroidery are all traditional based and were mainly practiced by women. I’ll be discussing works by artists who explore issues like social protest, gender, labor, and feminine stereotypes. The artists I will discuss works from are Dave Cole, Marianne Jorgensen, Orly Cogan, and Shelley Socolofsky. Each of these artists use craft not only as their process but have made it part of the meaning behind their work. The use of traditional craft methods in contemporary art is on the rise one reason can be because of the strong messages already embedded in material and process. How has the stigma surrounding craft based work effected how it is received in contemporary art? Today’s artistic craft practice is a relevant part of contemporary art and is recognized. I’ll be looking into 3 craft methods that relate to textile such as embroidery, knitting and weaving and artist who use these methods in a contemporary way and analyze how they fit in the art world and surpass the category of craft.
Historically the discourse considering craft as an art form states that craft must be a physical object made by hand using traditional methods and because of this it limits the art works aspect and meaning. (Metcalf 70) Bruce Metcalf states that “The craft world accepts the meanings of felt experience and the body, whereas the art world remains dedicated to meaning embedded in texts and discourse.”(Metcalf 80) How is it that craft making used in a traditional sense can’t have such meanings? In the past craft makers such as weavers, knitters or embroiders for example perfected their techniques and became masters of their craft. At the time these skills were not only traditional but also essential to life. The industrial revolution changed this around with the invention of machines. William Morris, a crafts man during Victorian era stated “… the automatic machine which supersedes hand labor, and turns the workman who was once a handicraftsman helped by tools, and next a part of a machine, into a tender of machines.”(Morris 150) Perhaps having their work become mass-produced tainted most crafts and possibly the cause for all these debates. Crafts slowly began to decline throughout the 20th century practiced mainly by housewives and hobbyists. Fast forward to the 21st century where machines are part of everyday production. In fact garments for instance are mass-produced to a point where we don’t know the individual who produced them, anonymity becomes the norm to something centuries ago would have been custom build and cherished. In that time custom crafted items were sought after, just like art is sought after today. Art has been able to make the creator of the work become acknowledged and important. So it is only natural that in the past few decades there has been a return to the handcraft in a contemporary art spectrum. Artists who have been drawn to traditional techniques and use them as their practice allow the process to become part of the language in their art works.
The roots of embroidery as a craft were mainly practiced by women. Rozsika Parker clearly states in her book The Subversive Stitch “To know the history of embroidery is to know the history of women”. (Parker 1) Embroidery evokes home with it’s intricate traditional patters to hanker chiefs to table linens. In fact it has a far deeper tradition mainly attached to women. In the past centuries because women were not “worthy” of working they spent their time becoming mothers. During this time many picked up the needle and thread and found embroidery as a creative outlet. Because this was seen as a hobby done primarily by women it was never really seen as art.(Parker 5) Orly Cogan is a contemporary embroidery artist who uses feminine themes in her work but not quite like her Victorian counterparts did. She uses feminine quintessence and the contrast between opposing themes such as tough and soft, mother and whore.(Cogan) Her embroideries are sometimes subversive because of her use of nudity and possible sexual behavior yet intrigues the viewer with the incredible amount of detail and feeling she emits with her thread. The sense of relationship is strong in her work and the right amount of ambiguity to leave us wondering. For instance in her piece Bittersweet Obsession, she has two girls snorting cocaine above an other image of a girl cutting a slice of cake and below that two girls eating cupcakes. I read this piece as the quintessential female stereotype of indulging over sweets. The use of cocaine indicates that perhaps sweets are just as much a drug as cocaine would be at least for women. Just as Parker believes that embroidery captures an immature view of female sexuality as it conjures up the idea of the virgin versus the whore.(Parker 5)
Figure 1. Bittersweet Obsession -Orly Cogan
Cogan’s work takes this very idea by juxtaposing typical feminine imagery with contemporary pop culture. The cocaine use is associated with pop culture ideas on partying. Having this piece made using embroidery speaks as loudly as the imagery. This piece is very strong in content and because of its conceptual messages in breaking female stereotypes fit the contemporary art spectrum.
Knitting was usually associated with grandmothers and baby booties. A resurgence of knitting has recently gained great popularity as a cool pastime. So how can this be even regarded as an art practice? Artists like Dave Cole and Marianne Jorgensen have found ways to adapt knitting in their art practice in very different ways. Exploring process materials, collaboration and social protest. Artist Dave Cole has surely picked a medium not normally practiced by men. He learned knitting and realized it helped him pay attention in his classes which was caused by his hyper activeness. He uses the medium for what it is because he doesn’t hide the fact that knitting has connotations with warmth, home, protection and childhood. Also kitting is seen as a “feminine process” on this Cole states “A basic element of my work that I’m subverting the feminine process. I think I’m subverting this more that I’m subverting the masculine material.” (Cole 40) He will often use subversive materials such as Kevlar, fiberglass and exposes even the technique by leaving the knitting needles in the piece. He has also done knitting with non-traditional object such as using pistols. He has also played with scale, like in his piece the Knitting machine where two excavator trucks and aluminum poles knitting a very large American flag. His piece Fiberglass Teddy Bear caught my attention because of its size, technique, material and imagery. The piece is a huge teddy bear knitted entirely out of fiberglass. The size of the piece is 14x14x14 feet is an overwhelming structure in pink fluffy fiberglass. It is hard to fight the urge to wrap your arms around the fluffy structure yet because of the material it is not possible. It’s almost as though the artist is toying with our emotions. His use of knitting in this piece gives the viewer a sense of familiarity the feeling of warmth and home come to mind and the imagery of the teddy bear connect to memories of child hood.
Figure 2: Fiberglass Teddy Bear Dave Cole 2003
Marianne Jorgensen uses knitting in a very different way from Dave Cole. She uses her knitting as an activist art form also called craftavist. (Black, Buisch 611)She uses her art to protest social injustice through process, performance and collaboration. For instance in her piece Pink M.24 Chaffee which consisted of several
Figure 3. Pink M.24 Chaffee 2006 Marianne Jorgensen
pink knitted squares assembled together and fit over a tank that was on display in a public space. A collective of people knitted the hundreds of patches all in unique patterns. No two patches are made the same. Jorgensen wanted to protest the Danish involvement with the war in Iraq. The blanket covering the tank symbolically disarms the tank rendering it useless no longer a threat. Each knitted square is like a protesters signature. (Black, Buisch 611) Jorgensen’s Pink M.24 Chaffee is very successful because protests and petitions are done as a group therefore justifies the collaborative element in her work. Also having the piece knitted and being soft up against the heavy metal of the tank act as a great contrast and the pink color suggests a comforting feminine gesture against war.
Weaving and tapestry is one of the least common crafts practiced today. Most of us cannot say we know a weaver, but a several centuries ago there were many weavers as they produced all of our cloth and textiles. Without weavers we would not be able to make clothes. Today this has been turned into an anonymous industry except for the few artisanal weavers it’s nearly become a lost art. Shelley Socolofsky has decided to take on the most labor-intensive weaving technique of all, tapestry. She creates elaborate weavings of contemporary imagery she collages together. The labor-intensive factor is actually part of the meaning of the pieces. As she says she “..make it a good vehicle for my examination into usefulness, productivity, value, luxury & excess, and labor.” (Socolofsky) In her piece Incantations, it was made using digital collage. She was able to layer her images and control the level
Figure 4 Incantations, 2004, 6'x 3.5' wool, silk, cotton. Shelley Socolofsky
of transparency the use of high tech image developing paired with low tech tapestry weaving. (Lane 50) The piece has an image of a girls face with her hands. Her eyes are piercing and clear yet her hands seem almost blurry. You can almost see that there is another face in the image. She seems surrounded in movement and darkness. The many layers of images combined with the use of tapestry adds rich texture and depth. She is able to cultivate postmodern ideas and images which was a process also practiced in historical tapestries when they would combine a variety or opposing subject matters to make one final piece.(Lane 50)
The possibilities of using fiber craft based techniques are endless, demonstrated by the artists I have discussed. They are able to combine fiber craft techniques and make innovative work with embedded meaning and explore human social issues. There is no reason to question craft processes as not being part of contemporary art as I believe this is an outdated idea. In today’s world with mass production and the anonymity of items labeled “made in china” have made us hungry for hand made art, especially art that uses tradition methods. Labels like neo craft, craftivism and DIY culture are showing up everywhere as in web communities and lifestyle magazines inspiring a new generation of crafters. (Adamson 555) If these artist hadn’t picked up processes such as weaving, knitting and embroidery they would one day become extinct. The stigma that once surrounded the use of craft in contemporary art should no longer exist as artist have proven that they still have meaning in their work. Even if the process affects their artworks that actual process becomes part of the meaning behind their art. Contemporary artist let us view these methods using postmodern thinking while adapting traditional craft methods. This proves that craft is both embedded in new meaning and has a promising future in contemporary art.
Bibliography
Adamson, Glenn., ed. “Section introduction: Contemporary Approaches.” The Craft Reader. Oxford, New York: Berg Publishers, 2010. 555-587. Print.
Black, Anthea, Burisch, Nicole. "Craft Hard, Die Free: Radical cuatorial stategies for craftivism in unruly contexts." The Craft Reader. Ed. Adamson, Glenn. Oxford, New York: Berg Publishers, 2010. 609-620. Print.
Cogan, Orly. Orly Cogan Artist site, 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. http://www.orlycogan.com
Cole, Dave. "Dave cole." By hand. Ed. Hung, Shu, Magliaro. New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. 40-44. Print.
Hung, Shu, Magliaro., ed. By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art. New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. Print.
Lane, Mary. “Fertile Associations the Tapestries of Shelley Socolofsky.” Fiberarts Summer (2005) p 50-3.
Metcalf, Bruce. "Craft and art, culture and biology." The Culture of Craft Status and Future. Ed. Dormer, Peter. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1997. 67-81. Print.
Morris, William. "The Revival of Handi Craft." The Craft Reader. Ed. Adamson, Glenn. Oxford, New York: Berg Publishers, 2010. 149-156. Print.
Parker, Rozsika. The Subversive Stitch. London, The Women’s Press, 1984. Print.
Socolofsky, Shelley. Shelley Socolofsky Artist site, 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. http://www.shelleysocolofsky.com
Images
Figure 1. Cogan, Orly. Bittersweet Obsession. http://www.orlycogan.com (accessed November 28 2010)
Figure 2: Cole, Dave. Fiberglass Teddy bear. 2003. By hand. Ed. Hung, Shu, Magliaro. New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. 41. Print.
Figure 3. Jorgensen, Marianne. Pink M.24 Chaffee. 2006. Wichita Art Museum, Wichita. The Craft Reader. Ed. Adamson, Glenn. Oxford, New York: Berg Publishers, 2010. 613. Print. Figure 54.
Figure 4. Socolofsky, Shelley. Incantations. 2005. Fiberarts Summer (2005) p 53.
Historically the discourse considering craft as an art form states that craft must be a physical object made by hand using traditional methods and because of this it limits the art works aspect and meaning. (Metcalf 70) Bruce Metcalf states that “The craft world accepts the meanings of felt experience and the body, whereas the art world remains dedicated to meaning embedded in texts and discourse.”(Metcalf 80) How is it that craft making used in a traditional sense can’t have such meanings? In the past craft makers such as weavers, knitters or embroiders for example perfected their techniques and became masters of their craft. At the time these skills were not only traditional but also essential to life. The industrial revolution changed this around with the invention of machines. William Morris, a crafts man during Victorian era stated “… the automatic machine which supersedes hand labor, and turns the workman who was once a handicraftsman helped by tools, and next a part of a machine, into a tender of machines.”(Morris 150) Perhaps having their work become mass-produced tainted most crafts and possibly the cause for all these debates. Crafts slowly began to decline throughout the 20th century practiced mainly by housewives and hobbyists. Fast forward to the 21st century where machines are part of everyday production. In fact garments for instance are mass-produced to a point where we don’t know the individual who produced them, anonymity becomes the norm to something centuries ago would have been custom build and cherished. In that time custom crafted items were sought after, just like art is sought after today. Art has been able to make the creator of the work become acknowledged and important. So it is only natural that in the past few decades there has been a return to the handcraft in a contemporary art spectrum. Artists who have been drawn to traditional techniques and use them as their practice allow the process to become part of the language in their art works.
The roots of embroidery as a craft were mainly practiced by women. Rozsika Parker clearly states in her book The Subversive Stitch “To know the history of embroidery is to know the history of women”. (Parker 1) Embroidery evokes home with it’s intricate traditional patters to hanker chiefs to table linens. In fact it has a far deeper tradition mainly attached to women. In the past centuries because women were not “worthy” of working they spent their time becoming mothers. During this time many picked up the needle and thread and found embroidery as a creative outlet. Because this was seen as a hobby done primarily by women it was never really seen as art.(Parker 5) Orly Cogan is a contemporary embroidery artist who uses feminine themes in her work but not quite like her Victorian counterparts did. She uses feminine quintessence and the contrast between opposing themes such as tough and soft, mother and whore.(Cogan) Her embroideries are sometimes subversive because of her use of nudity and possible sexual behavior yet intrigues the viewer with the incredible amount of detail and feeling she emits with her thread. The sense of relationship is strong in her work and the right amount of ambiguity to leave us wondering. For instance in her piece Bittersweet Obsession, she has two girls snorting cocaine above an other image of a girl cutting a slice of cake and below that two girls eating cupcakes. I read this piece as the quintessential female stereotype of indulging over sweets. The use of cocaine indicates that perhaps sweets are just as much a drug as cocaine would be at least for women. Just as Parker believes that embroidery captures an immature view of female sexuality as it conjures up the idea of the virgin versus the whore.(Parker 5)
Figure 1. Bittersweet Obsession -Orly Cogan
Cogan’s work takes this very idea by juxtaposing typical feminine imagery with contemporary pop culture. The cocaine use is associated with pop culture ideas on partying. Having this piece made using embroidery speaks as loudly as the imagery. This piece is very strong in content and because of its conceptual messages in breaking female stereotypes fit the contemporary art spectrum.
Knitting was usually associated with grandmothers and baby booties. A resurgence of knitting has recently gained great popularity as a cool pastime. So how can this be even regarded as an art practice? Artists like Dave Cole and Marianne Jorgensen have found ways to adapt knitting in their art practice in very different ways. Exploring process materials, collaboration and social protest. Artist Dave Cole has surely picked a medium not normally practiced by men. He learned knitting and realized it helped him pay attention in his classes which was caused by his hyper activeness. He uses the medium for what it is because he doesn’t hide the fact that knitting has connotations with warmth, home, protection and childhood. Also kitting is seen as a “feminine process” on this Cole states “A basic element of my work that I’m subverting the feminine process. I think I’m subverting this more that I’m subverting the masculine material.” (Cole 40) He will often use subversive materials such as Kevlar, fiberglass and exposes even the technique by leaving the knitting needles in the piece. He has also done knitting with non-traditional object such as using pistols. He has also played with scale, like in his piece the Knitting machine where two excavator trucks and aluminum poles knitting a very large American flag. His piece Fiberglass Teddy Bear caught my attention because of its size, technique, material and imagery. The piece is a huge teddy bear knitted entirely out of fiberglass. The size of the piece is 14x14x14 feet is an overwhelming structure in pink fluffy fiberglass. It is hard to fight the urge to wrap your arms around the fluffy structure yet because of the material it is not possible. It’s almost as though the artist is toying with our emotions. His use of knitting in this piece gives the viewer a sense of familiarity the feeling of warmth and home come to mind and the imagery of the teddy bear connect to memories of child hood.
Figure 2: Fiberglass Teddy Bear Dave Cole 2003
Marianne Jorgensen uses knitting in a very different way from Dave Cole. She uses her knitting as an activist art form also called craftavist. (Black, Buisch 611)She uses her art to protest social injustice through process, performance and collaboration. For instance in her piece Pink M.24 Chaffee which consisted of several
Figure 3. Pink M.24 Chaffee 2006 Marianne Jorgensen
pink knitted squares assembled together and fit over a tank that was on display in a public space. A collective of people knitted the hundreds of patches all in unique patterns. No two patches are made the same. Jorgensen wanted to protest the Danish involvement with the war in Iraq. The blanket covering the tank symbolically disarms the tank rendering it useless no longer a threat. Each knitted square is like a protesters signature. (Black, Buisch 611) Jorgensen’s Pink M.24 Chaffee is very successful because protests and petitions are done as a group therefore justifies the collaborative element in her work. Also having the piece knitted and being soft up against the heavy metal of the tank act as a great contrast and the pink color suggests a comforting feminine gesture against war.
Weaving and tapestry is one of the least common crafts practiced today. Most of us cannot say we know a weaver, but a several centuries ago there were many weavers as they produced all of our cloth and textiles. Without weavers we would not be able to make clothes. Today this has been turned into an anonymous industry except for the few artisanal weavers it’s nearly become a lost art. Shelley Socolofsky has decided to take on the most labor-intensive weaving technique of all, tapestry. She creates elaborate weavings of contemporary imagery she collages together. The labor-intensive factor is actually part of the meaning of the pieces. As she says she “..make it a good vehicle for my examination into usefulness, productivity, value, luxury & excess, and labor.” (Socolofsky) In her piece Incantations, it was made using digital collage. She was able to layer her images and control the level
Figure 4 Incantations, 2004, 6'x 3.5' wool, silk, cotton. Shelley Socolofsky
of transparency the use of high tech image developing paired with low tech tapestry weaving. (Lane 50) The piece has an image of a girls face with her hands. Her eyes are piercing and clear yet her hands seem almost blurry. You can almost see that there is another face in the image. She seems surrounded in movement and darkness. The many layers of images combined with the use of tapestry adds rich texture and depth. She is able to cultivate postmodern ideas and images which was a process also practiced in historical tapestries when they would combine a variety or opposing subject matters to make one final piece.(Lane 50)
The possibilities of using fiber craft based techniques are endless, demonstrated by the artists I have discussed. They are able to combine fiber craft techniques and make innovative work with embedded meaning and explore human social issues. There is no reason to question craft processes as not being part of contemporary art as I believe this is an outdated idea. In today’s world with mass production and the anonymity of items labeled “made in china” have made us hungry for hand made art, especially art that uses tradition methods. Labels like neo craft, craftivism and DIY culture are showing up everywhere as in web communities and lifestyle magazines inspiring a new generation of crafters. (Adamson 555) If these artist hadn’t picked up processes such as weaving, knitting and embroidery they would one day become extinct. The stigma that once surrounded the use of craft in contemporary art should no longer exist as artist have proven that they still have meaning in their work. Even if the process affects their artworks that actual process becomes part of the meaning behind their art. Contemporary artist let us view these methods using postmodern thinking while adapting traditional craft methods. This proves that craft is both embedded in new meaning and has a promising future in contemporary art.
Bibliography
Adamson, Glenn., ed. “Section introduction: Contemporary Approaches.” The Craft Reader. Oxford, New York: Berg Publishers, 2010. 555-587. Print.
Black, Anthea, Burisch, Nicole. "Craft Hard, Die Free: Radical cuatorial stategies for craftivism in unruly contexts." The Craft Reader. Ed. Adamson, Glenn. Oxford, New York: Berg Publishers, 2010. 609-620. Print.
Cogan, Orly. Orly Cogan Artist site, 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. http://www.orlycogan.com
Cole, Dave. "Dave cole." By hand. Ed. Hung, Shu, Magliaro. New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. 40-44. Print.
Hung, Shu, Magliaro., ed. By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art. New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. Print.
Lane, Mary. “Fertile Associations the Tapestries of Shelley Socolofsky.” Fiberarts Summer (2005) p 50-3.
Metcalf, Bruce. "Craft and art, culture and biology." The Culture of Craft Status and Future. Ed. Dormer, Peter. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1997. 67-81. Print.
Morris, William. "The Revival of Handi Craft." The Craft Reader. Ed. Adamson, Glenn. Oxford, New York: Berg Publishers, 2010. 149-156. Print.
Parker, Rozsika. The Subversive Stitch. London, The Women’s Press, 1984. Print.
Socolofsky, Shelley. Shelley Socolofsky Artist site, 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. http://www.shelleysocolofsky.com
Images
Figure 1. Cogan, Orly. Bittersweet Obsession. http://www.orlycogan.com (accessed November 28 2010)
Figure 2: Cole, Dave. Fiberglass Teddy bear. 2003. By hand. Ed. Hung, Shu, Magliaro. New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007. 41. Print.
Figure 3. Jorgensen, Marianne. Pink M.24 Chaffee. 2006. Wichita Art Museum, Wichita. The Craft Reader. Ed. Adamson, Glenn. Oxford, New York: Berg Publishers, 2010. 613. Print. Figure 54.
Figure 4. Socolofsky, Shelley. Incantations. 2005. Fiberarts Summer (2005) p 53.