…seen recently at Calgary’s historic music venue the King Eddy, soon to be home to the Cantos National Music Centre. Visit the Cantos at the King Eddy facebook page HERE.
via Stacey Floris
Tag Archives: MUSEUMS + ARTS VENUES
Battleground: War Rugs from Afghanistan
Battleground: War Rugs from Afghanistan, curated by Max Allen is currently at the Confederation Centre for the Arts in Prince Edward Island until January 24, 2010. The exhibition is being circulated by the Textile Museum of Canada.
Find more information and read the curatorial essay HERE.
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Bernie Lubell at FACT
'A theory of entanglement' or the giant knitting machine!
I recently had the pleasure of meeting artist Bernie Lubell at Fact (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) in Liverpool. Prior to my visit to Fact I had no knowledge at all of Bernie Lubell’s work. He seemed delighted to learn, however, that it was the title of his show ‘A theory of entanglement’ that had attracted me. The artist is very keen on meaningful titles, words. phrases. His titles are chosen with great care and deliberation. He is a fascinating guy. One who loves being with his work and chatting with visitors.
'Aphasiogram'
How to describe Bernie’s work? Large constructions of soft, sustainable woods built to the width or in sections in his garage in San Francisco. Decidedly low tech constructions operated by levers, pulleys and interactive. Interactive is the operative word here as they simply will not work without human intervention! For example one of my favourite pieces was ‘Aphasiogram’ (1999) which reflects the artist’s interest in language. Also “Cheek to cheek’ (1999) which works by your bodily movements on the stool. Sinister looking, I agree, but great fun!
'Cheek to cheek'
And a great venue for his work. Fact puts on an impressive array of related workshops and talks. ‘Flying flappers’ was Bernie Lubell’s offering. Build your flying flapper (bird) from re-cycled materials. I just wish I had taken part.
submitted by Lesley Bricknell
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El Anatsui at Glenbow Museum Friday
The Canadian Art Foundation presents Art Talks: Canadian Art International Speaker Series in collaboration with venues across the country. Glenbow Museum is pleased to host famed Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui who will present a slide lecture outlining his storied career. El Anatsui’s amazing metal-cloth series and important sculptures in wood, ceramic and mixed media will be part of his first-ever career retrospective, which will have its world premiere next fall at the Royal Ontario Museum Institute for Contemporary Culture. The exhibition will then travel to New York for the landmark reopening of the Museum for African Art.
The talk is at 7:00 pm, October 2 in the ConocoPhillips Theatre at the Glenbow Museum. Admission is free!
Read about El Anatsui HERE
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The Museum of Touch
Lesley Bricknell, `Preservation` series (work in progress)
partially constructed textile, lace imprints (photo image)
Every now and again an essay comes along that is totally inspirational and for me it is ‘From the Museum of Touch’ by Susan Stewart in Material Memories: Design and Evocation (Marius Kwint, et al eds, Oxford, Berg, 1999). Basically her concern is with the paradox of ‘touch’ in terms of makers and the ‘denial of touch’ in terms of their display and preservation. She refers to museum collections as ‘repositaries of touch and care’ in itself a lyrical description. She also looks specifically at artist Anne Wilson. She is very much a ‘tactile’ artist. She uses human hair extensively in her work, minutely stitched and, in some pieces, placed under glass. An indication of her interest in archiving and presentation and subsequent installation and video pieces. Desire to touch, caress not permitted.
At the time of reading ‘From the Museum of Touch’ I was hooked on an image of a dress (white of course) worn by Emily Dickinson. I couldn’t really work out my fascination until it dawned on me that it was the idea of ‘preservation’ that really interested me. And I can now see I’m into the touch ‘denial’ thing too! My background is in Textiles. Invariably, however, I make photo or scanned imagery that has evolved from tactile origins. The need or desire to physically handle material, stuff, etc. is important for me despite the fact that little survives as evidence. Touch, apparently, is one that is ultimately linked to emotion and feeling. The activity of producing a digital image can be clinical, distant, mechanical. At least in my experience. I value the physicality of this particular way of making work. And recent reading has in turn moved things on a little.
Submitted by Lesley Bricknell
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Inspiration Sources
As an artist I find inspiration in all sorts of mundane places. Hardware shops, charity shops, thrift stores. An enormous influence on my work, however, is the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall. It is the world’s largest collection of witchcraft and fortunately for me is only a hour and a half’s journey away by car. (Public transport is another matter.) I make a point of visiting the collection each year. My response to the artefacts is entirely aesthetic. The combinations of wax, pins, pieces of clothing, hair and knots used in charms, spells and curses (ill wishing) has permeated my visual work for a number of years. I am attracted to the display of unmentionable things contained in glass containers. And of the burnt and partially destroyed photographs and poppets (dolls.) Also the arrangement and classification of these seemingly innocuous objects with often malevolent intent.
There are knitting spells which have to be made with blunt, glass needles. The spell was repeated stitch by stitch (sounds ominous). When the spell was completed the knitting was removed and then burnt. Replica glass knitting needles are on sale at the Museum but as I have never been able to knit, despite my mother’s best efforts, I do not need them. Knot spells with black knotted ribbon intended to cause worry and anxiety are left strewn around the intended victim’s house. Other knots are used to secure amulets of skin and fabric in combination with tied feathers, etc.
“Red Shoes” (object), Lesley BricknellOne of my favourite exhibits is a red shoe stuffed with wax together with a small dead bird. Apparently it is to do with jealousy and was found in my home town of Plymouth, Devon. I made my own red shoe(s) but they refer to the fairy tale and are nothing to do with curses. In 2004 there was a flood which engulfed the town and the Museum of Witchcraft. The silt and debris which was washed into the Museum protected a great number of the exhibits as they sank down on to the floor. If you check online you can see some pieces have been lost but most have been rescued and survive.
text and images submitted by Lesley Bricknell
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Robert Fyke, in memoriam
I am very sad to announce the passing of Robert Fyke, a long time war rug collector and researcher on January 21, 2009. I met Rob when I took up a position at The Nickle Arts Museum at the University of Calgary in 2005. Rob approached me with the idea of curating an exhibition of war rugs and introduced me to some of the most enigmatic examples of textile art I have come across. I was hooked and we became close friends and colleagues. Rob conducted an extensive review of the available literature on war rugs, probing the dark recesses of the Internet and library for obscure references and historical information. He was a regular visitor to the Rugs of War Blog, keeping me abreast of upcoming exhibitions and where in the world Nigel Lendon was. In 2006 we mounted “Made in Afghanistan: Rugs and Resistance, 1979-2005” at The Nickle Arts Museum. The exhibition included twenty-five war carpets along with photographs by Luke Powell, selections of poetry by Khallilulah Khalili, and music by Farhad Darya. It was Rob’s vision to create an exhibition that spoke to the complexities of the political turmoil in Afghanistan. It was a wonderful exhibition and I was privileged to work with Rob.
As saddened as I am with his passing, I am pleased to announce that his collection of carpets, as well as his research and books, have been donated to the Nickle. I look forward to engaging students with this material and continuing to research and exhibit it in the future. Thank you Rob for your friendship, your enthusiasm, and your generosity. I will miss you.
submitted by: Michele A. Hardy
Curator of Decorative Arts, The Nickle Arts Museum
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Moral Fibres at The Nickle Arts Museum
image: Dominique Blain, Japan Apologizes, 1993, silk, cotton, ink
MORAL FIBRES: Textiles from The Nickle Collections
Until September 27, 2008 at The Nickle Arts Museum
Curated by Michele Hardy
Cloth is uniquely associated with life and the expression of intimate and shared values. Drawing on works from the Nickle’s collections, Moral Fibres explores the symbolic and tactile potential of cloth to express goodness, appropriateness, or morality. The exhibition features ethnographic works as well as works by the artists: Dominique Blain, Suzanne Franks, Bill Morten, and Alan Dunning
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Tapestries Curator Chosen as New MET Director
Visitors at “Tapestry in the Baroque: Threads of Splendor” an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum that Thomas P. Campbell curated in 2007
“Ending months of fervid speculation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art reached into its own ranks on Tuesday and chose Thomas P. Campbell, a 46-year-old English-born tapestries curator, to succeed Philippe de Montebello as director and chief executive.”
Read the full article HERE
submitted by Oriane Stender, Brooklyn, NY