10.15.06
Sheila Hicks at The Bard Graduate Center
The Sheila Hicks show, Weaving As Metaphor, was closing this weekend so I made it a point to hike up to the upper west side so as not to miss it.
This collection of her small works displays her weaving knowledge and experience over time. For me, I focused on her weaving structures. I wanted to learn how she created a specific shape or texture. I was also fascinated by the tools and materials she used. Stand-outs in my mind were the synthetic monofilament, stainless steel, and handmade paper she incorporated into her weaving. I was very drawn to the monofilament because I have tried experimenting with it, and I am pleased to see the possibilities of the materials via another artist.
The size of these weavings prompted me to think about small works in art. (Most of my work I consider to be small. Part of my size constraints come from not having a studio and from living in a space-challenged, Brooklyn apartment. I simple do not have the space to go any larger.) From my perspective, smallness is overlooked. We live in a very BIG art culture (i.e. big art=serious or authentic) - wall-sized paintings, site-specific installations, land art encompassing acres - and in what I would call our pop culture - big box stores, McMansions, SUV’s. Sheila Hicks work, while small in size, is large in content. It takes time to investigate the details and time to synthesize that information. Does an instant-gratification culture only want large sized art? Are we lazy art-consumers who don’t want to think past the obvious? Or will people take the time to appreciate the intimacy of the conversation between a small artwork and the viewer?
LOL - small art works prompt big art ideas.
Afterwards, inspired by the show, I took these photos.
The world is made up of warp and weft. (That’s a whole other post - duality in structure - like knit and purl.)