louise bourgeios fabric exhibit

this month there was an exhibit of louise bourgeios at hauser and wirth in london, called 'the fabric works.' i heard about it on CRAFT, via the wonderful magazine about textiles, selvedge.
from the show's description:

Fabric played an important role in Bourgeois’s life. She grew up surrounded by the textiles of her parents’ tapestry restoration workshop, and from the age of twelve helped the business by drawing in the sections of the missing parts that were to be repaired. A life-long hoarder of clothes and household items such as tablecloths, napkins and bed linen, from the mid-nineties Bourgeois cut up and re-stitched these, transforming her lived materials into art. Through sewing she attempted to effect psychological repair: ‘I always had the fear of being separated and abandoned. The sewing is my attempt to keep things together and make things whole’.

love it.

pick your own jewelry

these pieces are from the clever line pick a jewel, by fift. you can choose any found object from nature (or anywhere, really) and put it in the little clamps attached to earrings or necklace, and have a really one of a kind wearable piece. so simple and so lovely. via spoon and tamago.

setouchi art festival part II

here are a few of my favorites from the setouchi art festival. the first 2 are from the island of ogijima. this one is about water, and one of several scattered site installations.

i really enjoyed this approach; wondering around the small pathways and coming across separate parts of the same work was a great experience. this is one part of the work 'rainly lane' by kyoko taniyama
this is a photo from the above website; i didn't actually see it when it was 'raining'.
the main part of the work is here, where at certain times, water is released from the pipes above, through the assortment of vessels, and only these tiles that are on the ground.
the tiles have statements of the islands' residents comments about water printed on them (in japanese and english).


the onba factory was my other favorite work from ogijima. 'onba' is a local word for stroller/baby carraige, and the elderly residents of this hilly island use small carts to carry things around. the onba factory is a cooperative activity of 5 regional artists, and includes a workspace (they take turns using it) and a cafe with an amazing veiw of the ocean. i may have forgotten to take a photo of the view since i was enjoying some really superb coffee.
it's a little hard to see in the photo, but these are photos of the local residents--with their onbas remade by the onba factory!
each one is totally unique.
i also loved these new wooden onbas for kids-ladybug (wings lift for copious storage) and fly.
these caterpiller mechanisms work when pushed, so it's like a huge bike chain making an inchworm motion.
check out the buggy logo.
seirensho is a stunning site on inushima. a former copper refinery has become an architectural installion and exhibit space. it joins the other museums on naoshima (and now teshima) islands as part of the benesse art site.


it's a beautiful use and modification of an old industrial space, with very thoughful additions of a new building, which incorporates passive heating and cooling in a completely elegant way. it remains open as a museum even after the end of the festival.

finally 'les archives du coeur' by christian boltanski, the official description is here. this is one project that i definitely wanted not to miss! this also will remain as a long term installation. this building is like a small musuem, with exterial walls of charred cedar, a tradition esthetic in the area.
the project is an archive of heartbeats; the main intallation space is a dark room, with mirrors on the walls, and one bare lightbulb. the sounds of one heartbeat (which changes) is played at a greatly amplified volumn, and the light bulb flickers along with the heartbeat.

it's very cleanly curated, with the idea of this being an archive carried throughout, including the white lab coats of all the staff. including the uniform raincoat of this woman who was in charge of organizing the outdoor waiting line. the archive part of the installation is that there are 2 sound recording studios where you can record the sound of your own heartbeat and purchase it on CD; your heartbeat is thereby added to the archive.

there's also a listening station, where you can hear heartbeats from the archive, in this little room with the window (above).
this is the view from the listing room. it's a lovely site, intentionally remote.

setouchi art festival part I

here are just a few of the installations from the setouchi art festival.i liked these fish scuptures--they move!

setouchi preview

last weekend i went to the setouchi art festival, in the seto inland sea of japan. the islands were wonderful.
i have started flickr set, and will be adding more photos of the artwork this week.
the water was beautiful.

forest I--basket waving meets automobile

check out this amazing woven car. via poppy talk. It's actually salvaged bark woven on top of the car, by basket weaver annie ross.

william kentridge in kyoto

yesterday, i found myself near the kyoto museum of modern art, really by chance.

their current exhibit is william kentridge, one of my most favorite artists.

i had been planning to go see this show, but yesterday felt like i had discovered it by accident, and it was just the perfect thing at the end of a somewhat frantic week.

and this show William Kentridge—What We See & What We Know is amazing! in my experience japanese museums, especially the larger/well known ones, put together excellent exhibits, and this one is no exception. it's a comprehensive retrospective of his work from 1979 to 2008, including 19 films and film installations, 36 drawings, and 63 prints.

i'm going to go back and spend a whole day there, i think. the exhibition will in at the museum of modern art tokyo (momat) in jan-feb 2010, and the hiroshima museum of contemporary art (hiroshima moca) in mar-may 2010. if you have a chance, go see it!

flying

i'm doing a lot of traveling this month and next, which means posting here will be sporadic for a bit longer.

this picture captures the best parts of traveling, the lightness and freedom, at least that's what i am thinking now through the fog of some of the most extreme and complex jet lag i've ever experienced.

it's a photo by tricia mckeller, and part of the back to school market up right now at poppytalk handmade.

new prints from janice jong

one of my favorite illustrators, janice jong, has more new designs up in her shop!

heather benning's dollhouse

it's a real house, with plexiglass installed for traditional dollhouse-style viewing.

mocoloco via the stork.

wearable art by nicole dextras

nicole dextras works in a variety of media, including some that is ephemeral, like these cabbage shoes.
more photos of her amazing wearable pieces made of plants can been seen on inhabitat, including more information about her current show.

when i was little, a very cool family friend visiting from switzerland made complete outfits out of giant rhubarb leaves for her daughters and i. it was an amazing experience that i still remember, and probably my first exposure to wearable art! (well, not counting playing dress-up). the cabbage shoes especially remind me of that time...

kyoto

i'm moving to kyoto! this week i will be going back and forth a bit between kobe and kyoto, and blog posts might be a little sparser than usual.

this image above is a beautiful print by mizu designs, and i agree that these geta perfectly capture the feeling of kyoto, and the sound of the footsteps of women wearing traditional kimono and geta walking down the old streets.

i love kyoto, the beautiful old buildings and traditional crafts, lovely shrines and little shops. i will continue to teach part-time at my conversation school in kobe, and hope to enter kobe university this fall. but i am also looking forward to being able to explore kyoto, and i will share my adventures here, of course!

train hoop earrings by dmdmetal

in japan, i spend a fair amount of time on trains and subways. after i move next week, i will become a proper commuter, with even more train time.

these train hoop earrings by dmdmetal on etsy are customizable, you can have your own message included in the graffiti (something there is much less of in japan!).

felt by matte stephens

all together :D, originally uploaded by matte stephens.

matte stephens is a etsy star, and you've likely seen his paintings before online, or at one of his many art shows.

and now, he's making felt sculptures!

via design*sponge.

portland recap part 2: craft museum!

i got to see this exhibit that i missed last time. unfortunately the handmade nation screening was completely sold out before we could get tickets, but the crochet-a-thon with mandy was awesome!

mandy greer's new project is called mater matrix mother and medium. it will be installed in seattle's urban forest and will also include a performance by zoe scofield.
here's a photo from the project website. it's all about water, and so the work will incorporate shades of blue fabric and yarn. for the crochet-a-thon, everyone joined in to create some blue crocheted elements that will be incorporated into the final piece. it's a wonderful art creation process, that involves people coming together to create, and maybe to learn a new craft. beginning crochet lends itself especially well to this kind of free form art, as there are no 'mistakes.' i am a complete beginner at crochet, but now i am really curious to try more.

twilight roosting felt works by elizabeth armstrong

Twilight Roosting , originally uploaded by studiofelter.

these lovely creations were made by the very talented felt maker elizabeth armstrong. you can see her flickr stream here.

felt art by mummysam

check out these lovely pieces made by mummysam. using 100% wool felt, she creates soft sculptures with free motion stitching and hand embroidery.
i love the little felt houses, of course!
and she also makes flat works. she sells all of it in her etsy shop, and i first heard about mummysam via jars of cute.