Today I would like to explore a few contemporary artists who use thread in their work. Thread is used because it can convey straight and/ or clear cut lines thus be used for perspective/ silhouettes/ outlines/ text/ 2D drawing.
Maurizio Anzeri takes old photos and sews into them. He gives the subjects a new personality by sewing a mask over their face.
Amanda McCavour provides a great example of art sewn in 2D. Her homely pieces are sewn with material that dissolves in water so she is left with an outline. I like to think her work pays homage to a time when sewing was a common and important skill to have.
Following on from that theme, Sarah Applebaum uses knitting unconventionally to make huge interactive installations. These are 3D this time and are in a very large scale. She pairs soft innocent knitting with harsh, clinical objects like chains.
Still talking on a large scale, Anne Lindberg attaches hundreds of strands of thread from one wall to another to create a blur of colour. I love optical illusion.
Lastly Beili Lui uses thread very naturally in her Chinese legend inspired pieces. The hundreds of pieces of thread hang loosely from the ceiling with sewn rings attached. I imagine this would exude a calm tranquil vibe.
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/maurizio_anzeri.htm?section_name=photography
http://www.amandamccavour.com/
This is really amazing work! It must take a lot of patience.
Yes can you imagine how much time it would take Lindberg and Lui? All of them really!
Gosh, how interesting – I particularly love Anne Lindberg’s works there – very atmospheric and thought provoking.
Yes she’s one of my favs!
Wow! Lot in common we have…I wrote a short web feature on Amanda McCavour a while ago and did a research article around embroidered art for the magazine I work in, which included Maurizio Anzeri among others. So far it has been one of the most inspiring subjects I worked on…A lot to think about patience, time and the role of the busy hands in the creative process. (Happy to share a pdf of the published article if you want…)
I would love to see the PDF, you could send it to me email anartyblog@gmail.com if you want? What a hilarious coincidence! We both have excellent taste I think. What magazine do you work for? I understand about privacy if you don’t want to say : )
imagine if you made a mistake, or dropped it by accident, imagine all the untangling!
Haha! Imagine that awful scenario but with a cat around. Honestly I’d just throw my hands up and walk away. So impatient!
Lol yeah totally
Really love Anne Lindberg. Though I’d probably get a headache if I looked at her work for too long! Have you heard of Chiharu Shiota? Her string installations are amazing.
Designbloom has a good overview of her stuff, but there’s years of work to trawl through on her own website if you’re interested:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/8162/chiharu-shiota.html
http://www.chiharu-shiota.com/works2008_6.html
Yay!!!!!!! Thank you I love links like this! : )
these are amazing. love them. the one with the disolved material is particularly clever
I agree! I wonder what material she uses, probably like a tissue paper maybe?
thanks for sharing especially liked Maurizio Anzeri piece
Yes it’s actually the piece that started this post! Glad you liked it : )
Wow this is amazing, I love the interest small lines can generate.
Yes totally! The options are endless with thread, I especially like the optical illusion
wow …awesome!
A very amazing and creative example of reusability. Results of your hard work can be seen here.