The above piece, Fuzzyball, has been shipped over to Manchester, UK, for the Futuresonic festival. It's in an exhibit called "Fuzzy Logic," which is a subset of another exhibition called "Low Grade" that is part of the larger festival. The curators are Jackie Passmore and Michael Connor. By the way, the molecule above really is called a "fuzzyball" (a buckyball variant); I didn't title it just for the show. Here's the rundown on "Fuzzy Logic":"Low Grade" argues that the roots of computing technology are linked to Britain's 19th Century cotton trade, with weaving looms providing inspiration for the design of the first computer. In a city famous for both its textile history - Manchester was once known as "Cottonopolis" - and as the birthplace of the modern computer, "Fuzzy Logic" demonstrates how new media artists are turning back to the loom, combining technology with the knitting needle to create a new wave of fabric-based media arts, mathematical knitting and textile activism.
Artists and works include:
Claire Irving (UK): Mathematical Knitting
Woolly Thoughts (UK): Mathematical Afghans
Cat Mazza (US): KnitPro Software, the LogoKnit knitting machine and examples of knitted work
Mandy McIntosh (UK): Knitting patterns for Atlanta and other cities, plus Radiant Circle
LoVid (US): Soft sound sculpture, sculpting psychedelic soundsssssssssssz
Peter Coffin (US): Wall-based prints bridging ASCII art and knitting patterns
Cory Arcangel (US): Security blanket based on the "infinite fill" patterns used in place of colour on early drawing software Mac Paint
Rebecca Vaughan (US): Conceptual knitted cosies for uncosy environments
Tom Moody (US): Psychedelic and abject works riding the guardrails between the handmade and the digital My piece doesn't involve knitting but I have always described this type of work as a paper quilt or mosaic. When I started doing these pieces in the mid-90s I was very interested in cyberfeminist Sadie Plant, who is speaking at the festival, and I was somewhat chagrined to discover no one in the NY art world was following this dialogue, or giving any particular thought to bridging the computational and the crafted. Things have gotten better in the last few years with the arrival on the scene of many of the above artists, so I'm not feeling quite as lonely as I did in 1997, when the gallery I was showing with mostly just apologized for the work, as in "Sorry it's not made with a brush or pencil and fabricated of fine, durable art materials, we know how important that is to you, Mrs. Drysdale." As late as 2001, a dealer I was working with was still asking me questions like "Do you ever think of painting these?"
This cracked me up: "Mrs. Drysdale."
And I get this question a lot, too: "Do you ever think of painting these?"
I like the stuff you've posted recently, and it's good to see more of this stuff on paper happening. It seems you've posted fewer music files lately; is there shift from music back to visual art right now?
I wish I could find some info online to add to the credibility of this post, but I'm not sure it exists. Most organizations didn't have websites with good doc in the mid-to-late 90s. I'm pretty certain that experimental video artists were making this connection you speak of as early as the 70s. I saw a cool historical show at the Transmission Conference in Boston sponsored in part by WBGH back in 1998. The show featured at least one abstract mind-blowing video installation that related to the loom and tiling. I know that I've seen more from early computer-video artists. I think it would be crazy cool to see a show that supported artists spanning the past threepointfive decades making these connections in the near future. Up for grabs!
Kristin, agreed some kind of survey would be good, and just a quick thought: maybe the kitsch, pop culture element is what was missing from the early work. Much of the pioneer computer art was so damned earnest, as opposed to the kids raised on bad TV and bad video games that are currently bridging computers and craft. Also, the internet is vomiting up a ton of interesting "amateur" work, like the Pokemon bead page I posted about a while back where everything is drawn with MSPaint. When I first showed my quilts I was calling them "corporate tramp art." That went over like a lead balloon but there was at least a cheeky sensibility about all this stuff, which I think has more in common with the newer work than what I had seen before. More on this to come.
Chris, thanks for the comment on the recent vis. work, and no, my music is still going strong. I just picked up a slew of new programs and am slowly learning them. If anything has to give here it's going to be the damn writing.
This piece by Jennifer Steinkamp is showing at AGO right now. It's an abstract, immersive video about textile, called Loom. I wasn't particularly hooked when I saw it. I kind of like the documentation better than the experience of the piece.
Is that part of the color field show?
nope! that would be funny. It is part of the Swing Space, new media programming (stands alone).
follow up on your comment 'computer and crafts'... HA! corporate tramp art. that's so funny Tom. i will be thinking about earnest art for a while and get back to you on this.
meanwhile, i love that you threw the green chair into the photo for home/office reference. i like that this work looks like you doodled skillfully all day on the job. and i like the installation aspect of it. your office humor is very different than that of Perry Hoberman but i can't help reference one of his pieces because it is funny too and it is one of my favorites. In his show, "Sorry, We're Closed" back in 1995ish, he taped photo sensors all over the face of an Amiga computer monitor. The animation on the monitor was a simple black and white checkerboard pattern. The sensors would detect ON for black, OFF for white. The state of ON/OFF would trigger a mass of pencil sharpeners loaded with pencils to turn on and off across the space of an office desk. it was a beautiful choreography.
Kristin, do you know the titles of any of those pieces that you mentioned above? I think the Vasulkas made some references to textiles but I can't think of any specific works. It would be really cool to develop this exhib further for a future showing. especially if we could make contact with whoever made the 'mario quilt': http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=11325
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The above piece, Fuzzyball, has been shipped over to Manchester, UK, for the Futuresonic festival. It's in an exhibit called "Fuzzy Logic," which is a subset of another exhibition called "Low Grade" that is part of the larger festival. The curators are Jackie Passmore and Michael Connor. By the way, the molecule above really is called a "fuzzyball" (a buckyball variant); I didn't title it just for the show. Here's the rundown on "Fuzzy Logic":My piece doesn't involve knitting but I have always described this type of work as a paper quilt or mosaic. When I started doing these pieces in the mid-90s I was very interested in cyberfeminist Sadie Plant, who is speaking at the festival, and I was somewhat chagrined to discover no one in the NY art world was following this dialogue, or giving any particular thought to bridging the computational and the crafted. Things have gotten better in the last few years with the arrival on the scene of many of the above artists, so I'm not feeling quite as lonely as I did in 1997, when the gallery I was showing with mostly just apologized for the work, as in "Sorry it's not made with a brush or pencil and fabricated of fine, durable art materials, we know how important that is to you, Mrs. Drysdale." As late as 2001, a dealer I was working with was still asking me questions like "Do you ever think of painting these?"
- tom moody 7-16-2005 4:43 am
This cracked me up: "Mrs. Drysdale."
And I get this question a lot, too: "Do you ever think of painting these?"
I like the stuff you've posted recently, and it's good to see more of this stuff on paper happening. It seems you've posted fewer music files lately; is there shift from music back to visual art right now?
- chrisashley (guest) 7-16-2005 9:12 am
I wish I could find some info online to add to the credibility of this post, but I'm not sure it exists. Most organizations didn't have websites with good doc in the mid-to-late 90s. I'm pretty certain that experimental video artists were making this connection you speak of as early as the 70s. I saw a cool historical show at the Transmission Conference in Boston sponsored in part by WBGH back in 1998. The show featured at least one abstract mind-blowing video installation that related to the loom and tiling. I know that I've seen more from early computer-video artists. I think it would be crazy cool to see a show that supported artists spanning the past threepointfive decades making these connections in the near future. Up for grabs!
- Kristin (guest) 7-16-2005 9:27 am
Kristin, agreed some kind of survey would be good, and just a quick thought: maybe the kitsch, pop culture element is what was missing from the early work. Much of the pioneer computer art was so damned earnest, as opposed to the kids raised on bad TV and bad video games that are currently bridging computers and craft. Also, the internet is vomiting up a ton of interesting "amateur" work, like the Pokemon bead page I posted about a while back where everything is drawn with MSPaint. When I first showed my quilts I was calling them "corporate tramp art." That went over like a lead balloon but there was at least a cheeky sensibility about all this stuff, which I think has more in common with the newer work than what I had seen before. More on this to come.
Chris, thanks for the comment on the recent vis. work, and no, my music is still going strong. I just picked up a slew of new programs and am slowly learning them. If anything has to give here it's going to be the damn writing.
- tom moody 7-16-2005 11:22 am
This piece by Jennifer Steinkamp is showing at AGO right now. It's an abstract, immersive video about textile, called Loom. I wasn't particularly hooked when I saw it. I kind of like the documentation better than the experience of the piece.
- sally mckay 7-16-2005 8:36 pm
Is that part of the color field show?
- tom moody 7-17-2005 9:01 pm
nope! that would be funny. It is part of the Swing Space, new media programming (stands alone).
- sally mckay 7-17-2005 11:07 pm
follow up on your comment 'computer and crafts'... HA! corporate tramp art. that's so funny Tom. i will be thinking about earnest art for a while and get back to you on this.
meanwhile, i love that you threw the green chair into the photo for home/office reference. i like that this work looks like you doodled skillfully all day on the job. and i like the installation aspect of it. your office humor is very different than that of Perry Hoberman but i can't help reference one of his pieces because it is funny too and it is one of my favorites. In his show, "Sorry, We're Closed" back in 1995ish, he taped photo sensors all over the face of an Amiga computer monitor. The animation on the monitor was a simple black and white checkerboard pattern. The sensors would detect ON for black, OFF for white. The state of ON/OFF would trigger a mass of pencil sharpeners loaded with pencils to turn on and off across the space of an office desk. it was a beautiful choreography.
- Kristin (guest) 7-18-2005 7:21 am
Kristin, do you know the titles of any of those pieces that you mentioned above? I think the Vasulkas made some references to textiles but I can't think of any specific works. It would be really cool to develop this exhib further for a future showing. especially if we could make contact with whoever made the 'mario quilt': http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=11325
- Mikey (guest) 7-19-2005 1:09 am