“…pretend that you are someone who can do it. Be wise because the world needs more wisdom; and if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise and just behave like they would…and now go and make interesting mistakes, break rules, and leave the world more interesting for your being here ….”
“This is really great, you should enjoy it!”
“Het kwaad is banaal” (Evil is banal) 1984 Oil on Canvas – Marlene Dumas
If been struggling lately to re-write an artist statement for my upcoming exhibition in September; and since we are celebrating Women’s day tomorrow, I thought it would be a nice idea to share one of the many artists who I admire (in this case Marlene Dumas)’s writings:
P.S where she writes ‘paint’ I read “Embroider” 🙂
I adore this quilt made by a woman in Kentucky back in 1839 to help her deal with the grief over the death of her two young sons.
She stitched a series of fabric coffins around the quilt’s edge with the names of her family on them and unpicked them one by one as the people died….
re-sewing the coffins at the centre inside a graveyard.
Art-therapy at its best?
I really love this work by Grayson Perry. He said that this was the first embroidery he ever made…and although I am not a big fan of computer controlled embroidery, I do like the title, the costume and the concept.
Claire as the mother of all battles 1996 Photographic print
Grayson Perry
“I had this photograph taken of me on the roof of my studio with a Kalashnikov, pretending it was Sarajevo” Grayson Perry
Detail from Mother of all Battles Cotton and rayon, computer controlled embroidery
“The appeal for me is that embroidery has a precious quality to it, like gold”, he says…and I cannot agree more!
hannalie taute 