Listen to my interview on iTunes with the host, David Livingston, on his new podcast, First Stop Art, here .
Scroll IX, 2016. Ink, gouache on paper, 3.5 by 30 feet.
In this episode we talk about a series of work I started in 2014 called Scrolls. We also discuss more recent works like the knots.
Check out the images on the website for the podcast:
https://www.firststopart.com/
“[The] simple act of tying a knot is an adventure in unlimited space … an excursion that is limited only by the scope of our own imagery and the length of the rope maker’s coil.”
For the past few weeks, I have been reading about different kinds of knots and making a series of gouache paintings on paper loosely tied to different types of knots.
In a 2014 article in T Magazine, Jody Rosen discusses the importance of knots throughout history. Still nots are an undervalued craft today, often relegated to the storage rooms of major collections. More here.
all works are 9 inches square, gouache on paper
Knots have been on my mind for a long time, and they've surfaced in various forms in prior drawings and paintings. Since ancient times, knots were an essential form of technology for seafarers, among others. Moreover, knots have served deeply symbolic purposes; they were used to keep records for the Incas, celebrate a birth or marriage in numerous cultures, and summon strong winds for the Laplanders, for example. They are practical, yet deeply mystical at the same time.
As part of my show Ouroboros at the Mazmanian Gallery, I left a blank sketchbook in the gallery and asked visitors to trace their hands on the empty pages. Here are the first six spreads of the book with hands by: (-1) Inessa J. Burnell, (1) Eric Davis, (2) Alexandria Keare, (3) Trinity Infantino, (4) Hannah Ferrante, (5) Julia Wan, (6) Heather Welsh, (7) Susan Scopetski, (8) Sadie Harmon, (9) Carissa Valeri, and (10) Roy S. "Suh Dude"
