World of Threads Festival is a multi-site exhibition of local, national and international contemporary fibre art. Started in 1994, the 10 festival locations in Oakville will be augmented for the first time this year with 11 sites in Toronto. This expansive presentation of work is accompanied by over 80 artist interviews, an excellent resource for anyone interested in contemporary textiles.
Last weekend I visited Common Threads International : Quiet Zone at The Gallery at Queen Elizabeth Park, one of Oakville's flagship shows. Curated by Dawne Rudman with artists from Austria, Canada, England, France, Ireland and the United States, the neutral palette and fragile nature of the pieces serve to create a cohesive experience.
Fibre art can become bogged down by technique, the initial impulse lost to the joy in making. As someone who works predominately with fibre, I feel I have failed in a piece when the reaction centres on "how did you make that" or "how long did that take". The medium should be secondary to the idea if the work is to be hung as art and not craft. Quiet Zone offered such pieces, most notable from Lisa DiQuinzio (pictured above) and Catherine Dormor.
World of Threads Festival will run in Oakville from November 2 - 18 and in Toronto from November 9 - December 2.
A very interesting story and great photos of the show. Though I disagree that an artist has failed if a viewer asks how a piece was made or how long it took to produce; for me, the process is just as fascinating as the product. Knowing that a great deal of effort went into a piece makes it interesting in a different way than one that was dashed off in a matter of hours.
ReplyDeleteI love this comment. I'll admit, my statement was too sweeping and I'm glad for the opinion. Distinctions between craft and art, process and idea require much more attention than the off-hand sentence that I provided. Thanks for your input!
ReplyDeleteHG