Field Trip

 Satuday I met three of my colleagues from Lowell Fiber Studio at Wellesley College's  Davis Museum. To our delight, the finalists for a fashion course had their work on display in the lobby. This one's made of magazines. Notice the origami detail at the neck.

 

This one, by Wendy Chen, '14,  combines computer parts and old lace. I love the computer keys for a bodice. The "tulle" over the lace is made from transparencies for circuit board manufacturing:

 

But we were there to see the exhibit, "When I Last Wrote You about Africa," by El Anatsui.

This photo is the small image from the college website. No photos were allowed inside. That's okay, because quickly I was so engulfed by color and texture that I had no mental energy for photography. I wish I could fill this blog with images. Instead, you will just have to here to read about his process and here to see the results.

The exhibit is his first career retrospective, and the show has paused here in Massachusetts on its way between much larger venues. The work spans ceramics, painting, prints, drawings and sculpture, but the most amazing pieces are the monumental cloths created from cut and pounded metals. They drape and shimmer. They are huge. They speak of hours of labor, and, by extension of years and of lives.


The show is up through June 26, and it's free. Grab a friend and go.