thelmasmith - Contemporary Art - Changing the World One Thread at a Time

by Diane Howell

There is perhaps no better place to view an exhibition such as Changing the World One Thread at a Time than Tubac, Arizona, in the springtime. For Tubac, a picturesque burg southwest of Tucson near the U. S. border with Mexico, is awash with ripe colors: pinks and oranges and vibrant greens that dance in sunlight and shadow. It is an enriched environment, one that makes even fast drivers slow to take notice of the healing power of the desert.

So against this backdrop visitors arrive at the Tubac center of the Arts already primed for peace, ready to tackle the world one thread at a time. Curator, thelmasmith, who brought the successful Wrapped in Cloth exhibition to life at the same venue in 2003, delivered on her intent to find works that raised questions and made societal commentary. The pieces in Changing, displayed February 17th - March 26, 2006, examined topics from questionable federal policies to the need for communiation between loved ones. all reminders of what's truly important.

The exhibition covered the center's three gallery spaces, made all the more intresting because of varied wall colors ranging from blues in the first room to blood-red and earthy tones in the third.

From the moment you walked into the first hall, you were confronted with someting special.

In that room one piece created, perhaps demanded, a moment all by itself: La Madre #2, by Valarie James (Amado, Arizona). This life size bust of a woman, cast in cotton, is based on the artist's outdoor sculpture project, The Mothers: Las Madres, installed at Tucson's Pima Comunity College. All of these related pieces pay triibute to those who have died crossing the border from Mexico. They are imperanent works, meant to dissolve as they endure the chalenges of rain, sun and wind, just as many who travel north perish and fade away. It is James' hope that one day we have a world without borders. Her piece in Changing, charged with the textural bits found in raw cotton, is striking. It is prhaps the most moving piece in the show as its very fragility puts a powerfu human dimension into the issue of immigration.

Art, as life, has many faces, however. Perpendicular to James' piece is one that made visitors smile once they read the statement from Linda Colsh (Everberg, Belgium). Her Vertical Thinking reminds us that in a black-and-white world, short people think tall! This black-and-white piece, with printed images of tall figures that for all the world look like they could be TALL idols, is a wonderful way to remember to stand tall for your beliefs, even in the face of tall menaces.

Which brings us to Eileen Doughty's (Vienna, Virginia.) pictorial view of federal politics. Taking Liberties at the Inauguration shows a gentle dog just watching the happenings in Washington, D.C., which include armed guards and a helicopter circling the White House. Rendered with the cutting wit of a top editorial cartoonist, it is a piece that makes you want to shout,

"Long Live the First Amendment!"

Then there was Peg Keeney's (Harbor Springs, Michigan) piece entitled Choices I: Wind or Coal. This windswept piece features a printed image of the artist's own eyes, imploring visitors to make the right choice.

Janet Schultz's (Flagstaff, Arizona) quilt, Earth 2 - Out in the 40s, continued the theme of power. Her piece, a pattern of earth- and sky-toned fabrics, speaks to living in the country off the grid altogether. Her work, as always, is abstraction at its best, wonderfully crafted. Earth 2

Donna L. Lish's (Clinton, New Jersey) three pieces stood like grey sentinels, three-dimensional protectors created of machine-knitted industrial fibers ordinarily used to make safety equipment for firefighters. The fine craftsmanship was unmistakable. My favorite was entitled Subext: Eruption, with flowing lines that provide a solid link with the earth.

Virginia A. Spiegel's (Byron, Illinois) Four Hundred Songbirds is a tribute to how 400 migrating songbirds were killed in one night in Wisconsin by communication towers. The towers, abstracted rectangles created with stark color contrast, make the work stand out from a distance. It is the small red embroidery stitches representing the birds that gives it is poignancy and powerful message about the need to protect the smallest living things among us.

Similar imagery was found in Monique Gilbert-Oversteyns' (Bierbeek, Belgium) Diversion of the Night, where again stark contrast makes us think about what lies beneath. The shapes in her piece could be anything, interlocking reality with the veil of darkness. It is a scene where magic could be performed or danger could lurk.

Canadian artist Pamela Allen's Eve Under Scrutiny found a homey place on the red wall in the third gallery. It was one of the most talked-about pieces at the opening, begging viewers to study its bits of embellishment. Apples, babies, a man with a blindfold … did Eve cause the mankind's downfall? It's still something to think about!

Denise Yaghmourian's (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) Jelly Fish, three cubes wrapped in textured white yarn, transform simple boxes into playful shapes one can easily imagine floating in the water.

Annie Creek, created by George-Ann Bowers (Berkeley, Calif.) brought visitors back to solid land. This three-dimensional tapestry of cotton, wool, rayon, silk and textile paints, was woven using a triple-weave pickup technique and then mounted onto a wire armature. Bowers found her inspiration in Crater Lake National Park, where there is a creek-eroded ancient lava flow. Annie Creek The fluidity of the piece did battle with the cleverness of its presentation to create perfect balance. The natural feel of this piece, reminiscent of bark, holds great appeal, too.

My Secret Competition by Lisa Chipetine (West Hempstead, New York) explored the exhibition's theme from a personal level. We all have doubts, and they often create a duality that prods us to take chances while at the same time holds us back. The interplay of foreground and background in this piece make it a successful competition.

Betula

Another fun piece was the layered Betula by Connie Utterback (Los Angeles, California). Made from heat-fused transparent nylon mesh normally used in the auto-tire industry, it is a showstopper, a perfect lesson in transparency and geometry.

Rebirth by Scott A. Murkin (Asheboro, N.C.) dazzled the eye with the brilliant colors of flame peeking through blackened tree trunks. The stark color contrast delighted the eye, drawing attention to this piece that tells the story of survival even after massive devastation.

While Murkin's piece visually keeps flames at bay, Border Patrol by Susan V. Polansky (Dedham, Mass,) keeps a soldier trapped behind barbed wire as he walked amidst rubble and fire. The scene allows the artist to declare that the only good place for such a situation is in an art exhibit.

Then there is Dijanne Cevaal's (Gellibrand, Victoria, Australia) Letter from Home, a delicate piece with the same letter repeated again and again in a delicate grid of threadwork. You wonder if the letter was ever read, did its message get through?

With that piece, it is fair to say Changing the World One Thread at a Time had something for everyone. Big and little challenges can look the same depending upon your perspective. It's often as difficult to write home as it is to take part in a protest.

My view is you do what you can, one day at a time. Every once in a while, you need to be prodded into action, and what more powerful action is there than art?

Diane Howell is the curator for the annual Art Quilts exhibition installed at the Chandler Center for the Arts. This fall, the show will begin its second decade with Art Quilts XI: Stages, Cycles & Fits. Howell is also a free-lance writer and an artist who works in metal, fiber and beads.