Museums & Galleries Archives

Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef at the Smithsonian

April 1, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Art, Inspiration & Education, Museums & Galleries 2 Comments

Today’s post is going to be short on words and heavy on photo’s. “To briefly summarize The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef (HCCR) is a project of the Institute For Figuring (IFF), a Los Angeles based non-profit educational organization whose mission is to develop creative new ways to engage the public with science, mathematics and the technical arts.”- IFF & HCCR Hyperbolic geometry is creatively modeled by the forms created through crochet.

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is a woolly celebration of the intersection of higher geometry and feminine handicraft, and a testimony to the disappearing wonders of the marine world.” by Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim

Demonstrations of crochet are on display during exhibit hours.

This ongoing project has had over 10 exhibits worldwide with one of the most recent and current exhibits on view now at the Sant Ocean Hall, Focus Gallery, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History with contributions from over 850 participants who collaborated in crochet and assembling this coral reef. Another exhibit also currently on view is The Bleached Reef at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (NYC, NY). Each coral reef exhibit is a unique installation with different contributing artist and different themes.

Crochet Coral Reef at Smithsonian

If you or your kids are fans of the spectacular wonders of the underwater world I would highly recommend you take a visit. One of the fascinating things about the exhibit is the unique materials that individual contributors used. The majority was certainly various types of yarn but I also spotted recycled plastic bags, wire, beads, VHS and cassette tape, plastic zip ties and various other materials. I’m sure you could make a game of “I SPY” at the exhibit to identify more variety of materials.

I loved the way they arranged this exhibit in colors that spanned the rainbow. It seemed that every color and perhaps color combination were represented. The forms range from super realistic replicas of coral formations to shapes that are beyond the wildest imagination and look to be straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Crochet Coral Reef at the Smithsonian

While we are on the subject of coral reefs I recently got to see the short film “The Coral Gardener”. The purpose of this exhibit and the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is to educate and bring awareness to the world’s disappearing reefs. Did you know that coral can be propagated like a plant and cuttings can be taken and “rooted” to replant the reef? This award winning short film shows how scientists and volunteers in Fiji are doing this. If you get a chance to see it, it’s a truly a sign of hope for the worlds reefs. I hope you will get a chance to view one of these spectacular exhibits yourself!

Field Trip Friday::Oasis @ The Textile Museum

January 21, 2011 by Heather Filed Under: Art, Art & Design, Inspiration & Education, Museums & Galleries, Textiles & Pattern 1 Comment

Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats (image copyright The Textile Museum)

I went to check this show out last week with a friend. We had also intended to go to the Phillips Collection which was FREE to the public last weekend to celebrate their 90th, but alas the line was insanely long so that didn’t happen! It was okay because I’d had this exhibit on my to-see list for way too long. I admit that sometimes I take the Textile Museum for granted and don’t get as excited about some of the more traditional exhibits, boy was I wrong about this one! I just thought it would be another nice Ikat exhibit (right~ you know I’m a textile designer when I say that) but it was so much better than I had anticipated! Look at the COLORS, wow! No wonder they called it Colors of the Oasis.

Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats (image copyright The Textile Museum)

This exhibit showcases 19th century Ikats from central Asia. The collection (of over 200 Ikats but not all are on view was donated to the Textile Museum by collector Murad Megalli. This is the first time this collection has been on view for the public and many of the pieces were beautifully restored.

Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats (image copyright The Textile Museum)

They chose such a fantastic color for the walls to offset this collection. I can’t say I’ve ever really noticed the walls at an art exhibit but this color really does the collection justice. These warp ikat designs are characterized by vibrant colors (with a lot of primary’s used) and bold, rather large scale motif’s with quite a bit of contrast.

Colors of The Oasis: Central Asian Ikats (copyright The Textile Museum)

I would love to really be able to study the motifs and color combination’s used more closely, it was so inspiring. It’s no wonder these magnificent textiles were a sign of prestige and status in the Oasis towns of Central Asia. The exhibit also featured a small display and video explaining the technique and process used to create warp Ikat designs. These were contributed by students at MICA’s Fibers department. The exhibit is also accompanied by an in depth exhibit catalog (that I would LOVE to have!). I’ve been a member of The Textile Museum for the past 5 years and I’d greatly encourage you to donate or join if you are inclined to value the research and exhibitions in textiles that this world class museum provides.

Friday::Corcoran Field Trip (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)
Field Trip Friday! National Museum of the American Indian (hkpowerstudio.wordpress.com)

Modern Women in Design

August 24, 2010 by Heather Filed Under: Art, Art & Design, Inspiration & Education, Museums & Galleries, Textiles & Pattern Leave a Comment

One of the most inspiring things I have seen this summer (and there have been quite a few!) is the current exhibit at the Textile Museum. It is all about mid-century modern women in design and boy are there some fabulous and fun textiles on exhibit! I tend to be a rule breaker (in some areas of my life only) and when it comes to taking photo’s in museums…I often break the rules. I do it so I can share snippets with others who I know may not be able to experience the same thing in person. So enjoy the photo’s I risked my visit to take, luckily that day the security guard seemed more interested in talking on the phone than observing the museum goers.

The show is called “Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain” and it ends on September 12, so if you get a chance you may want to make a trip to see it. The show features a majority of designs by British designer Lucienne Day and two of her contemporaries: Jacqueline Groag and Marian Mahler. The work above and below is from Lucienne Day. Aren’t they just incredibly fresh and fun and honest? That is what I love about this era of work. The designs are not pretentious, over thought or trend driven.

This is the type of work I love to share because it’s different and fun and the love that the designer put into the work shines through.
Lucienne Day’s husband (Robin) was also a furniture designer. I’m certain this contributed to her overall sensibility about good design for home interiors. Below are some great tea towels she designed.Her are a few shots of the overall show. All these ladies were fabulous designers who’s designs have stood the test of time. I especially enjoyed the work of Lucienne Day and was so glad to get to see this show in person. Save