We are asked to look at works that ‘…make direct use of words to convey meaning’
Some examples have already been given –
Tracey Emin, Everyone I have ever slept with 1963 – 1995 (1995)
This work is considered to be amongst her best work – inside a small blue tent, Tracey has appliqued names of the people she has slept with, between the period 1963 – 1995. The list includes a little over 100 people; there are no sexual implications at all to this piece, which people believed to be the case when it was originally exhibited. She has included family members and friends, so it’s literally everyone she has shared a bed with.
Martin Creed ‘Mothers’ (2011)
Martin Creeds larger than listening installation is an imposing, flashing and spinning neon sign, measuring an impressive 41ft by 8ft. It’s was years in the making and Martin thought it might prove be a huge mistake. ‘Mothers’ is an odd choice for his piece – he feels family and relationships can be difficult at times, but he has good relationship with his own mother. Other than that, he has no reason for using the word, in fact he doesn’t often use labels for his work.
Simon Patterson ‘The Great Bear’ (1992)
The name Simon has chosen is taken from a star constellation. An initial impression of this piece would be that it’s a London Underground map, but on closer inspection, you’ll see a variety of famous names, some more obscure than others. They range from newsreader Kate Adie, actor Michael Caine and explorer Francis Drake. There’s such a variety of people included , that there doesn’t seem to be any connection to the names he’s selected. He’s arranged people on the map in groups; ie actors, footballers, astronauts, and each group has their own ‘line’ or colour on the map. There are some anomalies though, as the odd random name appears in the wrong category.
My findings;
Karola Pezarro ‘Between Time’ (2010)
A visual artist, I came across Karola when I was researching for MMT. Everything I’ve seen of hers has a label, most with a special meaning to her. She had family members in Auschwitz and whilst not discussed at home by her family, I think her works reflects her feelings and thoughts on the atrocity in one way or another.
Between Time is almost a spider web of threads, connected by a series of words, stitched onto a white, almost transparent fabric, akin to a loose weave muslin. The words are embroidered in French ‘entrie le temps’ (between time), although Karola is actually Dutch.
Jette Clover
Jette is a Danish artist, living and working in America for a number of years, then returning to Holland. Her work has been exhibited in the USA, Australasia and Europe, consisting mainly of collages in both paper and textiles, incorporating photos, painting, printing etc. She uses a lot of found items in her work that are no longer needed. The majority of Jettes work includes writing, her journalistic background being a major inspiration, so there’s no surprise that there’s an overlap into her textiles work.
She likes to produce collections and on her website, I found a great series of seven pieces, word collages, one in particular caught my eye, entitled ‘In other words’, a collage of texts in bold capital letters on often brightly coloured backgrounds, neatly interwoven and overlapping, so you get unfinished sentences where the text isn’t all visible. Depending on what she’s working on, Jette states that the meaning of the words she uses is less important for her work; its more about the people and the connection with history. She uses either English text, Dutch or a mixture of both.
Cathy Cullis
Cathy is an English artist and writer, living in Surrey and having studied English and Art at the Brunel University and then Creative writing at the Bath Spa University. She paints and produces mono prints which have been exhibited around the UK. She has a unique style of stitch which comes across as medieval in the portraits she produces, both in the facial images and the style of dress the stitched characters wear. (Cathy has an interest in history, and folklore and fairytales are among her inspiration.)
In some of her work, both stitched and mono prints, she has used a collage including book pages and sometimes buttons. Her work which is stitched words is very neat, joined writing. ‘Overwintering’ is on white linen with freehand machine stitching in black thread. She’s done similar work on a smaller scale and they’re often poignant poems, some of which she improvises as she goes along, so of course, they have a deeper meaning to her personally.
Bibliography
https://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/somethings-wrong-tracey-emin. 3.8.18
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everyone_I_Have_Ever_Slept_With_1963%E2%80%931995. 3.8.18
https://www.saatchigallery.com/aipe/tracey_emin.htm. 3.8.18
https://www.theartstory.org/artist-emin-tracey-artworks.htm. 3.8.18
http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/9362/1/martin-creed-mothers. 3.8.18
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Patterson_(artist). 4.8.18
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/patterson-the-great-bear-p77880. 4.8.18
https://georgesjournal.org/2011/03/27/mapping-the-stars-the-great-bear-1992-simon-patterson/. 4.8.18
https://www.textileartist.org/karola-pezarro-somewhere-else. 4.8.18
http://www.karolapezarro.nl/teksten.html. 5.8.18
http://www.rosalindwyatt.com/about/. 5.8.18
https://www.thenewcraftsmen.com/makers/rosalind-wyatt/. 5.8.18
http://www.jetteclover.com/. 6.8.18
https://www.textileartist.org/jette-clover-words-and-walls. 6.8.18
Ideas & Processes 