« October 2010 | Main | December 2010 »
I had amazing visits to China the past couple of summers. The town where I stayed and worked, Jingdezhen, is an integral part of Ai WeiWei's new art installation in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern. For those of you not in the know about this most extreme of craft projects, artist and activist Ai WeiWei worked with the craftspeople of Jingdezhen to produce an almost unfathomable 100 MILLION porcelain sunflower seeds.
Each sunflower seed is produced using a ceramic mold, then cleaned up a bit, handpainted and fired in a kiln. The final results are almost indestinguishable from the real thing. I had the opportunity to see a full ton of Ai WeiWei's sunflower seeds at an exhibition put together by Arcadia University (that subsequently traveled to the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Porland), and even that relatively small amount of seeds shifted my paradigm. By contrast, the Tate Modern contains over 150 million tons of the porcelain seeds.
Ai WeiWei always speaks eliptically about his work. Every time you think you might have the meaning pinned down, new meanings emerge. According to the artist, the sunflower theme references sunflower seeds surrounding Mao like the sun. The Mao theme is definitely taken with a nudge and a wink, as WeiWei is currently under house arrest, struggling with the Chinese government, which is harassing him by attempting to shut down his studio in Shanghai, supposedly because it was built without the proper permits (this from the government that allows improperly built apartment buildings to topple like dominoes).
In addition to press that he has received for his house arrest, Ai WeiWei also got a lot of attention when the Tate Modern had to temporarily close his exhibition because visitors walking through the sunflower seeds were kicking up enough ceramic dust to harm the lungs of the spectators. Fortunately, the exhibition was re-opened several days later, but spectators are no longer allowed to walk through the seeds.
I can testify to the vastness of Jingdezhen and its capacity to create massive amounts of product. By Ai WeiWei's estimate, more than 1600 people were employed in Jingdezhen to produce the Tate exhibition. Enjoy the video that I posted above. It shows Jingdezhen in all of its squalor and glory. The young women in Jingdezhen almost always dress to the nines when they're working in the studio. The footage in the video of ladies in their high heels is right in line with my own experience.
In addition to the sheer, unknowable vastness of the project, I love Ai WeiWei's talk of the exhibition as a form of craftivism--calling attention to the machinations ofJingdezhen while employing massive numbers of people who could use the work (the state porcelain factories there were shut down about a decade ago). The whole town is one big gossip mill, so the fact that Ai WeiWei views the prospect of the exhibition creating an urban legend about the production of the sunflower seeds is another interesting angle that I hadn't considered.
Enjoy the video, and decide for yourself how you'd like to think about the project. I've been reading about the project for quite a while now, so it was interesting to put a human face on something with such an inhuman scale.
LINK to the video
LINK to the Tate Modern Exhibition
The Dream Dreamed Me by Virginia Fleck, recycled plastic bags
It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me. I apologize for the lack of new content on Extreme Craft. I was speaking at ReuseConEx, the first reuse conference that brought together politicians, policy wonks, activists and artists to see how everyone could get together to promote reuse instead of merely recycling.
Reuse is less energy-intensive and more cost-effective than recycling. Houses can be deconstructed into their component parts, which can then be reused in new construction. Reuse makes sense no matter how you look at it.
Artists have been involved in reuse for as long as there have been artists. Creative reuse in art may not be the way to save the world, but it is the best way to communicate the message behind reuse. Last year, I released my first book, 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, which is a collection of 1000 images of jewelry, clothing, art, design and technological geekery. As a follow-up to the book, I was asked to curate an exhibition based on the book for the American Conservation Film Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
The result is Renewal Notice, which features 32 artists from the book. Featured artists include Circe Torosian, Virginia Fleck, Krista Stumph, Alicia L. Woods, Jessica Plymate (Aaorta Apparel), Caitlin Phillips (Rebound Designs), Claire Joyce, Mandy Curl (Mandinka Designs), Marcy Bruce (Mae Henry), Sweater Hospital by fibrevolution, Kelly Wakefield-Beytia (Tresijas), Becky Johnson (Sweetie Pie Press), Valerie William, Christine Terrell, Dana Damm, Globalcoolo by Patrizia Iacino, Harriete Estel Berman, Juliet Ames (The Broken Plate Pendant Company), Kristin Lora, Monica Topping (Rock Chick Designs), Dan Jones (Tinkerbots), Henry Owings, Jim Rosenau (This into That), Jeff Davis (Vinylux), Christine Claringbold (Eye Pop Art), Boris Bally, Amanda Siska (Bread and Badger), Bryant Holsenbeck, Pattie Chalmers, Ben Schachter, Stanton Hunter, and Margaux Lange and Hilary Pfeifer.
The Exhibition will be held from November 4-7 at the gallery of the historic War Memorial Building in Shepherdstown. Shepherdstown is located 1 1/2 hours from Washington D.C. and Baltimore.
Recycle 2 Vibrant Orange Bracelet by Harriette Estelle Berman, recycled plastic (photo by Emiko Oye)
Lone Star Beer Ring by Christine Terrell, upcycled litho steel
Credit Card Cardinal by Bryant Holsenbeck, Recycled Credit Cards
Monite Man by Dan Jones (Tinkerbots), Found Objects
D.P.W. Platter by Boris Bally, re-used traffic signs, copper rivets
Since this is a film festival, I'm including a short video program in the exhibition, featuring videos by Claire Joyce, Jim Rosenau, Hilary Pfeifer, Krista Stumph and Bryant Holsenbeck.
If you live in the Washington D.C. area or in West Virginia, I'd love to see you at the festival! Contact me at garth (at) extremecraft.com if you'd like more information. There will also be a lecture and book signing on Friday, November 5th.
A big thank you goes out to all of the participating artists and the folks at the film festival. I'm looking forrard to spending a few days up in the mountains with some great art. See you in Shepherdstown!
