New York City Trip!

 (Meeting Wednesday, 7PM @ Vegas BLVD)
 
The KGC is jumping the train next Thursday, September 9. At the Christopher Henry Gallery in the lower east side we will find Olek's first solo show, "Knitting is for P****."

Christopher Henry Gallery proudly presents Knitting is for Pus****, its first solo show of Polish-born New York-based artist Olek.  Hundreds of miles of crocheted, weaved, and often recycled materials, forms, and spaces are the fabric from which the wild and occasionally functional structures of Olek’s fantasylands are born.  Olek has, in essence, reassessed the readymades of Marcel Duchamp.  The gallery will serve as the “home base” for Olek’s exhibit, a multi-media sculptural environment, featuring an entire room completely covered in crochet. Additionally, the viewers/participants may follow her threads out of the gallery using a map to discover new objects added weekly she has crocheted and intertwined throughout the neighborhoods of NOLITA and L.E.S.
Olek’s use of crochet has no relation to the world of craft, rather it is used as an alternative to other artistic mediums such as oil or acrylic on canvas.   Its use can be interpreted as a metaphor for the complexity and interconnectedness of the body, its systems and psychology, and, in a broader sense, it can represent humanity itself.  The connections are stronger as one fabric, as opposed to separate strands, but, if you cut one, the whole thing will fall apart.  It also serves as a literal extension of the body, a second skin that can be stretched and reshaped.  Olek’s use of crochet is not a feminist critique – her obsessive use of the medium, often denigrated as “women’s work”, combined with Olek’s recurring camouflage motif and the impressive scale of her projects, challenges traditional notions of gender, as she aggressively re-weaves the world as she sees fit.  Common reactions to the work include "I wonder if this was all done by hand" from women, and "I wonder how big the crew was" from men.  These dialogues, centered around performer, object and observer, stimulate an interplay that is the art.   In a new series of text based works Olek contrasts the convenience and spontaneity of "txt msgs" to her time-consuming, laborious crochet, reevaluating the notions of privacy, communication, and technology while immortalizing the intense yet fleeting sentiments of modern relationships.
Due to the labor-intensive nature of her work, Olek often finds herself alone for hours and days… creating a desire to connect with other artists, thus collaborations are always a welcome opportunity.  The 2nd floor exhibition Tied by the Yarn (Olek’s Collaborators), is a product of sweat, alcohol, arguments and friendship.  Featured collaborators include: Johnny Ranger, for the SEIS MIL ANTENAS video series; with additional videos by Katie Shelly and Naomi White; photography by Emily Keegin, Alexandros Lambrovassilis and Naomi White; and sculpture by Vidal Centeno and Tristan Fitch.

The opening is from 6-9pm (not during peak train fare!) and we'll have plenty of time to walk the city... and possibly add a bit to it. Fare is only about $27.00! Think about it, when's the last time you went to NYC to see anything like this?

xoxo

kc

eat your veggies!!!

Hello. First, I cannot believe I just straight up forgot to go. Musta had a severe brain-freeze! Missed being there last night, too!

Second, I found a pic that I think you all, but especially CK will love. I sure did!



Now you can have the veggies your mother got on your case about, but not necessarily have to eat them.

Just kidding, eat your veggies!!!

Let there be BEARDS!!! (and meetings)

Meeting Wednesday, 7pm at Real Art Ways.

And now, for your viewing pleasure....

xoxo
ck

what the...

I was reading my Twitter feed a couple of days ago. Say what you will about Twitter, but I love seeing what goes on in peoples heads and lives. I'm nosy like that. Roger Ebert has a great feed. If you have an account, I highly suggest you follow him.

Sometimes he posts pictures that he asks for captions to. This picture he posted the other day with the request "knitting in need of a caption". I think it should have read Knitting in Need of an Explanation!



I love it, but what is it?!

You guys seem to be pretty Internet Saavy. If you find where this was originally posted, let me know. It's vexing me...

See you guys tonight!

Meeting Wednesday!

Be there or be square. 7PM @ Real Art Ways. There will be a blow-up doll. We should also order food. We should also take a walk!

Oh! Plus Vivi and I recently bombed the Hartford Farmer's Market in the West End!

xoxo

CK

so I was talking to our invisible member yesterday, and he tells me that he tried to post a link to the blog, but had a little trouble. now I shall help a poor soul out and hip you to the link.

I would never be out of gifts again!

I have a handle for him too: J-hook! now I can be slightly less vague when referring to him!

See you Wednesday!

Pizza!!!

Hey guys and gals,

Let's meet Wednesday at Vegas Blvd around 7pm. RAW is busy with another event. I'm totally game for pizza Also - if anyone has any crochet books can you bring them? I tempted to start calling crochet, crotch-it.

xxx

CK

Artist Spotlight: Mark Newport

Today's blog is dedicated to the marvelous works of the artist, Mark Newport. One of my friends and co-workers who goes to the Cranbrook Academy of Art notified me of this artist-in-residence. He freakin' knits superhero costumes! No joke! They are all perfectly sized to fit him, and he looks great. Check out his website here.  Meeting Wednesday, RAW @ 7PM!

Artist Statement

These characters are childhood memories of the ultimate man – the Dad every boy wants, the man every boy wants to grow up to be. My hand knit acrylic re-creations of these heroes’ costumes combine their heroic, protective, ultra masculine, yet vulnerable personas with the protective gestures of my mother – hand knit acrylic sweaters meant to keep me safe from New England winters. The costumes are life-size, my size, wearable objects that hang limply on hangers challenging the standard muscular form of the hero and offering the space for someone to imagine themselves wearing the costume, becoming the hero. They become the uniforms I can wear to protect my family from the threats (bullies, murderers, terrorists, pedophiles, and fanatical messianic characters) we are told surround us.
The Sweatermen, Every-Any-No Man, and Bobbleman are heroes of my own invention. They push the image of the hero by highlighting knitting materials, textures, and traditions (cables and the use of “ends” to make a sweater) in the form of the costume. Some of the color and texture choices are based on the sweaters my mother made, her love of cables and her color choices. In these I work to forge the link between childhood experience and an adult understanding of protection, masculinity, and heroism.
Performances, prints, and photographs are my opportunity to expand the narratives the suits suggest to me. While earlier works in print and photography focused on the hero in the costume, where and how he functions, these pieces start to explore the alter ego within the costume and the connotations of knitting in relation to various roles and activities. Knitting remains the questionable activity for the protagonist while costumes change to more socially accepted garb. In each scenario the knitting seems out of place or defensive. Is the man in “Pick-Up” attracting or repelling the woman speaking to him with his knitting? How do these different stereotypes of men relate to an activity like knitting?

xoxo

ck


PS - I LEARNED HOW TO CROCHET!!!