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Finger knitting!
- I learned how to finger knit in summer camp as a child, and I decided to try it again. I relearned the technique very quickly and this was the result (my dog was a model)
- Finger knitting can be an interesting method to pursue as it requires little equipment, and can be done using a multitude of materials to make the stitch (wires, hay, string, metal wire, fishing wire, etc.) I used outdoor string for this test, and it would prove to be a very strong handle/strap for something, or to hold something heavy
Themes I could possibly explore in a final project:
- childhood crafts repurposed
- creative reuse
- public art/yarn bombing
- Knitting is a technique of weaving fabric that has been used in a plethora of ways across different cultures and generations.
- It was a low equipment and accessible way to make clothes for regular people who could not access looms
- the first known evidence of knitting was found in the middle east in the 5th century, and travelled around to Europe and other places via trade. The first pieces of knitted things from this time period were of knit clothing made from cotton fibers by ancient Egyptians, containing symbols to ward off bad luck (see picture to right)
- It is a traditionally female craft technique, but feminist artists have been challenging knitting's classification into craft, and they have been bringing it to the forefront of their sculptural works, bringing knitting into the realm of contemporary art
Some sources:
https://www.the-sustainable-fashion-collective.com/2017/05/04/knitting-brief-history-knitting-uses
http://www.historyofclothing.com/making-clothing/history-of-knitting/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG3E44jsstY
Esna Su (@esna_su)
- One artist that has inspired me is Ensa Su, an artist I found on Instagram. She uses weaving and knitting as the main mediums of her work, crafting intricate shapes and forms, while playing with light and conceptual ideas.
- Her project statement for the work to the right:
"The sculptural pieces are made of leather from offcuts and dead stock from bag companies. I cut them into cord with scissors then I start knitting slightly smaller sizes of the shape, which the finished piece will resemble. I wetted the the knitted piece and then, to create the unique shape, I molded the knitted leather cords around a collection of cherished objects. I then removed the items inside the leather to create these bare and irregular structure.
A reminder of a life left behind…"
- I find her works delicate yet strong, and poetic in their meaning. She takes careful attention to pick her materials, and this is something I would like to incorporate into my final project: I want the material I choose to knit with to have a conceptual idea behind its choice/use. I also like that she highlights issues of consumerism, overconsumption and capitalism and creative reuse
Haegue Yang
From Artsy:
"Yang builds her mesmerizing, delightfully absurd sculptures from everyday objects ranging from frosted lightbulbs to hair rollers to fake plants to hand-knitted cosies. While not all of her works incorporate knitted and crocheted elements, allusions to craft and homemade trinkets appear across her oeuvre. When paired with industrial materials and commercial products like clothing racks, Venetian blinds, and canned goods, they become icons for contradictory feelings of belonging and alienation, safety and suffocation that domestic life can inspire. These are dichotomies with which Yang, who splits her time between Seoul and Berlin, is intimately familiar, and they emerge in big, immersive works like Sallim (2009), an abstract reimagining of her Berlin kitchen, and Cup Cosies (2011), as well as a cohort of small plastic cups blanketed with knitted covers."
- I like that Yang make awkward and absurd sculptures, juxtaposing personal and manufactured, hard and soft, craft and so-called high art. Her sculptures carry a lot of personality and have powerful and personal messages