A giant coral forest crocheted out of wool and plastic trash; a life-sized crochet reproduction of a mountain lion; undulating playspaces handicrafted from tons of nylon fiber. Crochet has long since burst traditional boundaries and established itself as a sculptural medium. In this event at the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, Crochet Coral Reef co-creator Christine Wertheim is joined by two other internationally acclaimed fiber artists – Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam and Shauna Richardson – for a discussion about the new ‘radical craft’ movement, and how crochet can open unexpected paths to imagining and being in the world. The event is presented in conjunction with the NYUAD Institute’s exhibition of the Crochet Coral Reef. Panel moderated by Jill Magi.
Crocheted playspace by Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam.
Panelists:
Christine Wertheim: Co-creator of the Crochet Coral Reef project, Christine Wertheim is also a poet-performer-artist-critic-curator-crafter-and-collaborator who teaches at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. Wertheim’s work operates at the intersections of art, language, semiotics and embodiment. [See more]
Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam: For the past twenty years, Japanese artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam has been crocheting giant sculptural ‘playscapes.’ These fantastical undulating structures – at once visually gorgeous and functional – aim to connect art with the human body, providing visual, tactile and kinetic pleasure. [See more]
Shauna Richardson: British artist Shauna Richardson invented the term Crochetdermy® to describe her unique body of work – an on-going taxonomy of realistic life-size animal sculptures created using crochet . By employing traditional craft, objects, the plinth, the artists hand, audience, realism, and popularity, Richardson asks questions that challenge ideas about what constitutes ‘art’ in the modern world. [See more]
Moderator: Jill Magi Senior Lecturer, Writing Program, NYUAD
“Crochetdermy” black panther (life-size) by Shauna Richardson.