more on artist Nick Cave

I saw this piece at the Milwaukee Art Museum and I just loved it. A cross between a cactus and a Christmas tree and it is a costume! What the heck is this anyway? The artist, Nick Cave, refers to them as "soundsuits." I went scouting on the world wide web and found some more great images and videos of his work. I had to share it because I think it is so very awesome!

Buy photographs of the soundsuits here

Buy photographs of the soundsuits here

Go see more! (yes, you! yes, right now!):

Soundsuits in motion (only 53 seconds)


More soundsuits in motion + interview (2 minutes)


Interview with Nick Cave by Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston (13 minutes)

Wisconsin love: Milwaukee art museum (the modern stuff)

My five-year-old commented "If it is a museum for art it makes sense that the building is art too."
Be still, my heart! Architect for this portion is Santiago Calatrava.

If you follow me on Instagram (@amandabridle) you know I have a real love for what I call "weird art." If something is completely out there and strange and unlike anything I've seen before, well, that's just my favorite. I like unique explorations. I was delighted to find that my visit to the Milwaukee Art Museum featured plenty of the strange and modern. As a bonus, some of the artists are still living and currently working and I've added them to my Instagram feed so I can keep up with their work.

Edge of England by Cornelia Parker
Yes, this does make me want to hang strings of objects in my house. 

I came around the corner and saw this scene and my heart beat a little faster. For real!

Bluffs by Tara Donovan
 Made entirely of buttons and glue. For real.
I saw her work at the Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C. as well.

High Rise by Claire Zeisler

terraform 02 by Jason S. Yi
This piece is made of metal folding chairs, plastic stretch wrap, and plastic ties.

Detail of a large wall-sized piece Remember Me, Katrina by Susie Ganch.
Made of plastic coffee cup lids.

Soundsuit by Nick Cave
This was my all-time favorite!

DC inspiration: Textile Museum (part 1)

One of the places I was most excited about visiting in Washington, D.C. is pretty much on no one else's must-see list. It is not a monument and although it is a museum I doubt it is all that famous. It was the Textile Museum on the campus of George Washington University. I have long loved fabric and pattern even before I started sewing and quilting. And now that I am a sewer and quilter, well, my interest is even higher.

I had a day to myself while my husband was working (the actual reason behind the trip!) and a stop here was my first destination of the day. I am just going to put it out there that I used a map and got myself there with very little problem. I was rather proud and if you knew my navigational history you would be proud of me too.

At any rate, when I visited they had two big exhibits. One was titled Stories of Migration: Contemporary Artists Interpret Diaspora. Diaspora is when people groups move, or are forced to move, from their homeland to somewhere else. A fitting theme for modern times but also one with huge historic connections, especially considering the impact of slavery on the formation of the United States. There was a huge range of experiences represented by the artists but of course all used textiles in their work. So very inspiring! I will share a few of my favorites.

Blood Line by Alice Beasley
Alice Beasley uses a train metaphor to explore her family's story and experience with slavery. The final train car incorporates images of her relatives and includes an image of herself, looking back over the history through the lens of her cell phone. The level of detail in the work is astounding. I am very curious about this style of illustrating using thread and fabric and have been following some artists on Instagram who are doing work. Ms. Beasley's website features a video on the creation of this particular piece. You can also see other examples of her beautiful work on her site.

Sky Prayers – Memory of Sky by Melody Money 
This piece was created in honor of the people of Tibet. It is quite sizable but the intricate, small details make it even more impressive. Tiny triangles of fabric, tiny hand-sewn beads, and even the quilting itself. Just breath-taking. Melody's website shows a full portfolio, including a whole series of Sky Prayers.

Implosion 4 by Beth Barron
This mandala is made entirely of found band-aids. The band-aids are a symbol of wounding and healing and the piece is about finding one's home within oneself after being lost. This falls into the category of strange, never-before-seen modern art that I always appreciate. And it certainly stretches my mind in terms of what can be stitched and sewn.

I am going to post part 2 of my Textile Museum experience tomorrow. This has already gotten quite long and there are a few more things I just can't resist sharing with you!

Adventures in art

In May my husband and I headed off on a weekend away to celebrate our anniversary. He always surprises me and makes all the plans himself. This year he very generously planned our trip around a huge craft show and art show that happen simultaneously in East Lansing. I should mention that of the two of us I am the one with interest in art. He doesn't really share it but like a good spouse he'll share the experience of it with me. So like I said, very generous.

Besides the weekend event, there is a new(ish) art museum on the campus of Michigan State University that I have been talking about seeing for a year or so now. So that, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, was actually our first stop. The architecture alone is worth a visit. It is awesome and angular and so very foreign among the more traditional brick buildings. I loved it!

The interior gallery space reminds me a lot of Grand Rapids' own UICA – odd shaped, cement walls, an interesting challenge to any artist showing site-specific works there.

I do want to point you to this article (with pics) on artist Imran Qureshi. His work was very interesting and somewhat disturbing but from a marketing standpoint it was kind of neat to come across it painted on sidewalks throughout town.

My very favorite piece was Border Unseen by Mithu Sen. It is made of fake teeth and something pink that looks like your gums. It stretched through a long narrow space like a dinosaur's spine. The walls were painted the same shade of pink. And if you looked carefully there were tiny little figurines perched amongst the teeth. Was it strange? Absolutely! Disturbing? Absolutely! Awesome? Absolutely! I love weird modern art that looks absolutely nothing like anything I've ever seen before. What a challenge and an inspiration to my own visual dictionary.

There was also an exhibit of quilts from Pakistan and East India that I appreciated. The level of skill was astounding.