AT THE DENVER ART MUSEUM IN

COLORADO, AN EXHIBITION OFFERS

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE.

FROM CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS TO

THE AMERICAN WEST,

PRE-COLUMBIAN WEAVINGS

TO NAVAJO DESIGN,

"SPUN: ADVENTURES IN TEXTILES"

IS REDEFINING WHAT SOME MAY

TYPICALLY PERCEIVE AS ART.

♪

"SPUN" AT THE DENVER ART

MUSEUM IS A CAMPUS-WIDE

EXHIBIT THAT WRAPS PEOPLE'S

MINDS IN TEXTILES.

AND FROM PRE-COLUMBIAN

WEAVINGS TO CONTEMPORARY LIGHT

INSTALLATIONS, DAM IS PUSHING

THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT ONE

MIGHT CONSIDER TO BE FIBER

ART.

IT'S AN EYE-OPENER FOR WHAT

TODAY WE TAKE FOR GRANTED.

THIS EXHIBITION FUNCTIONS ON

SO MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS.

ONE IS EXACTLY THAT, FUNCTION,

HOW DIFFERENT TEXTILES MIGHT

HAVE BEEN USED OR WERE USED,

WHETHER IT'S FOR WARMTH AND

COMFORT WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING,

PROTECTION, SAY, FOR RITUALS.

THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT

TECHNIQUES REPRESENTED IN THIS

EXHIBITION.

PEOPLE THINK OF WEAVING AND

EMBROIDERY PERHAPS OFF THE TOP

OF THEIR HEADS BUT BY

EXTENSION QUILTING AND

COVERLETS, TAPESTRY, BLOCK

PRINTING, RESIST DYEING, SO

ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO

DECORATE THAT PIECE OF CLOTH.

BUT IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT

CLOTH FOR TODAY'S ARTISTS.

MANY ARE EXPERIMENTING,

WEAVING TOGETHER UNEXPECTED

MATERIALS AND ECHOING THE

LAYERS AND DEPTH FOUND IN MORE

TRADITIONAL TEXTILE WORKS.

THERE ARE A PLETHORA OF

MATERIALS AVAILABLE TO ARTISTS

TODAY, AND THIS IS SUCH AN

INCREDIBLE REPRESENTATION OF

OVER 40 YEARS OF CONTEMPORARY

ART.

AND YOU CAN REALLY SEE,

WHETHER IT'S TEXTILES, WOOD,

CHARRED WOOD, LIGHT, THERE'S

DIFFERENT MEDIUMS THROUGHOUT

THIS EXHIBITION THAT REALLY

LURE YOU IN.

IT'S DIFFERENT THAN THE

HISTORIC TEXTILE GALLERIES

WHERE THERE IS MUCH MORE OF A

FUNCTIONAL ASPECT TO THE WORK.

IN THIS SHOW, IT'S MORE

ARTISTS OF OUR OWN TIME

THINKING ABOUT ISSUES THAT ARE

RELEVANT TO US LIVING TODAY.

THIS IS A YOUNG ARTIST.

SHE'S TAKEN APART CHILDREN'S

TEDDY BEARS AND THEN

RECONSTITUTED THEM.

THIS RUG AND THIS WALL PIECE

AND CREATES A SORT OF

RORSCHACH PATTERN, THE

INK-BLOT TEST.

SO THEY ARE HAVING FUN WITH

MATERIALS AND THINKING ABOUT

HOW WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OUT OF

THEIR NORMAL CONTEXT THEY

MIGHT MEAN SOMETHING

DIFFERENT.

I MADE THESE WORKS IN THE

EARLY '90s AT THE HEIGHT OF

THE AIDS CRISIS.

A LOT OF MY FRIENDS WERE

DYING, AND THIS WORK REALLY

WAS IN RESPONSE TO THAT.

SO FOR ME TO PLOW MY WAY

SYSTEMATICALLY THROUGH TIME BY

KNITTING FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS

OF KNITTING ABOUT 12 HOURS,

13 HOURS A DAY.

SO IT WAS A WAY FOR ME TO KEEP

TRACK AND ALSO TO MEDITATE ON

THE PASSAGE OF TIME.

ARTIST OLIVER HERRING'S

WORK IS A REFLECTION OF HIS

EXPERIENCE.

I ASKED CURATOR ALICE ZREBEIC

HOW OTHER PEOPLE THROUGHOUT

HISTORY HAVE USED MATERIALS

AND AS A RESULT, WHAT WE LEARN

ABOUT CULTURE.

TEXTILES SAY A LOT ABOUT

CULTURE.

IT COULD BE THE MATERIAL,

BECAUSE CERTAIN AREAS OF THE

WORLD HAVING FLOCKS OF SHEEP,

AND THEY MIGHT BE MAKING THEIR

TEXTILES FROM WOOL.

OTHERS MIGHT HAVE FLAX OR

LINEN.

OTHERS ARE SILK-GROWING

CULTURES.

SO WHERE YOU LIVE IN THE

WORLD, THAT'S GOING TO

INFLUENCE TO A DEGREE WHAT

YOUR TEXTILES ARE MADE FROM.

OF COURSE, TRADE IS A BIG PART

OF THAT, AND PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS

INCORPORATING THINGS TAKEN

FROM A DISTANCE INTO THEIR

OWN.

COLOR CHOICES CAN BE DICTATED

BY CULTURE.

YOU'LL SEE LOT OF INDIGO IN

THE SHOW.

MANY OF THOSE TEXTILES ARE

FROM JAPAN, WHEREAS THE UZBEK

IS A FLAME OF COLORS.

THEY ARE IN AN ART MUSEUM, AND

WE ARE APPRECIATING THEM FOR

EITHER A FABULOUS DESIGN,

BEAUTIFUL WORKMANSHIP, BUT

OBJECT.

SO WE'RE HERE IN THE QUILT

STUDIO, WHICH IS

PART OF "SPUN."

WHY DID THE MUSEUM

WANT TO INCLUDE A SPACE

LIKE THIS, JENNA?

THIS IS NOT YOUR GRANDMA'S

QUILT STUDIO.

THIS IS REALLY ABOUT

CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE, SO

REALLY THINKING ABOUT THE WAYS

THAT COLORS AND PATTERNS AND

DIFFERENT TEXTURES WORK, WHICH

IS EXACTLY THE SAME PROCESS

THAT A PAINTER OR A SCULPTOR

GOES THROUGH IN MAKING THE

CREATIVE DECISION.

THERE ARE LABELS THROUGHOUT

THE EXHIBITION.

YOU CAN USE YOUR MOBILE PHONE

AND TAKE A PICTURE OF THE QR

CODE BENEATH THE LABEL, AND IT

TAKES YOU TO VIDEOS AND THE

ARTISTS TALKING ABOUT THEIR

WORK.

I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY THAT

ALL ART IS INTERACTIVE.

A LOT OF CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS,

THE VIEWER COMPLETES THE

PIECE, SO IT IS AN INTERACTIVE

THING.

WE ALL BRING BAGGAGE AND

DIFFERENT MEANINGS TO WORK.

THE TRANSPOSITION IS LOOKING

AT INTERACTIVITY THROUGH

TECHNOLOGY, AND THAT'S A VERY

NEW THING.

ONLY THE ACCESSIBILITY OF

YOUNG ARTISTS BEING ABLE TO

WORK WITH TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE A

PIECE LIKE THAT HAS ONLY COME

ABOUT IN THE LAST DECADE.

YOUR MOVEMENT IS PICKED UP BY

CAMERAS THAT YOU DON'T SEE AND

IS TRANSLATED THROUGH SOFTWARE

TO CREATE THIS MOVEMENT THAT'S

PROJECTED ONTO THE WALL.

IT BECOMES THIS OPTICAL

BEAUTIFUL.

BUT IT ALSO MAKES YOU AWARE OF

YOUR BODY AND OWN MOVEMENTS.

PIECE.

IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT WAY OF

THINKING ABOUT MAKING ART.

SO ART IS NO LONGER JUST A

PAINTING OR A SCULPTURE OR

PHOTOGRAPHY, FOR THAT MATTER.

CONTEMPORARY ART.

YOU CAN SEE THE SORT OF

TRANSGRESSION OF HOW THEY ARE

ALL CONTINUING TO PUSH THE

LIMITS OF WHAT A PIECE OF WOOD

CAN DO OR JUST FABRIC AND

MATERIALS, IN GENERAL, TO

CONVEY THESE VERY DEEP,

THOUGHTFUL, EMOTIONAL, AND

POLITICAL RESPONSES.

FOR MORE ON THIS EXHIBIT,

VISIT: