Artist:
Wilson, Anne
Title:
Imperfect Sutures
Date:
1995
Object Name:
Artists' Book
Description:
"Mend the quiet rupture carefully with the intent of a surgeon repairing the severed trachea of her own child. Don't look up once to see or think about the crowds closing in, like ambulance chasers hoping to get a glimpse at what you're up to. Tend the quiet rupture patiently, insistently. No one will see the subversive mend the thread clipped meticulously from her luxuriant head." -Sally Alatalo
Imperfect Sutures was created on the occasion of fiber and concept artist Anne Wilson's solo exhibition Recent (hand)Work (1995). The poem by Sally Alatalo is accompanied by black and white reproductions of technical illustrations, photographs, and text relating to mending techniques and holes that have been cropped, edited, and decontextualized. Most of the sewing repair imagery features the mending technique of darning: sewing new warp and weft stiches to reinforce a hole, thereby prolonging the life of a garment or tablecloth. Themes of isolation, control, secrecy, and concealment emerge from this literal and visual poem reflecting on the historically gendered nature of domestic labor and handwork, but also on its transformative possibilities.
Published by Sara Ranchouse, Chicago. 8 ½ x 6 inches.
Imperfect Sutures was created on the occasion of fiber and concept artist Anne Wilson's solo exhibition Recent (hand)Work (1995). The poem by Sally Alatalo is accompanied by black and white reproductions of technical illustrations, photographs, and text relating to mending techniques and holes that have been cropped, edited, and decontextualized. Most of the sewing repair imagery features the mending technique of darning: sewing new warp and weft stiches to reinforce a hole, thereby prolonging the life of a garment or tablecloth. Themes of isolation, control, secrecy, and concealment emerge from this literal and visual poem reflecting on the historically gendered nature of domestic labor and handwork, but also on its transformative possibilities.
Published by Sara Ranchouse, Chicago. 8 ½ x 6 inches.
Material:
paper
Technique:
offset printing, pamphlet binding
People:
Alatalo, Sally
Wilson, Anne
Wilson, Anne
Source:
Zwicker, Tony
Object ID:
1999.5.1
Copyright:
Anne Wilson and Sally Alatalo. Reproduced with permission from the artist and author.
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