Knitted Webs - MFA Fabric Design, Unv Georgia at Athens ca. 1976 - 1978


I went off to graduate school to get a degree to teach art to college students. Well, I didn't make it. . . yet.
During my mid program review I recall telling the faculty committee that I wanted to do my thesis on polarity as a critical factor in the creative process. I was just beginning to get deeply into mail art as well as exploring the knitting machine output. Mail art is spontaneous and romantic for me... and a bit crazy. The knitted pieces were more planned, thought out, colder. So, I had the two sides of my brain balanced: left with mail art and right with craft as art/architecture.

The committee did not like that idea at all.... too complex they said. I responded by saying it sounded as though they wanted me to do my thesis on how to make art with a knitting machine. They asked me to calm down. [I'm alway calm :) ] So, here are some passages from my thesis report with images.

Stretching the Point:
Co-ordinate Constructions
Utlilizing the Brother KH-800 Knitting Machine

. . .text to be added at some later date. You know some smart words about philosophy of art and relationships of objects in space and all that ... rup, rup.....

The earliest knitted piece was a simple panel about eight feet long and about 30 inches wide. I would knit three stitches, float the thread across the width of the piece, and then do 3 more stitches. What you see is essentially clothe with only selvidge.... nothing but loose yarn in the middle.

I began approaching this work as an exploration of limitations. How could I vary a thing that was unlimited in length, but limited to 30" in width?

I combined the single panel with three others and moved it away from the wall.

Then I spread the four pieces apart and made them portable for a traveling show.

A friend owned a yarn shop with an odd front window... she let install a piece there. There are only four panels, but the bar in the window and the draping make it appear that there are six.

Here are some more pix and here are more images scanned from past slides


Curator: geORge fORmerly in nORth carolina -- ghbrett@mindspring.com
Last Updated: 20070401 Copyright 1995-2007 geORge

Continued Thanks to Ariel MIS for hosting my pages.