Two artists use paper and cloth to explore past and future
By Connie Bostic
I have a general rule about reviewing student shows: I just don’t do it First of all, most are not particularly interesting. Secondly, a too-early review can give students the wrong idea about how quickly they might become a successful artist and lead to early discouragement. But, since rules are made to be broken, I will without hesitation or guilt break my rule, not for one, but for two student exhibitions: a remarkable B.F.A. thesis exhibition by Emily Crabtree at UNC Asheville and an intensely intimate M.F.A. thesis exhibition by Britney Carroll at Western Carolina University. Both shows are intriguing conceptually and beautifully executed. Crabtree's exhibition, "Fibers of Recollection," consists of six mixed-media works on paper, two heavily painted un-stretched canvases, eight works created on layered vellum paper and one extraordinary cut-paper piece. Two of the paper pieces refer to organic cells. There are multiple layers of marks of all kinds in blacks, reds and grays. Watered-down red paint runs in blotchy streaks and pools over delicate drawings of petals and other organic shapes. The works on the semi-opaque velum are named individually but are titled collectively "Forgetting Series." A note posted beside the works encourages you to press the layers of velum so the covered images can be seen more clearly. This is a good thing, as the temptation to peek is irresistible. These images are again layered organic shapes in a variety of media. The unstretched canvas pieces give the illusion of great weight. Layers and layers of rhythmic lines and shapes dance across the surface, only to be periodically obscured by thin stripes and blotches.  The indisputable star of Crabtree’s show, however, is a piece called, liked the exhibition itself, "Fibers of Recollection." Covering the entire back wall of the small S. Tucker Cooke Gallery, it undulates with quiet delicacy across the space. This huge work is constructed entirely of cut paper. The patterns are like those used in Mexico to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Intricate shapes in subtle colors evoke loss and bitter sweet memories.  If Crabtree’s work encourages quiet, unhurried contemplation, Carroll’s work creates unease. It is all about fear of an unknown and uncertain future. She calls her exhibition "The Exposing Stitch: Personal Fears of Childbearing" and employs the skills traditionally associated with women to explore her private demons. Aprons, those functional garments worn by women in their kitchens to protect themselves from stains, spatters and spills, are Carroll's metaphors for the doubts and terrors of pregnancy and the feelings of inadequacy should infertility or miscarriages become an issue. Outside the gallery entrance, an umbilical-like cord wrapped with red thread slithers along the floor to wrap itself around and around the apron ties surrounding the neck of a dress form and ending up stuffed into a small pocket. The work is titled "Cut." Inside, Carroll displays hand-made muslin aprons of many kinds and styles on classy dress forms, black fabric female torsos on shiny black Victorian stands capped with a shiny black knob. Some aprons cover the front of the body from the neck down, others are tied around the waist. Some are short, others extend almost to the floor. Some have ruffles, others have pockets. All are embellished in ways that push your perception of just what kind of protection Carroll is looking for.  A small apron tied around the waist and banded and tied again at the bottom has only a small central pocket and a C-section red gash stitched in black. It is called "Yellow." An apron titled "Nurture" is a long bibbed apron with wide straps and a Baroque ruffle at the neck. Embroidered internal organs decorate the bib and continue down the skirt, with a kidney dangling precariously near the hem. Fear of the loss of a beautiful body is confronted in "Wilt."  The pain and dread of an episiotomy is the subject of "Snip," a small apron with a large pocket decorated with needle work depicting the surgical process; red embroidery, a red appliqué and stitches with black thread carelessly left dangling. Red yarn drips from the ballooned skirt of "Empty,"    Carroll said in an interview that some of her fears of childbirth have been alleviated by doing the research involved in the production of this body of work. "Some of my fears were based on my own ignorance," she said. She is now contemplating some performance work dealing with these issues. Both of these young women are carrying on the feminist tradition begun in the 1970s by artists like Miriam Schapiro, Mae Stevens and Judy Chicago. It will be interesting to see what difficulties they encounter in the larger art world when school is out.  "Fibers of Recollection," an installation by Emily Crabtree, was on view through December 1 at the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery, Owen Hall, UNC Asheville. "The Exposing Stitch: Personal Fears of Childbirthing," an installation by Britney Carroll, was on view at the Fine Art Museum of Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, through November 21. |
