July 20, 2009
I went traveling through the archipelago, and then to Haystack in Maine to speak at their annual conference. Both places were remote with little-to-no internet access. The archipelago was beautiful, especially Faro, the small island where Bergman lived for 40 years. I saw a movie theater (converted from an old barn) where Bergman used to watch his dailies. The guy who now runs the theater told me that Bergman hired a projectionist to screen a film for him every day at 3pm- Bergman used to have fifty 35 mm prints sent to him at a time. Pre-Netflix. Maine was reminiscent of the Swedish archipelago- lots of tiny islands, cold water, same weather, gorgeous moss. I was in Maine for Haystack's annual conference, where Neil Gershenfeld, Director of the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT, rocked everyone with stories about his fab labs. http://ng.cba.mit.edu/ Now I'm home in Brooklyn. On Saturday I went to an Evernyl exhibition opening, had a heated bocce match, and watched people swim in p... Read more.
June 29, 2009
Sometime in the weeks between my last post and today, I started to feel like I live here in Stockholm. I developed favorite restaurants, shortcuts and people. My husband arrived and started working, so when I come home he's there video editing just like in Brooklyn. The sun came out, and stayed, and the weather is just perfect. It's hard to imagine going home. There are things I'll be happy to be see in New York again - Mexican food, Thai food, my bathub, and DIY craft stores. For a country so steeped in traditional craft, with such a wealth of interesting contemporary, conceptual craft practitioners, writers and curators, there really is a void of stores/fairs/gathering spots for crafting. What they do really well here is the very, very old craft establishments that still hold lots of promise- like a 130+ old store in Sodermalm that only sells ribbons. Amazing place. There's also a yarn store that's also over 100 years old. There's a long tradition of cit... Read more.
June 10, 2009
It's been raining for days, and it's supposed to continue for another week. It's started to get dreary around here, but at least we have sunlight until 1am. That and a few cultural events of note are helping to keep me out of the Art Hotel, where I am living. My exhibition "Watch & See" opens tonight in Gustavsbergs. http://www.gustavsbergskonsthall.se/Utstallningar01_ENG.html Many people are still out of town, in Venice for the Biennale or in Basel for the big art fair, so I doubt it will be a packed opening. The Svenska Dagbladet did run a piece about the opening in today's paper, so maybe that will entice a few people. The article in the paper included a photo of me that was taken by Faythe Levine when she came to my studio to interview me for her film "Handmade Nation." (http://indiecraftdocumentary.blogspot.com/) Note to all readers: when you make an appointment to be filmed, make sure you do not arrive to the scheduled shoot hung over. I look absolutely terrible in the photo... Read more.
May 30, 2009
I've moved into a new apartment with steady(ish) internet access, but have been working so much in my studio that I haven't had time to get online. Today I opened up my dusty computer and read tons of emails about the upcoming Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn. It's one of the best DIY craft fairs out there, so if you haven't been, I highly recommend it. All the details are at: www.renegadecraft.com. Feeling sad to miss it, I went to my crafty friends blogs to check in on them and see what they're doing. Cal Patch is teaching sewing and embroidery classes and taking care of baby guinea hens: http://hodgepodgefarm.blogspot.com/. Lisa Anne Auerbach is planting seeds: http://stealthissweater.blogspot.com/. Rachael Matthews is facilitating the completion of UFOs (abandoned, unfinished knitting projects): http://prickyourfinger.blogspot.com. What have you been doing? ... Read more.
May 18, 2009
Today David Shrigley (www.davidshrigley.com), a Glasgow- based artist who is also here in Stockholm like me on a IASPIS (www.iaspis.com) residency, told me he wanted to show me one of his recent drawings. He said it had yarn and bobbins in it. Then he said, "oh wait or do you hate that? Do you not want to be known as the yarn girl and have people showing you all kinds of things related to yarn and sewing all the time?" "I mean," he went on, "I hate it when people send me links to drawings that look my drawings, I don't like other drawings that look like my drawings." He showed me his yarn drawing anyway. It's true that I get a lot of emails from friends of friends or distant relatives or people I have never met who send me links to articles or blogs or videos that are somehow yarn-related. Occasionally it's annoying, yes, but usually I like it. Today Judi Werthein (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4445342.stm), another IASPIS artist-in-residence, s... Read more.
May 16, 2009
I've been internet-less for a while. At first it was a great vacation, and I loved being unlocateable, but then I felt disconnected and miserable. When I was finally able to go back online today I binged on gmail, Facebook, Etsy, and Skype, and now my eyes hurt and I miss home and my friends. I have discovered some great things in Stockholm while wandering the streets without a cell phone, most importantly OLD TOUCH which is an amazing and aptly named antique store filled with wonderful buttons, beautiful lace, choice clothes and other old timey remnants for super reasonable prices. I bought a lace handkerchief, a picture frame and a small beaded bag for a project I'm working on. It's an art piece for people to touch but not look at. It's going pretty well except I have to keep reminding myself that colors and patterns don't matter because no one will see them. ... Read more.
April 28, 2009
I've made it to Stockholm. Flying still seems like a miracle. Especially when the plane is outfitted with cameras that will show you the view below and in front of the plane, during the whole trip, from take-off to landing. I've mostly stayed within 20 blocks of where I'm living, but so far the city is clean, sunny and beautiful. I have terrible jet lag and have been staying up all night. When the spotty internet connection fails in my room and I get cut off from YouTube, I turn to "RE:FORM: Contemporary Swedish Crafts," edited by Hanna Ljungstrom and Ulf Beckman. The book includes essays on Swedish craft today, and lots of images of craft work. My favorite project is a pair of earrings that can double as earplugs, made by Peter Andersson. There seems, in this book at least, to be a movement in contemporary Swedish craft towards ambiguity, surrealism, and disorientation. Yet there is still respect for utility. Or as Emma Olsson, one essayist, writes: "Li... Read more.
April 23, 2009
Today I packed up one residency to start two more- one that will take me across the ocean to Stockholm, and another that will happen here. From January until today, I worked in the Museum of Arts and Design's Open Studios once a week. The space had an incredible view of Columbus Circle and Central Park. When I began in January, the ground was spotted with snow, the little circular park around the marble statue of Columbus was empty, and the park was barren. I often stood by the studio window and watched traffic going around and around and around the circular park outside. Traffic is fascinating in the way the ocean is- it has movement and variation but a kind of changeless quality too. Museum visitors would stand with me and speak about what Columbus Circle was like before the Time Warner building, before the Trump Tower, and before the museum. I had a hard time picturing it. Today as I was boxing up my materials, I was stunned to see how the tiny circular park had become a co... Read more.
Sabrina Gschwandtner
Sabrina Gschwandtner is an artist, writer and curator whose work bridges the fields of conceptual art, handcraft, activism and social history. Her artwork combines photographic and textile media in videos and installations that document or provoke participation, tactility, political discourse and slowness. She received her BA in art/ semiotics from Brown University, and an MFA from Bard College. She currently lives in New York City.
Sabrina's book KnitKnit: Profiles and Project's from Knitting's New Wave was published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang in 2007. She completed a 16 city US/UK book tour in early 2008. She has written articles, reviews and creative text for a variety of publications including American Craft, Cabinet, Fiberarts, Interweave Knits, Craft, Rowan, Selvedge, Vogue Knitting, the Millennium Film Journal and the Journal of Modern Craft.
Her curatorial work includes KnitKnit, a limited edition artist's publication included in the permanent collections of the Fine Arts Library, Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Sabrina has produced screenings, art exhibitions and public crafting events at sites such as Printed Matter (NYC), Fritz Haeg's Sundown Salon (Los Angeles) and Light Industry (Brooklyn, NY). Sabrina served as Artist Consultant for the Museum of Arts and Design's 2007/8 "Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting" exhibition.
Sabrina is the recent recipient of an International Artist's Studio Program residency in Sweden. She will reside and make new work in Stockholm from late April to early July, 2009. While she's there, Sabrina will also serve as Broken Pencil's indie artist in residence, blogging about art, craft and everything in between.