The knitting machine post I did last week brought me in contact with two great knitters. The first was Cathy Kasdan and her knit dress and the next is artist George Brett who created this beautiful knit art installation that was on display at the Old Dominion University Gallery, ODU, in Norfolk, VA back in 1979. Created on his Brother KH-800 knitting machine, this knitted sculpture is made with cotton tobacco twine.
George writes:
My earlier works explored spider webs done on medium to very large scale. The largest web I made was one that stretched about 40-50 feet between two dorms at Florida State University and went all the way to the 5th floor. The webs were knotted cotton twine and I made my own shuttles that resembled net shuttles used by fishermen.
I never did get a job using my MFA because in 1978-80 university departments were looking for traditional fiber / textile crafts instructors. They were looking for weavers, basket makers, or silk screen printmakers. My work was too off of the wall — too marginal. I upset the sculptors because craft was not supposed to be “precious” or presented as fine art.
Well, we at CRAFT are glad that George Brett marched to his own creative craft/art ideas bringing us more inspiration and beautiful knit art. As an added note, George also carves his own rubber stamps and you can also check out his previous craft projects (pre-flickr days). Thanks George for sharing!
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