Artcloth is not only that which we make "pretty". Sometimes we use destructive processes to make a statement or create meaning on the cloth. A powerful example of this is an installation by artist Carla Veliz, titled XXI: Who We Are and Who We Could Become. The exhibit was shown at Gallery Nord in San Antonio this past September. In an effort to represent the abuse humans have inflicted on the planet, each other and themselves over the past 21 centuries, Veliz spent 21 days ripping, burning, burying, cutting and destroying a 16-foot long piece of silk. Then she spent 21 days repairing the damage.
She documented this process in a 21 minute video. Watching the video is an emotional experience - seeing the cloth tattered and damaged and then lovingly cared for and mended. The exhibit included still photos from the video and several assemblages created from the tools she used on her journey with the cloth.
Read more about Veliz on her website.
View the following links to read more about the exhibit:
http://utsa.edu/today/2011/09/artistsofmo.html
http://glasstire.com/2011/09/09/gallery-nord-21-abusive-centuries-earthly-bodies/
http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/visual_arts/article/Tortured-silk-nudes-in-nature-on-exhibit-2161531.php#photo-1594072
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