Drawing with Scissors and People Place Thing at the TMC

I went to the Textile Museum on Friday afternoon and finally saw the exhibition Person Place Thing, which showcases the work of Lia Cook, David R. Harper and Stephen Schofield. I saw David R. Harper's work earlier in the year at MKG 127, and was wondering how a reading of his work would change in a much bigger space.

Though I enjoyed seeing Harper's work in a larger space and appreciated the supplementary exhibition texts to guide me through his conceptual concerns, the real stand out of this show was Stephen Schofield. His work involves the stiffening of salvaged fabric with sugar water to create amazing three-dimensional inflated figures that not only have integrity to real human proportions and anatomy, but are also expressive, quirky, and incredibly playful.

Also up at the TMC is the exhibition Drawing with Scissors: Molas from Kuna Yala. This utterly packed exhibition showcases the decorative panels from the blouses of Kuna-- an autonomous ethnic group that is native to a small island off the coast of Panama. The molas are intricately embroidered and reverse-appliqued with handsewn geometric patterns and imagery as diverse as roosters, baseball players, labyrinth-like designs and Tony the Tiger. Through the history and subject matter/imagery of molas, the exhibition touches on themes such as colonialism, craft, spirituality, matrilocal customs and globalization.

Images, from top:

Stephen Schofield, Dibutade 1

Example of a Mola (A reimagining of the Victor/RCA logo?)

Lia Cook, Big Maze

David R. Harper, The Last to Win