R E V I E W
Data Processing
The New Materiality
Digital Dialogues at the
Boundaries of Contemporary Craft
Fuller Craft Museum
Brockton,
MA
May 29,2010 - Feb. 6,2011
fullercraft.org
By Christy DeSmith
M A D A M c y W A L K F .R ( L A R G E ) ,
a wall sculpture by textile artist
Sonya Clark, is constructed
entirely out of hair combs—
those skinny plastic ones that
barbers collect in Barbicide jars.
When viewed from afar, the
2008 tapestry looks exactly as it
should: a portrait of a beauty
mogul, the first African-
American millionairess.
Up close, though, the hom-
age is upstaged by Clark’s bril-
liant construction. Here, you’re
hit with how meticulously she
has removed certain of each
comb’s teeth to create the pic-
ture, something she accom-
plished with the help of digital
imaging and pixilation.
Madam C J Walker
is one of
the more delightful encounters
you’ll have at “The New Mate-
riality,” the Fuller Craft Mu-
seum’s bold exploration of
craft, art, design and the dis-
solving boundaries in between.
A small collection of tapestry,
installation and sculpture
prompts viewers to reconsider
their notions of craft, though
the most provocative fodder is
within the exhibition’s very
title: Curator Fo Wilson, a
writer, furniture maker and
assistant professor at the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin-Milwau-
kee, means to suggest that art-
ists now use digital technology
just as they would any other
material, like wood or clay.
In practice, the exhibition’s
most beautiful objects don’t
come with an Ethernet cable;
024 american craft dec/jan и
Photo Taylor Dabney
