21st CENTURY ART, C.E. - B. C.
...the geometry is the light...
WEAVING
Lenore Tawney
"I become timeless when I work with fiber. Each line, each knot is a
prayer..."
In Fields of Light, 1975, linen, 9 x 8 feet, 4 1/2
inches
"By inventing the means
to free weaving from the boundaries of the loom, [Tawmey] created fiber
sculpture that hangs freely in space. ... She weaves, hypnotized by the
gestures of her own hand, benevolently ruled by her materials. ... She
depends upon an ancient medium while exploring radically new formats. "
Janet Kardon, Director of the American Crafts Museum
"As in all Tawney's work, the past confronts the present, the East the
West, the mundane the visionary... she produces hangings that vary from
intimate fragility to majestic power. Areas of transparency often
permeate more solidly woven sections, thus allowing light to act both as
a visual and symbolic force." Katherine Kuh
Tau, 1974, linen, 6 2/3 x 9 feet.
"Throughout the work, Tawney's intention is the same -- to represent
what is not seen , to express the essence. Frequently, she does
this through the use of basic, universal symbols such as the circle within
the square (representing the unity of self) or the cross (representing the
meeting of opposites and the point at which linear and eternal time meet). The
surfaces of ["Tau" and "In Fields of Light"] are interrupted only by slits
in the tapestry that
reinforce their strong geometry, and form and color are distilled to their
essence. On this scale, the viewer is literally enveloped 'in fields of
light.'" Kathleen Nugent Mangan, from the catalogue for Tawney's Exhibit
at
the Stedelijk Musuem, Amsterdam,
1996
"I'm following the path of the heart." Tawney says, "I don't know
where the path is going."
The Crossing, 1998, waxed linen, 96 x 48 x 24", photograph by George Ermi
"The crossing: the point at which Energy is transformed, day into night,
positive into negative. Prayer is transformation, the point at which
Energy changes..." C. Vicuna 1998
from Lenore Tawney: Signs on the Wind, Postcard Collages, p. 47, to Jack Lenor Larsen,
photograph by
George Erml
*******
Tawney's work has recently been exhibited at:
The Smithsonian, Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C.;
Cleveland Museum of
Art;
The Art Institute of
Chicago; the
American Craft
Museum, NYC;
Neuberger Museum of
Art, Purchase, NY and the
Stedelijk
Museum in Amsterdam, all of which have her works in their permanent
collections.
"Lenore Tawney, A Retrospective, American Craft Museum" was published in 1990 by
Rizzoli. Lenore Tawney: Signs
on the Wind, Postcard Collages" was published by Pomeganate
in 2002.
Images Copyright © 1999 Lenore Tawney
Texts Copyright © 1999 by the individual authors and photographers
Copyright © Jan Haag 1999
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Jan Haag may be reached via e-mail: jhaag@u.washington.edu