Exhibitions at the Tate Modern and the Fashion & Textile Museum

On Saturday, I met up with a former work colleague, Jan, and we went to the Tate in the morning and the Fashion & Textile Museum in the afternoon. 

At the Tate I was quite taken with the work of Marisa Merz, who worked in the style of Arte Povera.  Arte Povera was active from 1967-72, and was "the art of poverty" in Italy.  It reflected simple objects and messages, made the everyday meaningful, embodied dynamism and energy, and the body, behaviour and nature were art. Marisa Merz was the only female in this movement. Her work focussed specifically on organic forms, a focus on subjectivity, the use of lower forms of art, such as the crafts, and the relationship between art and life. I was very much taken with her work.  On display was a piece of circular knitting - made from found objects in her home - wooden sticks and recycled nylon.  To me, it showed the beauty in the domestic environment - using the type of ordinary materials used by many women - but considered and displayed as art.  Most of the other Arte Povera work on display left me completely cold, but her work was brilliant because of how it reflected women's work. 

This made me consider the contrast between my feelings for Arte Povera, and the Arts & Crafts movements.  I really get her focus on the domestic subject from a female perspective, utilisation of craft techniques like knitting, and seeing art in the domestic.  Yet I had thought this was largely what Arts & Crafts was about.  However, now I have reflected on Arts & Crafts, this was much more about the decoration of the beautifully made object, rather than the utilisation of what was available.  Arts & Crafts was highly historically referenced, and authentic in its use of correct materials and techniques, and would therefore have been much more expensive, unlike Arte Povera.  However Arts  & Crafts also valued the usefulness of domestic items, but spent more time and effort decorating them.

Then Jan and I went to the Kaffe Fassett retrospective at the Fashion & Textile Musuem.  I have seen this heavily promoted, yet there were comparatively few people there.  I wonder whether most visitors are from school trips, and therefore in term time?  His work is highly coloured and patterned, and is needlepoint, knitting or quilting.  I had heard that there had been considerable debate between Kaffe Fassett and the exhibitors about how to best display the works.  I think the exhibitors won, but I could see how there might have been differences of opinion on display technique.  I found it all rather over-powering.  Highly coloured and busy quilts were displayed on walls that had been painted a matching, but very bright colour.  Spotlights were used extensively, giving deep shadows and bright highlights.  Some beautifully worked needlepoint items were displayed in cylindrical glass tabletops, bunched up together and detracting from each other.  Cushions were displayed in black and white tubes, suspended 5 above each other, reaching 20 feet up the wall, so you could only see the bottom 2 clearly, and needed to stand on the other side of the room, looking between two pillars, to see them all.  Other quilts were displayed, wound around the pillars, but about 10 feet above ground level, so you could not see them clearly.

The knitting was better displayed, spaced out so you could see the workmanship, although I don't think his knitting is his best work.  I like his needlepoint where he represents ordinary objects in stitch, celebrating things that are often very ordinary and overlooked - like fruit and veg.  I find his quilts too bright and busy, although if a single quilt were used on a bed I am sure it would look much better in an ordinary setting than cluttered with many other busy objects.

I will see this exhibition again, with another friend who is a quilter, and I am looking forward to having another chance to reflect on a very intriguing set of work.