The
Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum will present the special exhibit
Weaving Traditions on May 10 through August 3, 2008. The
framework for the show is derived from the museum’s American
Indian collection. An array of 19th-century Navajo
blankets and basketry from Western tribes will be displayed from
the Museum’s collection.. Complementing these historic pieces
will be contemporary works that are either woven or incorporate
weaving in their design. They include sculpture, hangings and
functional fiber art and craft such as table runners and rugs.
Weaving Traditions is sponsored by the Mary Taylor Family Fund.
About twenty
contemporary works will also be exhibited. These works merely
nod to the traditional pieces as they dance to new rhythms
arising out of a different place and time. They do not have the
gravitas of the traditional pieces, but they strut freedom,
space, boldness and joy. Each of the six featured artists will
offer a unique interpretation of weaving. Artist Judy Dominic of
Harrison, Ohio, creates sculpture from found materials—vines,
limbs, and litter. Her pieces, which incorporate space in their
design, tend to have minimal contact with the supporting
surface. Some of her work suggests the lightness and mobility
of a seed pod. In contrast, Gerry Fogarty’s art evokes tribal
ceremony and protection. A mixed-media hanging entitled
Necklace assimilates African textile motifs with the
American Plains Indian breastplate form. Part of Fogarty’s
Shield Series, this seven-foot high hanging juxtaposes beauty
and menace. Other works by Fogarty, a Yellow Springs resident,
will include Shields I, a mixed media quilt, and Quivers, a
hanging sculpture. The exhibit will also feature tapestries by
Katherine Uetz (Cincinnati) and Mary Zicafoose (Nebraska), fiber
baskets by Phyllis Walla-Catania (Delaware) functional weavings
by Deborah Yorde (Mt. Vernon).
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