“Mending” – Out Now!

November 30, 2016

Mending is trending in the art world, but mending as a movement to improve our lives has been “hot” since the dawn of humanity. History (of all cultures) provides us with ample success stories—and cautionary tales. What motivates the desire to mend rather than discard? This issue is filled with inspiring examples of artists working around the globe to raise awareness and empathy for a plethora of societal ills. Each story offers a different approach to fostering change through artistic forms of mending. Caring acts of repair, from minuscule to monumental, become powerful symbols of healing and hope.

Here’s a little preview of what you’ll discover…

1) “Breaking the Silence” features at Julie Sirek’s moving and emotional work. By openly talking about domestic violence, Sirek strives to break the silence surrounding this issue to make a difference in the world.

2) Why do we love making stuff? “The Healing Power of Textile Arts” by Leesa Hubbell reveals deep motivators and restorative rewards in textile making.

3) “Men/Mend/Amend: Mark Newport” by Jovencio de la Paz explores the vast range of Newport’s work. From earlier pieces questioning the fraught state of masculinity in America using superheroes, to more recent work exploring the stitch as an agent of material and physical healing as it relates to fatherhood.

4) “Mending the Fashion Industry: Scandinavian Style” by Jessica Hemmings spotlights projects which reject current unsustainable models of textile and fashion production like Franz Petter Schmidt’s Weaving Fabrics for Suits and the collaboration between Toril Johannessen and HAIK Fashion Collective- Unlearning Optical Illusions (SS17 Collection). 

5) “The Art of Repair: Skills Sharing to Foster Community and Social Change” by Lisa Vinebaum explores the work of 5 artists utilizing craft and fiber skills to help repair our broken social bonds—some more temporary, while others, more durational.

6) Repair is an act of patience and care. “Patched” by Otto von Busch inquires into our constant interest to all things new and how repair fits into our consumer lives.

7) “Making it OK” by Ian Wilson looks at the five artists working with mending (both practically and conceptually) in Liz Cooper’s exhibition What Do I Need to Do to Make It OK?

8) In our *new* Made Aware department “Mending Gold: Longitude and Latitude” by Brooks Harris Stevens features a series of site-specific works that address the life of worn cloth by expanding into worn paths in the landscape and built environment, as well as the economic and political realm.

In this tumultuous time that we are facing right now, it is critical to be empathetic and kind to those around us. This issue of Surface Design Journal reflects the caring trend that many artists are working towards. Please be kind and loving towards those around you, for everyone is deserving of love and respect. When faced with untenable loss—of life, food, clothing, shelter, health, wealth, power, love, relationships—we muster the courage to rally and rectify.

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To buy a copy of “Mending”, go to Surface Design Association’s Marketplace!