I recently went to a screening of the film Handmade Nation at
Portland’s excellent Museum of Contemporary Craft. And while the movie was good,
what really stayed with me was what I saw on my way to the screening
room. Seattle artist Mandy Greer’s installation Dare alla Luce, which
closes next week, manages to combine macro and micro in the most
striking of ways: The installation comprises ropy tangles of fabric
that hang from the ceiling like primordial chandeliers, shimmering with
shells, beads, and buttons. Beaded orbs and stars hover between them,
and a huge black pelican holds court in the corner, its mouth spilling
streams of sparkling fabric onto the floor of the space. Getting up
close to the different parts of the installation, it’s impossible not
to marvel at the intricacy of each one — what look like random masses
of fabric and yarn are carefully sewn, crocheted, beaded, and knotted.
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