Solutions

Plexiglass Stand-off Frame

You can never know how individual pieces of your work will look together until you see them in situ, and until I saw the poster image alongside the magazine rack displaying the twelve individually crafted pieces of work, unwittingly I had changed it`s emphasis, by creating a confrontation between the two.  My view was supported following a useful tutorial with the artist Shane Waltener, during which I voiced my thoughts, but obtained some really good feedback. I realised that I needed to come up with a different display solution which would communicate the meaning of the work more specifically.  When you browse magazine racks you are faced with an incredible array of images and graphics, all competing for the attention of their own individual demographic, and as I have already indicated, magazines support a culture of mass consumption of ready-made products, rather than one of craftsmanship, tradition, and manual dexterity.  By choosing to display a poster-sized copy of the work, I am emphasizing the seductive quality of magazine image, particulary when placed alongside my twelve embroidered pieces of work. I need to create a juxtaposition between the two.  To solve this problem, I would need to find a display solution for one individual piece of work which suggests it`s originality and uniqueness; of something that is more permanent and cannot be recreated easily, alongside something that can be reproduced, and has limited `shelf life`.  I chose the digital camera magazine on the basis of its strong cover image relating to digital macro photography, and the fact that the camera can lie.  Images can be manipulated but not the kind of craftsmanship my work represents.  I am now looking at an acrylic stand off type of frame,(top) which has a very contemporary look, and presents a kind of barrier between the viewer and the work, conveying a message of `you can look but you can`t touch`, whereas magazines are accessible and can be picked up, handled, and by dipping in and out of, provide a cheap form of entertainment.  By presenting the work in this way, I am also commenting on how working in any craft medium, particularly embroidery, represents a goal-oriented activity, and can often be devalued in comparison to fine art and sculpture, which are rooted in an open-ended pursuit of artistic expression.  This has it`s foundations in the historical connection between the hierarchical structure of art, and the sexual categories of male and female, where the ideology of femininity coincided with a clearly defined separation of art and craft historically assigned to class structures within economic and social systems.