Fiber Artist
Art Educator
...the conscious designer does not [her]self design at all. But rather gives the object to be, a chance to design itself.
(Annie Albers, 1958)
︎ Artist Statement
︎ Biography
︎ CV
︎ Instagram
...the conscious designer does not [her]self design at all. But rather gives the object to be, a chance to design itself.
(Annie Albers, 1958)
Artist Statement
Fiber holds a tradition of storytelling within its threads. My textiles center these narratives from within my own communities of humans, habits, and relationships to inform design. Expanding upon the practice of visualizing history within my field, my textiles archive moments of my sociality—physical, tactile contributions haptically archiving moments of sociality.
I examine specific qualitative content surrounding a person or community to which I have a strong bond. My source material comes from anecdotal and daily places, including for instance, text threads, conversation archives, family recipes, and personal habits. After looking closely to find the cadences and emotional energies that construct the identities expressed in my source material, I ask my textiles to preserve these human narratives in the systems and patterns of their fiber structure. The collections of information gathered directly builds the foundation for the design and function of each textile. For example: a double cloth weave structure to represent a bond between two friends; color coded yarns to represent specific personalities or categories; formal elements of shape, line, and texture as symbols for feelings and habits; or handwriting to signify portraiture. The visual and tactile outcome of the work is always dictated by the characteristics of content and connections I am exploring.
The final stage of my process circulates my works and the narratives they store, back to the people whose lives have informed each textile’s making. The service can look like gifting the work to the individual represented in that textile, archiving information considered precious within that community, and via display within the intended audience’s community spaces. The work, by design, becomes a tangible circulation of the stories and relationships it holds.
In our current age of using “big data” as a tool to simplify complexity and give us quick, objective reads into large issues and conversations, I argue that data, made by humans and representative of humans, is also inherently flawed and full of individualized narrative- showing us snapshots in time that offer rich stories to those willing to pause, and patiently follow the threads that connect together moments of living.
I examine specific qualitative content surrounding a person or community to which I have a strong bond. My source material comes from anecdotal and daily places, including for instance, text threads, conversation archives, family recipes, and personal habits. After looking closely to find the cadences and emotional energies that construct the identities expressed in my source material, I ask my textiles to preserve these human narratives in the systems and patterns of their fiber structure. The collections of information gathered directly builds the foundation for the design and function of each textile. For example: a double cloth weave structure to represent a bond between two friends; color coded yarns to represent specific personalities or categories; formal elements of shape, line, and texture as symbols for feelings and habits; or handwriting to signify portraiture. The visual and tactile outcome of the work is always dictated by the characteristics of content and connections I am exploring.
The final stage of my process circulates my works and the narratives they store, back to the people whose lives have informed each textile’s making. The service can look like gifting the work to the individual represented in that textile, archiving information considered precious within that community, and via display within the intended audience’s community spaces. The work, by design, becomes a tangible circulation of the stories and relationships it holds.
In our current age of using “big data” as a tool to simplify complexity and give us quick, objective reads into large issues and conversations, I argue that data, made by humans and representative of humans, is also inherently flawed and full of individualized narrative- showing us snapshots in time that offer rich stories to those willing to pause, and patiently follow the threads that connect together moments of living.
rachdwittels
at gmail.com
at gmail.com
© All images belong to artist Rachel Wittels, all rights reserved.