Bonnie Kane: Sprouts

  • ©,

Artist(s):


Title:


    Sprouts

Exhibition:


Creation Year:


    2003

Medium:


    Silk crepe de chine

Size:


    29 in x 72.5 in

Category:


Artist Statement:


    Using the computer for both commercial and experimental painting, I had long been interested in the possibilities of large digital printing. In visual art, size does matter, and a computer screen has its limitations.

    I began with large-format prints when the technology became accessible and reasonably affordable in 1994, culminating in 1996, when I had the opportunity to produce a series of 8-foot-long mounted pieces. Although I was very happy with the imagery itself, the medium was problematic: storage, transportation, and installation were issues. I was seeking a more user friendly form in which to display the art.

    Around 1998, my friend and collaborator, David Kushner of Supersample Corporation, New York City, began experiments with digital printing on silk. I immediately began thinking about the Japanese tradition of scrolls as a possible way to work.

    A few early pieces were attempted, but it was not until the winter of 2001 that technology, opportunity, and process all came together, and we began to produce the first body of tapestry work. I created the computer imagery and submitted the files to David. Each painting was dyed into specially prepared fabric and then hand-crafted into the finished tapestry.

    This was the medium I was waiting for! As a painter, I am interested in color, mood, texture, movement, and light. The paintings are emotional, and they slowly reveal, different levels of subtlety. Working on silk provides a richness of texture, interacting with the light of the room. Being light in weight, the pieces flutter gently with the air currents present in the room and can be hung suspended freely from a ceiling or flat against the wall. The installation of the pieces affects their transparency and their movement.

    Blending the ancient tradition of silk scrolls with modern technology is also very exciting. The pieces are still, but alive; referencing history, while being thor­oughly modern.