Textile Design students participate in Ann Hamilton: habitus

Textile Design M.S. students Becky Flax and Emily Olsen were selected to work with artist Ann Hamilton in her exhibition Habitus with The Fabric Workshop and Museum.  This amazing installation was held at Municipal Pier 9 in Philadelphia.  According to FWM, "Habitus weaves text, textile, and image together as mediums for an imaginative and tactile exchange between artist and audience". 

Becky and Emily responded to a few questions regarding their experience:

Becky and Emily, how did you get involved in this project?
Becky:
Nami Yamamoto, Project coordinator at the Fabric Workshop and Museum and Philadelphia University Textile Design Faculty member, knew I spin yarn and invited me to apply. I immediately contacted Tracey Blackman part of human resources at the Fabric Workshop.

Emily:

Habitus opened about two weeks after I moved to Philadelphia and a week after I started at Philadelphia University. The whole installation and corresponding exhibit at the Fabric Workshop and Museum is focused on cloth, and knowing that I would be devoting my next two years to the study of textiles and textile design I thought this installation would be a great introduction and starting point for me in this new field. Spending so many hours at the pier surrounded by the large spinning curtains, 500 pounds of wool, and scraps of yarn from unraveled sweaters served as a great inspiration and allowed me time to think through some ideas I hope to make realities during my time in school.

Emily spinning wool.

Becky deconstructing sweaters.

What were your responsibilities?
Emily:
During the habitus installation I split my time evenly between making and unmaking. The making half of my day involved carding, then spinning wool using a drop spindle, resulting in yarn. The unmaking half was made up of snipping stitches in a knitted sweater, and using my hands to make these small holes larger, then cut out the loose bits of yarn. Both of these tasks were done in silence, while gallery guides around me intercepted visitor questions.

Becky:
My role was as a performance artist in the installation down at Municipal Pier 9. As part of the performance, I spent equal parts of my time carding and spinning yarn from scoured, raw wool and unraveling children's sweaters. We used top whorl drop spindles to create the yarn; it was very interesting to see that many of the spinners preferred clockwise rotation of the spindle as opposed to anit-clockwise which is my preference. The unraveling process was meant to be in direct opposition to the spinning process, as a sort of "making" and "unmaking". To unravel the sweaters, I would cut individual loops in body of the garment and pull at the break to create a hole, then from the hole unravel small sections. 

What surprised you about the work or the installation?
Becky:
My greatest surprises came from people's reactions to the two performances. The spinner was set up behind a screen a few yards back from the rest of the exhibition. So many asked if that was a separate installation or if it was part of the habitus​ piece. Both acts, the spinning and unraveled elicited many questions, but as performers we were not supposed to engage with the people around us. The unraveler, because they were set in the installation, caught the majority of people's attention. People asked me many questions that I could not answer and were either embarrassed or enraged when I didn't respond.  They took photos of me and with me, like selfies with a statue, a living statue. Some sat around me and had very personal conversations ignoring that I could hear them. I found just having the luxury of sitting in a space, surrounded by people, some friends and some strangers, was wonderful. I tend to be someone with a lot on their plate at all times, but the hours I worked as part of habitus​ gave me a freedom to just be and perform a meditative and mindful, repetitive task.
Working with Ann Hamilton was such a joy, in addition to the entire Fabric Workshop and Museum staff. I was thrilled by the experience and would jump at another similar opportunity.
Emily:
When habitus began I was not sure what to expect during an eight-hour day of spinning and unraveling. It was much easier to be focused and dedicated to my work, with so much action happening around me, than I anticipated. The process of spinning required concentration in each of the steps to ensure I was making strong yarn, and I was surprised by how involved the process of unraveling, by making holes in sweaters, could be. Though the placement of the holes in the sweaters was mostly random, I found myself strategizing where to snip to get the most effective holes.

Congratulations to Becky and Emily for being selected to participate in this fantastic exhibition!

Becky deconstructing sweaters with the installation swirling behind her.