Open Source Embroidery. October 2, 2009—January 24, 2010
San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Folk Art features international group exhibit of technology and craft
Artists: Access Space, Suzanne Brook Martin, Ele Carpenter, Iain Clark, Eclectic Tech Carnival, Emma Ferguson, Flare Productions, Paul Grimmer, Richard Hamilton, Suzanne Hardy, HUMlab Workers, James Hutchinson, Charlene Lam, Kristina Lindström & Åsa Stahl, Sampler Collective, Sophie McDonald & Davide Della Casa, Travis J. Meinolf, Kate Pemberton, Trevor Pitt, Michele Pred, Clare Ruddock, Hamilton, Southern & St Amand, Becky Stern, Haishu Zhang.
The Open Source Embroidery exhibition presents artworks that use embroidery, thread, and code as a tool for participatory production and distribution.
12 June 2009 -- San Francisco, CA: San Francisco’s Museum of Craft and Folk Art (www.mocfa.org) is pleased to present the project, Open Source Embroidery, which includes workshops and exhibitions that investigate how the open source software development model has been incorporated into the language of cultural participation. This major exhibition at MOCFA brings together individual and collectively made artworks by artists, makers, computer programmers and html users that explore the relationship between craft and code through social and digital networks. The works experiment with interdisciplinary approaches to modifying patterns, the DIY culture of hacking and sampling in sound, GPS and mobile technologies.
The history of computing as craft began with the Jacquard loom (1801), the first programmed machine which used binary punch cards to design woven patterns. The loom inspired Charles Babbage in his design of the Analytical Engine, often described as the precursor to the modern computer. Flare Productions’ documentary film about Ada Byron Lovelace, To Dream Tomorrow (2003) highlights the significance of her extensive notes about the Analytical Engine, and her insight into the potential of the machine to operate not just as a calculator of numbers but also as a computer of symbols and information. Richard Hamilton also featured Ada Lovelace in a poster campaign to save free public entry for the South Kensington Museums in London (1998). Issues of access to code and culture are still pertinent questions of our time.
The Open Source Embroidery exhibition brings together individual and collectively made artworks by artists, crafts people, computer programmers and html users which explore the relationship between craft and code, physical and digital space. The artworks experiment with interdisciplinary approaches to modifying patterns, the DIY culture of hacking and sampling in sound, GPS and mobile technologies.
Through participatory networks over 500 people from across the UK, Sweden, USA and Canada have contributed their creative skills to collectively make works in the exhibition. Including the Html Patchwork of 216 patches each stitched with their RGB colour code.
Open Source Embroidery is curated by Ele Carpenter, HUMlab Research Fellow in partnership with BildMuseet, Umea, Sweden. The exhibition has been developed by BildMuseet and the Museum of Craft and Folk Art, San Francisco, and supported by Adobe Action Grants, Arts Council England, Canada Council, Fleishhacker Foundation, the Galleria Park Hotel, San Francisco Arts Commission Organization Project Grant, and the San Francisco Foundation’s 2009 Fund for Artists Matching Commission. The Museum of Craft and Folk Art is generously supported by the Compton Foundation, Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, Walter & Elise Haas Fund, The Kimball Foundation, Harold and Gertrud Parker, The San Francisco Foundation, The Sato Foundation, Museum members, and friends.
OPENING | Thursday October 1, 2009, 6-8pm
Member and Press Preview, 5-6pm
Curatorial Tour with Ele Carpenter, 7pm
The Museum of Craft and Folk Art is located at 51 Yerba Buena Lane, San Francisco, California. Museum hours are Monday through Friday 11am – 6pm (Closed Wednesdays). Admission is $5 for general public, $4 for seniors, (62 and over) and FREE for Museum of Craft and Folk Art Members, and on the first Tuesday of the month. The Museum of Craft and Folk Art is wheelchair accessible. For more information call (415) 227-4888 or visit www.mocfa.org.
Public Programs:
Family Activity Days the First Saturday of every month, 1-3pm
Saturday October 3, November 7, December 5, and January 2
Stop by to learn to braid or knit colorful yarn into cord that you can wear and take home.
$3/child (for materials), ages 5 and up. *RSVP is required for these events. Please call 415 227 4888 ext. 10 to reserve your space.
Thursday October 15: Workshop with Travis Meinolf: Show & Tell, 6-8pm
Artist Travis Meinolf teaches visitors how to weave, interacting with his work in the exhibition, and facilitating discussions about the function of weaving, communal production, and collaborative decision making.
Thursday November 19: Artist Talk and Presentation with Michele Pred, 7-8pm
Thursday December 17: Open Source Sound, 6-8pm
Thursday January 21: Group Stitching Mantra with Sherri Lynn Wood, 6-8pm
Craft + Draught evenings: First Thursday of the month, 6-8pm (November 5, December 3, January 7)
A collaboration with Etsy.com: community craft nights
