SEW ARTFUL

In case you needed any more evidence that crafting is having a historical moment, how about one of the most important contemporary art museums in America inviting an artist who sews clothing sculptures and makes buttons to do a show? Yesterday's family art workshop at The Whitney Museum of America Art was devoted to exploring the fascinating work, and the world, of Charles LeDray. As usual, the workshop leader, begins the 2-hour learning workshop in the galleries of a current show to look at and discuss the work that will inspire the art making later on. It was a pleasant surprise when the elevator doors opened on the third floor to reveal the show of the strange miniature sculptures of New York artist Charles LeDray.

Detail of miniature jackets, pants and shirts on tiny racks. 

The galleries would be closed to the public for another 25 minutes, so we had the rare treat of having the place to ourselves. Parents and kids sprawled on the floor to listen, interact and make drawings without being self conscious. We started in the man room right off of the elevator, where there were two pieces of work installed: the one we discussed a row of tiny hand made hats hanging at about 12 foot off the ground, and a second piece of an elaborately embroidered jean jacket in a glass vitrine.

The second room was filled with one large, 3-part installation, set up in a dark room.  One of the three parts is pictured above, what appears to be the back room of a second hand clothing store.

The table of ties was set up with a mannequin with a natty suit on it. Hanging above each scene was a ceiling of cheap white tiles, and ugly neon lights.  The first part, below was a miniature run down looking second hand shop with two circular racks of clothes: t-shirts one one, jackets on the other. Plus a table with folded clothing on it. Max pointed out to me, they looked dirty. Mark pointed out to us, the layer of dust on the top of the racks, and mentioned that Charles had made the dust himself. Apparently he makes everything himself. Nothing is fabricated for him, nor does he have a team of assistants creating his artwork for him. According to his bio, Charles learnt to sew as a young child and it became his life's passion.

Down in the workshop, Mark began by explaining what the project would be, based on the installation piece we saw, the children would each create some item that one would find in a store. Mark then suggested the children collectively create a list of things that one would find in a shop. This was the list 

List of items the children thought up for the store's inventory.

 that evolved. Ella (6) suggested a short order cook. Mark was amused, but said, "I'm putting that down, he could make snacks for the shoppers." The instructors are super relaxed, freeform and enthusiastic about the kids ideas, process and art. Max suggsted toys (since our next stop of the day was to to be the new Lego store). Then Mark demonstrated different ways of creating three-dimensional things.

Max folding and taping his toy figure.

Then Mark invited all the kids to help themselves to the wonderfully varied art materials laden on two enormous side tables. There was everything from an enormous ziplock bag filled with vintage empty spool threads to wire and wire cutters to glue sticks. Max helped himself to a couple of sheets of heavy silver paper, a blue pipe cleaner, some scissors, a piece of green construction paper, a roll of black tape and announced "I'm not going to tell you what I'm making, it's going to be a surprise." Then he got busy.

He ran into some difficulty trying to hold the paper down while he cut it to fit the balled up batting, so he asked me to hold it in place while he taped down the edges. Max revealed clues about the "toy" he was making for the shop. The young boy to our right was busy making chocolate bars with his dad, while the young lady on our right was making an elaborate shirt to be displayed on a mannequin.

Max was busy applying foam shapes, and his name on sticky letters on the front. He created a price tag ($12.99) and taped it to the back.

He asked me to finish his second leg, so he could "make his money." I assumed he wanted to make money to buy things in the store. But Max wound up making a $1 bill, then attaching a $2 price tag to it and put it on a "store shelf" to display. That got a humorous reaction from all the parents and teacher. The dad next to me said, "well its handmade,"as an argument for the price. When children are given more freedom in these workshops, the results are so original!

(left) some of the children's imaginative store inventory items. include (from left) a produce store, Max's figure and dollar bill, and candy bars.

Ella's short order cook with egg cooking in a frying pan is on the top shelf. Ice cream cones for 5 cents and a coffee table, a mannequin with clothes on it and a juggler is on the middle shelf.

After the workshop ended and we were walking out, I asked Max if he minded going back to the exhibition so we could see all of it, sice we had really only seen two galleries of the exhibition. He was keen to go back.

Some of the other rooms included sculptures that included "Honey and Milk" a 6-shelf piece with 2000 tiny (2 inch high or less) vases, all hand thrown by LeDray.

Detail of a few of the 2000 white vases.

In my opinion, the Whitney Museum of American Art runs these programs better than any other museum I've been to and Max has come to know all of the instructors: Rachel, Jesse and now Mark!
--Monica Forrestall