Let’s get back to the basics shall we?
Textile arts is all about using threads and bringing them together to make cloth, thus that thread ultimately becomes a part of a larger object.
I first saw a thread installation at my college, Skidmore, where a student went around campus threading beautiful, orange sculptures in the trees, on the buildings, and winding down stairwells. Though most students probably just ignored the work that must have gone into imagining and producing that work, I found that my art friends had different opinions on the subject. Either the work was immature and not worthy to be called art or it was ambitious and added to the aesthetic of the campus. No matter how you interpreted it though, you could not ignore that it was there. Thread, a seemingly easily overlooked object was right there, staring me in the face.
Sebastien Preschoux makes these larger threaded installations as well. Just by threading around the natural surroundings his work begins to take form. His thread installations are all completed by hand, his belief is that art done by hand is more valuable than work that is easily reproduced. That the time and effort that goes into a beautifully hand-made object is a priceless quality. Which, I think most would agree, is a correct statement.
Even though Sebastien describes his work as cocoon, and that he harnesses the essence of a spider when spinning his webs; I see these threads as interpretations of light refractions.
Beautiful illustrations of light. Though he may not know it, he has a firm grasp of Newton’s most famous experiment to extract the spectrum of color. Newton knew that he could see the entire spectrum of light by allowing the light to pass through a prism and hitting a screen.
Especially in Sebastien’s nature installations, one can easily picture these threads as bursts of light. The origin of light at the point that all the threads cross, like a spotlight.
Though I am partial to Sebastien’s outdoor work, I find his concept takes on a different view indoors. The colors are not as distinct, melding together and creating an example of a primary color mixing pool. Takes you back to kindergarten huh?
**Most of these photos were provided by Trendland.net.
If you are interested in learning more about Newton and the Color Spectrum, click here.