Bold!
2019
Materials: Cotton, Mohair, Various blends (Sweaters), Cotton (Jeans), Silk (Pants).
Photographer: Gustav Reed (Check out his work here).
Crafted using a single-bed knitting machine, these sweaters were the culmination of a month of beginning research into the concept of "charged surfaces", a term used by Professor Muzaffar at the Rhode Island School of Design to describe the geometric patterns characteristic of Islamic art. The intense geometric patterns are meant not to represent the image of God but to create the sensation of His presence within the work; Unlike in Western art, He is not represented by the object---He is the object (Muzaffar, I. 2016. "Islamic Architecture". Lecture. The Rhode Island School of Design). Anyone who has seen the intricate, almost obsessive, detail of these patterns cannot deny the "charged" energy they emit.
These sweaters are an exploration of how deep emotion can be expressed using aesthetic techniques. While not attempting to capture anything as grand, these sweaters are meant to instill in the viewer and wearer a purposeful, joyful, and bold energy. They accomplish this by employing in a simple manner some of the techniques I believe give Islamic Art its "charged" sensation--intense detail, heavy repetition, symmetry, and bright color.
Here, the blue sweater is paired with orange silk pants created for the project "A Sense of Place" (coming soon) and the red sweater is paired with custom made jeans.
