Arachne's Woof

In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the goddess Minerva takes exception to the hubris of the mortal Arachne, a poor country girl who defiantly claims to be the superior weaver. Minerva, disguised as an old woman, appears to Arachne and suggests that the mortal offer forgiveness. When Arachne boastfully refuses, Minerva reveals herself and challenges the girl to a weaving contest. Minerva eventually wins and turns Arachne into a spider, thus relegating her to a life of spinning webs. Minerva wins this epic tale in which the reader finds the Manichean theme of man versus god, the capriciousness of fate, as well as the internal struggles of the creative process. Weaving has for centuries been considered a female occupation, and primarily a domestic talent, before being developed on an industrial scale. Fabric is produced by the interlacing of the warp, or the vertical component, and the woof, which comprises the horizontal filling. Today weaving and embroidery are used by mainstream artists as disparate as Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Francesco Vezzoli, and Andrea Zittel. Weaving is also slang for the telling of stories. The artists in this exhibition, like Arachne, tell stories that are bold and unapologetic. Although they come from far-flung parts of the world, they share common ground in creating their work without regard for commercial trends or mainstream expectations. Their creative processes are each anchored in traditional image making; however, their practices are idiosyncratic and move beyond the proverbial brush applying paint to canvas. From printing and stitching to burning, pouring, spraying, or using found imagery, each artist’s creative process is unique, and yet intersects and overlaps with others within the exhibition.