WTF is Conceptual Art???

WTF is Conceptual Art Anyway?

Step One:
Figure out what Conceptual Art is.
Step Two:
Think of ideas
Step Three:
Talk with people about ideas
Step Four
Realize Ideas are stupid and discard
Step Five:
Feel hopeless.
Step Six
Grind teeth, chip filling. Feel Worse.
Step Seven:
Talk to Buck, get new direction
Step Six:
refine idea
Step 7:
get moving, post call on neighborhood list serve and start collecting.

In The Beginning

Origin

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Origin of the Idea

The origin of this idea sprang from the proposal I made months and months ago for the District of Columbia Arts Decathlon. My proposal was called Thread of Life and based on the story of The Three Fates of Greek Mythology.

As this project has evolved my direction has veered into memory, how we remember, and how we sometimes forget or abandon our memories. This led to the yarn collecting project.

In essence I am collecting ideas that were once new and have been abandoned.

As a result of my call for unfinished projects I have been given projects that have been held onto for up to 50 years.

In some cases the ideas may have died but the memory remained, there was a holding on, a hesitation to let go, to metaphorically cut the thread. In a few rare cases people were relieved to have these projects gone.

The Collection of Abandoned Work

The history of these artifacts and the email exchanges involved can be seen below.

The Twelfth

Four Years Old (or so)

Hi Lisa - your name was forwarded to me from **** at the knitting group at Tenley Library. My daughter and I both have partly-done knitting projects (a sweater and a teddy bear) that we would love to get rid of - er, donate - to your project. How do we get them to you? And where will your finished project be eventually displayed - we'd love to see it. You can email me back or call me at . Best, L**

Hi L**,
Thanks! How old are the projects/when did you start them?
I live at, so if you are in the neighborhood you can drop them on my porch.
If you'd like I can also come to you.
The project is part of a larger body of work with the theme "Thread of Life"
The show is in January at the District of Columbia Art Center. If you're interested you can read about it
here: http://dcacdecathlon.wordpress.com/


Age of the projects? Not sure - my un-finished sweater has been kicking around for a while now. I know the stuffed animal can't be more than four years old because that's how long my daughter has been knitting. If the dates are important I can try to get more specific than that. I live at 46th and Fessenden so not far from you - some day soon I'll just drop them off. One caveat - these are "non-refundable" - if you can't use them, just toss them - no way we want them back!

The Eleventh

One Year Old

I have a toddler sized sweater that is almost complete but had to be abandoned at the stitching together phase due to my lack of knitting skill. It is dark blue with a pale blue stripe. You are welcome to it. I am in CC MD (westbrook hood)

The Tenth

21 years old

These pieces were also given to me by the giver of the fifty year old socks. She runs a knitting group that meets at the local library and had collected these herself.

The Ninth

One Year Old

Given to me by my studio-mate, the artist Maeve Aisling. She is a portrait painter, print-maker, draftswoman extraordinaire, as well as selling Andrea Haffner's jewelry, working at Komi part-time, and working in New York. She goes back and forth every week. Maeve thought she would use this yarn but realized that wasn't going to happen and brought it in to the studio. You could say she gave me the material or the seed for the idea, though I didn't realize this until the project was underway. It is fitting that Maeve's yarn takes the ninth space-
This coincides with my original decathlon idea, Thread of Life, The Three Fates. One of the Fates was Clotho, who spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Her Roman equivalent was Nona, (the 'Ninth'), who was originally a goddess called upon in the ninth month of pregnancy.

The Eighth

Fifty Years Old

Hi Lisa,

You are in luck. I found half a sweater with many colors and a central American design from 1989.
I found a pair of argyle socks in progress and I untangled everything
for you. These date probably to 1950, I left a bit of newspaper article in
the
bag so you can try to date it.

Hi ****,

>>
>> The 50 year old socks, did you knit them???
>> Any information about why they were being knitted and why they were
>> "abandoned"
>> is important to me.
>>
>> All the pieces I've collected
>> are being photographed and documented- then put onto a blog. This is for the
>> conceptual part of my project.
>> I'm also planning to use the pieces in a free form sculpture- this will be
>> the textile piece.
>>
>> The show is in January, I will put you on my mailing list if you'd like. And
>> I will send you a link to the website.
>>
>> Thanks again!
>> Lisa
>>

Hi Lisa,
>>
>> I received the socks when someone dropped off yarn that their mother could
>> no longer knit. It was part of the package and a nice discovery.
>> They are argyle, I enjoyed looking at the way they were constructed and you
>> can see that a lot of work went into them.
>>
>> The other colorful half child's sweater was started by a shop owner for a
>> sample and for some reason it didn't get finished.
>>
>> I can leave them today at the desk and I can retrieve them tonight if you
>> don't stop by and put them downstairs again tomorrow
>> Until you can come get them. How is that?
>>
>> Of course I would love the link and to see the show. It sounds wonderful.
>>

The Seventh

One or Two Years Old

This maker knits a Lot!


Hello Lisa -

Glad to see you call for old knitting projects. I have a few disasters that I've pulled out and have in a bag. I will leave them in a Whole Foods bag on the front porch. Please feel free to stop by and take them.

Thank you D****!
I'm also interested in the approximate
age of the work, reason you started the projects
And the reason you stopped.
( though "disaster" kind of covers that)

One other thing I'm curious about
is why have you held on to these
unfinished works.

Lisa



Everything is a year or two old at the most. Most of the stuff I do I intend to give as gifts. I like to try new stuff out - open to being experimental with it. And sometimes I'm just not so thrilled with the product. Takes me a while to be sure if it's horrible or not. I think I hold on to them to see if I get a different perspective. This project of yours is a treat to me to think of them not going to waste. Otherwise, I might put them in the trash. They're out there in the bag by the door. Have at 'em!

The Sixth

Five Years Old

"It was to be a scarf for my son's girlfriend.
I began it this summer.
I ripped it out as it was not only not long enough, it was too heavy and not pretty or delicate enough for her

I will drop it off either Thurs or Fri. - it is a pretty purple cotton."

The Fifth

Three Years Old

email exchange:

I guess it’ss time to realize that I’m not gong to finish this project and you’re welcome to it for your exhibit. Should I leave in a bag on the porch for you to pick up!

Thank you C******!
Please do leave in a bag on your porch.

I have a few questions that are part of my project.
(all anonymous, just initials)
Please would you answer them for me?

1.how long ago did you start this project?

2. Why did you stop?

This is all part of a larger project with a theme of life and memory.

It started with thinking about the Three Fates... here is a link if you are interested
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moirae

Thank you again, please give me your address and I will stop by later today or tomorrow morning.



I probably started this project 3 years ago.

My sisters are very talented in quilting, sewing, etc. They thought I could handle knitting ( since I used to knit many, many years go) but I stopped knitting the scarf t since the yarn-type was such that I kept adding or subtracting stitches so I gave up!

The Fourth

Nineteen Years Old

email exchange:


I have a 19 year old half-finished knitting project (a pullover sweater) that you're welcome to.

Oh! Thank you! That is amazing.

Also, if you can share with me,
why were you making it and why did you stop?
This is the longest time kept
so far.

I can pick up the sweater tomorrow if that is okay.


That's fine.

I started the project in 1991 after I started my first job and had free time suddenly. I admired a friend's sweaters and she offered to teach me to knit. She moved before I finished the sweater and after I got stuck I dropped it. Sadly I never picked it up again. I'd love to resume knitting but by now the original sweater style (lopi) is so outdated that I'd probably start fresh.

The Third

Thirty Years Old

This is a collection of yarn rather than an unfinished project. The woman who kindly shared the yarn had 3 drawers full of it as well as a small knitted dress her mother made for her when she was a very small child. You can see part of this dress in the title picture of the blog, lower left side.

here is the email exchange:

Thank you M****, that would be great.
Can you please tell me how long you have had the yarn?
I live in Tenley and am able to come pick it up from you.
I can get it from your porch or from you personally.
Whatever you are comfortable with.
Sincerely,
Lisa


I've had the yarn for about 30 years -- since my mother's death. I am generally home afternoons this week but please phone before coming by to be sure I am around -- if you are still interested.


Dear M*****,
Thank you very much for sharing your yarn and some of your memories.

The little yellow knit dress was especially moving.

This project is evolving, I realize the yarn is a metaphor for the memories people keep.

I'll keep you posted on the culmination of the work.



You are welcome. I think my mother would be pleased. In her early thirties, she was on the start up staff for the Lyman Allyn Museum in New London CT.

The Second

Various Ages

This group of yarn ranges in age from 7 years to one week. The creator is a prolific knitter who experiments with different designs.

Here is the email conversation that led to me receiving the yarn:
Hi, Lisa,

My wife has some unfinished projects and some sample swatches, but not loose yarn. Is what she has acceptable to you? (She's not a member of the listserv and didn't want to be identified on it.)

Thank you! YES! Unfinished projects are perfect!
Lisa

That's good news. Can you pick it up tomorrow?

The First

10 Years Old

This Piece has been around for 10 years. The maker loved the yarn, and hated to give up but found it much to hard to work with.