{"id":25067,"date":"2016-12-02T07:44:04","date_gmt":"2016-12-02T15:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=25067"},"modified":"2016-12-02T08:17:02","modified_gmt":"2016-12-02T16:17:02","slug":"friday-fun-roy-g-biv-threads-a-rainbow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/12\/02\/friday-fun-roy-g-biv-threads-a-rainbow\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun \u2013 \u201cRoy G. Biv\u201d Threads a Rainbow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rainbow_thread_smithsonian_00_cover_2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Artist Gabriel Dawe<\/strong> believes that we can never have too many rainbows in our lives – and to that end, he is creating them … out of thread!<\/p>\n

(Since, as typical for my “Friday Fun” posts, it’s graphic-heavy, I had hoped to start using slideshows to take up less real estate – but that feature was just added yesterday and the learning curve is steeper than I had hoped.  Sorry.  The photos from hereon will be medium-sized, but you can click on them to view full-sized.<\/font>  <\/font><\/span>Unfortunately they can’t be formatted to open in a separate window just by clicking – but you can do that with a right-click and select “Open in New Tab”, or a scroll-wheel click if your mouse is programmed for that.  <\/font><\/em>And I would strongly encourage you to open them to full-size to appreciate their impact.<\/strong><\/font>)<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

Dawe explains that his rainbow art is a rebellion against his machismo <\/em>upbringing in Mexico City.  His mother was the first, and only, woman in his family to ever have a job outside their home.  As a consequence, his maternal grandmother largely raised Gabriel and his sister.  But while grandma was happy to teach his sister embroidery, and despite his strong desire to also learn, she refused because it ran counter to Mexican machismo gender traditions.<\/p>\n

Fortunately that only steeled his resolve to learn – so maybe paradoxically we have Grandma to thank.<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_artist_02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dawe has numerically titled his rainbow creations “Plexus”<\/em><\/strong> – which is an intricate network of nerves or blood vessels.  He explains he chose the term “Plexus”<\/em> because “it refers to the connection of the body with its environment, but it also relates directly to the intricate network of threads forming the installation itself, and to the inherent tension in the thread, vibrating with an almost tangible luminosity.”<\/p>\n

And although the main impetus to his rainbow creations was to challenge the gender stereotypes he had to deal with as a youth, he says they are not intended to be a political statement in support of equality for the LGBTQ community.<\/font>  <\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

Dawe explains, “I’ve never made it about that.<\/font>  <\/font><\/span>It’s that a rainbow represents light, not dark – and the idea that everything is one, and inclusion and unity.”<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/font><\/p>\n

So let’s enjoy some of his creations, and I’ll add information as we proceed.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plexus #19 <\/strong><\/em><\/u>(Villa Olmo in Como, Italy)<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_19_03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_19_02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_19_01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Amazingly enough he does not <\/strong><\/em>use any computer software in drafting his art – just detailed sketches.<\/font><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_design_00\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Obviously it varies depending on the size of the venue displaying his creations, but typically Dawe will use between 60 and 90 MILES<\/strong><\/u><\/em> of cotton embroidery thread.<\/font>  <\/font><\/span>And it takes up to ten days for his crew to install the very exacting work.<\/font><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_closeup_01\" <\/a>\"rainbow_thread_closeup_02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plexus #29 <\/u>(BYU)<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As you can imagine, this is not an easy task.<\/font>  <\/font><\/span>It involves hard work on the ground …<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_byu_construct_03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And in the air …<\/font><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_byu_construct_01\" <\/a>\"rainbow_thread_byu_construct_02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To create this …<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_byu_01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_byu_03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plexus #34 <\/u>(Carter Museum, Ft. Worth)<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And to create something like this …<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_carter-museum_00\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Can be both vertiginous and dangerous …<\/font><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_carter-museum_construct_01\" <\/a>\"rainbow_thread_carter-museum_construct_02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But worth it …<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_carter-museum_02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plexus #18<\/u> (San Antonio Airport)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To say that his rainbow creations make our spirits soar is an understatement …<\/font><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_sa-airport_00\" <\/a>\"rainbow_thread_sa-airport_05\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_sa-airport_04\" <\/a>\"rainbow_thread_sa-airport_06\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This installation will remain on display in the airport for three more years.<\/font><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plexus #30 & #31<\/u> (Newark Museum)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some of his installations that seem simple and straightforward …<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_shape-light_01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Turn out to be anything but when viewed from different perspectives …<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_shape-light_05\" <\/a>\"rainbow_thread_shape-light_04\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plexus #35<\/u> (Toledo Museum)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

His current exhibit is at the Toledo Museum<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_toledo_07\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 \"rainbow_thread_toledo_06\" <\/a><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_toledo_00\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plexus <\/span>A1<\/span><\/u> <\/span>(Renwick <\/span>Gallery<\/span>, Smithsonian <\/span>Art<\/span> <\/span>Museum<\/span>)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We’ll close as we begun with what, to my eye, is the most sensational creation at the Smithsonian – and full-sized …<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_smithsonian_00_cover_2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_smithsonian_06\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hard to believe that something so mundane as cotton embroidery thread …<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_spools_01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Could be used to create something so beautiful …<\/p>\n

\"rainbow_thread_smithsonian_05\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For more information about and examples of his artwork, view Gabriel Dawe's website:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.gabrieldawe.com\/<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artist Gabriel Dawe believes that we can never have too many rainbows in our lives – and to that end, he is creating them … out of thread! (Since, as typical for my “Friday Fun” posts, it’s graphic-heavy, I had hoped to start using slideshows to take up less real estate – but that feature […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-5-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25067\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}