MFA Thesis: An Active Mind
I am fascinated with the idea of biological complexity. Represented through fractal equations and Benoit Mandelbrot’s mathematical innovations of the mid-twentieth century is the idea of compounding complexity through simple rules. Through basic sets of limitations, one can produce infinitely complex imagery and representations that closely mirror the natural world. The rough approximations that appear in the natural world (nautilus shells, tree branches, root systems, snowflakes, flowers) can be represented by mathematically “perfect” formulas. It is this logic, married with practice-led research, that is the driving force behind my work. And it is a compulsion to make, bounded by a finite set of rules with the aim of intricate complexity, that defines my work as an artist. With this in mind, I explore complex concepts of consciousness and neural processes through the analogy of crochet. Each crochet stitch serves as a unit which follows the same simple logic to produce what will end up becoming a complex structure; each stitch is informed by the same logic to produce a whole that is unified yet fascinatingly complex.
As I began researching historical imagery of the brain, I found similar representation in crochet: the threads of crochet yarn (especially the fragile thread used in making doilies) seems to mirror the tendril-like dendrites of the early ink drawings of neurons from observation. I have begun creating doilies, but unlike the typical, precise and patterned doilies, I am introducing deliberate errors into my work. These errors compound with every subsequent ring or row of crochet work. Sometimes real knots become entwined with the loose crochet knots. These Anti-Doilies are expressions of failure and fears of failure. The fact that I consider them complete and choose to display them is an acknowledgment of their failure. When I acknowledge the failure of my own making I can begin to resolve it. I must know that resolution is an endless process combining differing therapeutic practices including medication, counseling, and mindfulness. There is not a lack within oneself that must be filled and fixed; instead, one must experience endless healing. Although it may seem futile to be in a continual state of healing while never arriving at a singular moment of “whole,” I believe there is beauty in the act of healing itself. This is the beauty that I hope will translate into my work.
The large-scale installation, An Active Mind, is directly derived from the logic which compelled me to produce my Anti-Doilies. Pushing crochet to monstrous limits, I explore scale and the question of what would happen if I were to create a behemoth installation which would become overwhelming in a given space. As an installation, the shapes which amass from the crocheted network interact with space as a flexible structure which is informed by its surroundings. As viewers walk around the work, it is my hope that the air currents of foot traffic affect the hanging axon-like threads that extend from the body of the sculpture like passive appendages. An Active Mind is supported by additional “slides” of Anti-Doilies and oil paintings resembling neurons and crochet stitches. The goal of this varied work is to emphasize the correlation between the network of crochet stitches and that of the human mind, both literally in the form of neurons and figuratively in the ways that one forms associations between thoughts, ideas, and memories.
