NYC: MAD - Pricked: Extreme Embroidery - The Truth That People Are Not Willing to Face--Bushism vs. Saddamism
The Truth That People Are Not Willing to Face--Bushism vs. Saddamism
2006
Xiang Yang (Chinese, b. 1967)
Hand-embroidered silk thread on silk screen printed with ink, stainless steel frame
Collection of the artist courtesy of Snyderman-Works Galleries, Philadelphia
Yang's work often deals with political issues related to power, politics, and personality. Here he has chosen Bush and Saddam as emblematic of the essence of the current conflict in Iraq. Yang sets up a mirro-like image of the two leaders, their faces appearing to morph into each other by way of the connecting threads. Yang has commented that this work depicts the two as a face-off between "the soon-to-disappear head of the so-called devil's world and the leader of the so-called liberal world. Yet, within this strong contrast, I found they share the same core: egoism"
Pricked: Extreme Embroidery was on exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design from November 8, 2007 to April 27, 2008. It was the final exhibit at the West 53rd Street location. Featuring forty-eight international artists, the exhibit explored how centuries-old handcraft traditions are rejuvenated in the mainstream of contemporary art and design.
The Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) is a center for the collection, preservation, study, and display of contemporary hand-made objects in a variety of media. Founded as the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in 1956 by philanthropist Aileen Osborn Webb, it was originally housed in a Victorian brownstone at 29 West 53rd Street. In 1986, the museum moved to four floors of a new building at 40 West 53rd Street and was renamed the American Craft Museum. The new space, designed by Roche-Dinkeloo, with an interior created by Fox & Fowle Architects, doubled the space of the original quarters. In 2002 it changed its name again to the Museum of Arts & Design. In September 2008, MAD moved to a new location at 2 Columbus Circle. With more than 54,000 square feet and four floors of galleries, the museum tripled its space.