North Adams - On the most American of holiday weekends, MASS MoCA will present a truly monumental and uniquely American sculptural installation by Dave Cole. Starting June 30, 2005, Cole will be in residence at MASS MoCA with his project The Knitting Machine which comprises two excavators specially fitted with massive 20’ knitting needles.
The knitting project is expected to be completed by July 3rd. The product of The Knitting Machine is an oversized American flag – a flag which can be seen as both a celebratory gesture of pride and a commentary on America’s role in world affairs.
The Knitting Machine is one part of a three-part exhibition of Cole’s work at the museum. In addition to the installation, MASS MoCA will show Cole’s Memorial Flag (Toy Soldiers) (2005), a 5 ’ x 9-1/2’ foot flag crafted of 18,000 plastic toy soldiers wrestling beneath an impermeable glaze of red, white and blue; and The Evolution of the Knitting Needle Through Modern Warfare (2001), a convincing display of hypothetical army-issue knitting needles -- what Cole imagines Army needles would have been had the Army mandated them as combat equipment for seven wars, from the Civil War through the first Persian Gulf War.
Cole explains, “The Knitting Machine combines the feminized domestic American tradition of knitting with the grandiose gesture of construction usually associated with masculine labor. The Knitting Machine challenges familiar notions of labor and production, while expressing a complex understanding of patriotism.†When the flag is removed from The Knitting Machine it will be folded into the traditional flag triangle and will be on display in a presentation case which Cole describes as “slightly smaller than a Volkswagen Beetleâ€, accompanied by the 20’ knitting needles, and a video of the knitting process.
From a distance, Memorial Flag (Toy Soldiers) becomes an impressive display of an American icon, the flag. Up close, Memorial Flag reveals its source of texture – plastic men wielding guns. For the piece, Cole obtained the exact specifications for an American flag from the Government Printing Office and created his piece to those specifications. Cole explains, “Memorial Flag isn’t a representation of a flag or an interpretation of a flag but is an actual flag.â€
In Evolution of the Knitting Needle Through Modern Warfare -- which Cole describes as “hypothetical anthropology†-- each set of needles references a specific war in American history. The piece contrasts a basic form of production, knitting, with the progress of technology made through war. It is a study of the relationship between technology and violence.
Providence-based artist Dave Cole has made a name for himself by knitting using unexpected materials. His work Fiberglass Teddy Bear, for instance, is a 14 x 14 x 14 foot pink fuzzy bear. As Christine Temin wrote in The Boston Globe, “It looks cuddly enough, but don't get too close. It's made of hand-knit Fiberglas, not a material you want to snuggle up to.†Her review continues, saying, “Cole's message is that a symbol of childhood comfort can turn sinister, that the world we inhabit is dangerous. The huge teddy is, then, the opposite of Jeff Koons's gargantuan Puppy sculptures, benign and intentionally banal. Cole's teddy is one of the showstoppers in this [DeCordova] Annual.â€
Cole’s work is testimony to the laborious process of grappling with unlikely, and sometimes unfriendly materials. Whether employing backhoes or individually constructed needles, Cole contrasts the domesticity of both his subject matter and gesture of knitting with the grandiose physicality of industrial materials. Cole’s work is about the repetition of gesture, the challenge of material limitation, and the creation of delightful, unexpected objects.
Cole’s exhibition is part of American Traditions, a Berkshire County-wide celebration of more than two centuries of the unique and diverse artistic bounty that only America could produce.
The John Deere excavators for The Knitting Machine were donated by Schmidt Equipment in North Oxford, Massachusetts (online at www.schmidtequipment.com.
Beginning July 1, MASS MoCA’s galleries are open from 10- 6 every day. Admission is $10 adults, $8 students, $4 ages 6 – 16, free for children 5 and under and free for members at all times. The Knitting Machine will be installed in the museum’s Courtyard A, and the public is invited to view the progress of the flag throughout the weekend.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Senior Golf Series Returns in September
Community submission
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Berkshire County Fall Senior Golf series returns in September with events on five consecutive Wednesdays starting Sept. 18.
It is the 22nd year of the series, which is a fund-raiser for junior golf in the county, and it is open to players aged 50 and up.
The series will feature two divisions for each event based on the combined ages of the playing partners.
Golfers play from the white tees (or equivalent) with participants 70 and over or who have a handicap of more than 9 able to play from the forward tees.
Gross and net prices will be available in each division.
The cost is $55 per event and includes a round of golf, food and prizes. Carts are available for an additional fee.
Golfers should call the pro shop at the course for that week's event no sooner than two weeks before the event to register.
Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more
On Saturday afternoon at Lowell’s Tsongas Center, the Hurricanes will take aim at Division 5 State Championships in girls and boys basketball. click for more
Pittsfield High's Matt Dupuis and Lee's Bella Kotek Sunday completed a Berkshire County sweep at the State Bowling Championships at Bowlero.
click for more
Emily Holian’s strike to open the 10th frame of the Wildcats’ second game against Worcester Tech all but assured Lee a team title at Bowlero Chicopee.
click for more
Hoosac struggled to get into rhythm on the offensive end until Joey McGovern got the 3-ball working. McGovern finished the game with 21 points including a triple in the fourth quarter that cemented him in the record books. It took him nearly the whole game but he was able to join the 1,000-point... click for more
Pittsfield High's Eliza Mullen won state title and in the giant slalom and slalom, winning the former discipline by 1.6 seconds and the latter by nearly 2.7 seconds.
click for more