Historically Inaccurate

Lucky Peach, Issue 3

2012-01-17T14:12:00.001-05:00

A series made for Luck Peach magazine illustrating the holy trinity of kitchen pests: the fly, the mouse and the cockroach. Fiction by the often-difficult and frequently sublime Thomas Bernhard, graphic design by Walter Green.

A video interview

2011-12-27T20:10:00.000-05:00

made by Littlest Birds/ Amanda Wilder & Kamila Calabrese, music by Myroslaw Bytz and ThisGuyIKnow

Philadelphia Museum of Art

2011-12-19T08:21:00.005-05:00

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has acquired 3 yards of my SIDESHOW! toile with one motif being embroidered. I'm so happy to be part of their incredible collection. Special thanks, love and appreciation to John Dembski for his beautiful renderings.

Occupy thy neighbor t-shirt

2011-10-30T11:58:00.001-05:00

Take a stand and bring a hot dish.

"...and a half-extinguished fire is soon relit."

2011-10-14T13:59:00.012-05:00

night view: the central figure glows in the dark.

2011
18" X 24"
cotton floss, glow-in-the-dark floss on cotton toile

It is hard to hate what one has loved, and a half-extinguished fire is soon relit.
Corneille (1606-1684), Sertorius, act 1, sc. 3

Three years ago, in the summer of my 43rd year, something happened to me that hitherto had proven coveted yet elusive: I began a meaningful, long-term relationship.

It started innocously enough: navigating the strange waters of intimacy was a challenge I felt I was ready for, having been subjected to four decades’ worth of platitudes, bromides, recollections, observations and strategies on the topic in every corner of my waking existence. Thusly, being an observant and thoughtful individual, I soon found that I could be fairly successful at working out the necessary compromises (and the crow-eating that was somehow so rarely mentioned) necessary to excel at a true partnership and enjoyed a 6 month adjustment period until I fell in LOVE.

The sensation was nothing like what I had been expecting, it was so much more: the warmth, security, comaraderie, joie de vivre. Oh, the sheer effervesence of it all! Glib montages of fireworks exploding midair one-after-the-other most closely symbolized this new-found emotion and I relished and reveled in it for a few months until it was then gone, as suddenly as it had appeared and seemingly forever.

Bitterness and recrimination were all that were left for months until those feelings gave way to frustration and anger. Slowly though, the tiny spark of LOVE which remained was fanned by the powerful winds of both time and forgetfulness and soon illuminated the blackness of its own eclipse. Powerful magic, that, and well deserving of all the praise.

This piece attempts, in a very literal and heavy-handed fashion, to illustrate the above quotation and my experience of it.
For JBK.

FRIGHT shirt®

2011-10-05T08:22:00.004-05:00

3 xl cotton t-shirt,
glow-in-the-dark ink
Edition of 12
2011

Made for the American Design Club's 7th exhibition, THREAT, the FRIGHT shirt® is a comfortable sleeping garment with a simple message which can be viewed both day and night.

ARTISTS CHAIR #2

2011-09-12T10:48:00.003-05:00

I've recently completed a collaboration between The Cold Press and Sebastian Cox to debut in London this month at TENT 2011. Especially pleased that the other textile artist is Susie Cowie, the woman whose work was featured in the excellent film Bright Star.

THE WEDDING PARTY

2011-07-03T09:28:00.006-05:00

The Wedding Party
2009-11
7 panels, each 25" X 41"
scenery felt, rayon floss, rhinestones

On view at the Snowy Wilderness gallery on Atlantic Ave., opening July 15th. It's been nearly impossible for me to get a decent image of these.

LEVITICUS

2011-06-28T11:13:00.004-05:00

LEVITICUS
11 X 18.5 inches
cotton tapestry embroidered with metallic, rayon
and glow-in-the-dark floss.

This piece was made for the FOOLS GOLD benefit auction for the Catskill Animal Sanctuary happening 7/23 at the One Mile Gallery in lovely Kingston NY. Come buy and bid for this excellent cause.

http://foolsgoldarts.org/?p=232

SIDESHOW! embroidered

2011-05-10T09:49:00.009-05:00

SIDESHOW! toile by Richard Saja for HISTORICALLY INACCURATE, 2011. Embroidered cotton on linen.
SIDESHOW! renderings by John Dembski for Historically Inaccurate.

SIDESHOW! toile

2011-05-10T09:36:00.004-05:00

Presenting SIDESHOW!, the first custom Historically Inaccurate toile print. It is available as yardage, as embroidered cushions and as woven blankets and cushions. Rendered by John Dembski for HI!.

BUTTERFLY SOUP for McSweeney's LUCKY PEACH quarterly

2011-05-07T11:06:00.006-05:00

I've been asked to illustrate a story, THE GOURMET CLUB, by Japanese master Junichiro Tanizaki for the new McSweeney's quarterly LUCKY PEACH. The piece depicts a dish called butterfly soup which is listed at the end of the story.
Subscribe now and save! :
http://www2.mcsweeneys.net/luckypeach

LACROIX, sweetie!

2011-05-07T11:00:00.005-05:00

This is the first of a 23 piece collaboration with Christian Lacroix's home line. It's a cushion. The scene depicts tourists strolling through a Roman ruin in Arles, the place of CL's birth. The bird-god at the top of the obelisk glows in the dark.

Snowy Wilderness blankets

2011-01-18T09:01:00.006-05:00

The Stunted Horn
2011
machine-woven cotton
54 X 80

Snow Bath
2011
machine-woven cotton
54 X 80

Arctic Stare
2011
machine-woven cotton
54 X 80

Made for Johnny Sagan's SNOWY WILDERNESS opening in Brooklyn on February 5th.

Fleming Museum at UVM

2011-01-08T10:10:00.005-05:00

2010
20.5 X 20.5
cotton floss on cotton toile

2 pieces made for UNDER the BIG TOP running 1/25 - 5/22 at the Fleming Museum in Burlington, VT.

Here's the label:

(left) “The Piebald – Hypertrichonic Man”, (right) “Has anyone seen my lighter?”, 2010
Cotton embroidery floss on cotton/linen toile

Richard Saja
(American, Contemporary)

Contemporary artist Richard Saja views the circus as a controlled microcosm of all that is wild and uncivilized: “…the sanctioned gawking of placing those different than us in pens and cages to be ogled and derided, to be entertained by oafs and fools behaving in ways society doesn't permit.” In this diptych he combines these sentiments: in the panel at left, he presents a piebald, or spotted man, with hypertrichosis, a condition of excessive hair growth informally called “werewolf syndrome.” Many individuals with these medical conditions often joined the circus as part of the sideshow attractions as they were otherwise ostracized by society. Saja combines this figure with a group of clowns at sea, one of whom has tossed a fellow clown’s lighter overboard.

Saja embroiders his motley crew of circus figures on toile, a linen fabric that bears a repeated pattern of bucolic scenes of country life, which was primarily used in decorating designs for bourgeois society in the 18th century. This merging of high and low society heightens the disjuncture between the two worlds.

Courtesy of the artist

"THE MOON IS BLUE"

2010-11-12T08:56:00.004-05:00

2010
84" X 54"
rayon floss embroidered on treated canvas

This is by far the largest piece I've done to date and the treated canvas was very difficult to work with. I now have the fingers of a turnip farmer but it was worth it. Thanks go to Orli Ben-Dor for the opportunity. My clients are the best. Really.

The Eighth Day

2010-11-08T08:07:00.006-05:00

2010
18" X 24"
gold thread embroidered on machine-woven cotton tapestry

Made for the Small Gift Invitational exhibition to commemorate the 50th birthday of Hello, Kitty! at Art Basel.

Here's a video from the show:

http://thesedelights.com/2011/01/03/cirque-du-petit-chat/

Miniatures for Keds & Opening Ceremony

2010-08-25T09:53:00.008-05:00

This series of 16 embroideries was done as a Richard Saja/Opening Ceremony/Keds collaboration. None is more than 2 3/4 X 2 inches and is cotton floss on a cotton print toile.They're being made into sneakers which will be sold at the Ace Hotel on Sept. 10 for Fashion's Night Out. Stop by and don't forget to get me a drink while you're standing on line at the bar.

THE FRITE of SPRING

2010-05-10T18:06:00.004-05:00

THE FRITE OF SPRING (INSTRUMENTAL CUT) from CHERYL on Vimeo.

Video made in collaboration with CHERYL. I made the caftans and came up with the original concept which was to remake, in the inimitable CHERYL fashion, the Ballets Russes/Stravinsky RITE of SPRING ballet from 1913.

MANY KINDS of FAMILIES

2010-04-12T08:31:00.003-05:00

This piece was done as the back panel of a wing chair, pictures to follow.
Silk floss on cotton toile.

Diversity Quilt

2010-03-24T11:40:00.004-05:00

2009,
60 X 80 inches
cotton/linen fabric filled w/cotton batting,
embroidered w/cotton floss and tied with silk suture thread

This piece was acquired by the Shelburne Museum last year and will be featured in an exhibition in 2012 at the museum on Men Who Quilt and then at the Smithsonian in 2013.

"Things took a serious turn for the worse when they reached the open seas..."

2010-01-18T13:44:00.002-05:00

2009/2010
17" round,
cotton floss on cotton/linen

THE GREAT WHITE MILKY WAY

2009-11-23T08:26:00.011-05:00

THE GREAT WHITE MILKY WAY
10 feet x 8 inches,
glow in the dark embroidery floss on linen
2009

The piece above was made for a show at a Jewish museum in Philadelphia celebrating the wimpel, a ceremonial cloth used to swaddle a boy's legs during the bris ceremony (did I really just write that?). Unfortunately for me, after well over 70 hours worth of work, the poem embroidered onto the piece (in braille) was deemed too controversial to be reproduced for a show located in the sanctuary of a synagogue. I'll post a night shot if the sun ever comes out again.

Here's the artist statement I submitted:

As a gay male gentile (and an embroiderer at that!) it may seem a bit strange that I would be contributing to a show celebrating a ceremonial cloth made for Jewish children. Well, all I have to say is that it IS strange! However, this past year I have found myself completely surrounded by the newborn children of friends and relatives as well as a plethora of nascent births and misfires (and all the thrills and tears that accompany both) and this immersion has given rise to the stark realization that I will never procreate: that I will trod this world alone forever, no tiny carbon copies running through the house screaming their disdain for me, no clone on the phone searching for the best or cheapest elder care. The utter finality of it all has hit me hard but I’ve confronted it head-on as I am wont to do (Aries!) and have found solace in composing a poem exploring the situation using as inspiration a passage from Book 2 of Milton’s Paradise Lost:

Thus repulsed, our final hope Is flat despair: we must exasperate Th' Almighty Victor to spend all his rage; And that must end us; that must be our cure-- To be no more. Sad cure! for who would lose, Though full of pain, this intellectual being, Those thoughts that wander through eternity, To perish rather, swallowed up and lost In the wide womb of uncreated Night, Devoid of sense and motion?

Obviously I’ve altered my interpretation slightly to be relevant to the case at hand. In the poem, I wanted to capture the sense of architectural space and movement evident in Milton and on the canvas I’ve tried to approximate the celestial canopy, hence, the poem is embroidered in braille.

The Great White Milky Way
Oh, oh how i have sinned...spilled liquids similar yet of a far greater multitude than those of Onan, one of only two, struck down by his displeased creator!
Oh, my unborn children - you legions of tiny golems, each an infinite possibillity become impossible by my desire, I am compelled to address you!
I have carried you with me always - a searing potential roiling within - but ever so often, at the very least daily and sometimes more, in fact, the burden proves too heavy and gurgles up to explode from me in a white-hot and opalescent fuisillade, a genocide in a teaspoon.
So many, many expiring stains of silenced cries!
Oh, how the paths i have travelled i have soiled with seed, probably enough to populate an island nation, and a rather large one, at that.
Yet, in my defense, how many more monsters has the world been spared? How many saviors, masters or slaves?
A gift given too freely is so seldom appreciated, if i may paraphrase the bard.
So then, unblemished in your potential, you in your infinite stasis are the great cosmic chorus line. Your ranks ever-swelling -- thanks to me! -- you wander the stars for all of a boundless eternity free of care and worry, together forever in the ever-shifting ether, softly churning in a pastel nebulae of unbecoming while i forever retain the twinkle in my eye.
So yes, yes, I have sinned and in so doing you remain perfect and unsullied, my unborn children and i've given you the greatest gift of all - - that of absolute nothingness.
See you soon on the great, white milky way!

glow baby, glow

2009-10-11T10:03:00.005-05:00

22" round. cotton, rayon and glow-in-the-dark floss on linen. Orly Cogan embroidered for Spring's WHITE OUT exhibition. In case it's unclear, the baby glows in the dark.

"JUST THIS ONCE..."

2009-07-27T15:47:00.004-05:00

23" round embroidered toile.
This will be on view at The Shelburne Museum in The Carriage House from September 4th until October 25th. It will be positioned next to the piece which inspired it, THE GARDEN OF EDEN by the American Folk artist Erastus Salisbury Field which is part of the museum's permanent collection, image above.

Toil(e)

2009-06-16T13:26:00.003-05:00

3 new pieces: a green man, monsters as children and a Blue Oyster Cult song.

The BRIGHT and SHINING LIGHT of IRREVERENCE

2009-05-03T10:58:00.016-05:00

My first solo exhibition, title above, is on view in the Kalkin House at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont from May 17th until October 25th. I'll be giving a gallery talk there on August 13.
The link:

http://www.shelburnemuseum.org/whats_on/new_exhibits_detail.php?id=39

Additionally, I've built another blog devoted to the installation THE SALON OF LOVE AND HORROR which is included in the show. The SALON is approximately 40 portraits done by a variety of artists from around the world depicting me as a human/animal hybrid:

http://salonofloveandhorror.blogspot.com/

some of the work included in the show:

FIVE PRINTS

2009, 12" X 17" each

A set of five prints based upon a suite of silhouettes in a bedroom of the Brick House located on the shores of Lake Champlain. The interiors are actual rooms from the Brick House, two of them from the doll's house.

BOTANIKOS print

2009, 36" X 55"

A wallpaper design reminiscent of nineteenth century botanical illustration.

HEXAGONAL QUILT print

2009, 40" X 40"

Also inspired by a quilt from the Shelburne's illustrious collection, also digitally-generated noise, this time in tessellated form.

SQUARE QUILT print

2009, 44" X 44"
Inspired by a quilt in the Shelburne's collection, the squares are computer-generated noise fields.

FAUXNASETTI bar towels

2009, printed cotton, 20" X 36" each

An homage to the great Italian designer, these 5 bar towels are the country cousins of good design.

B(e)(a)r(e)skin Throw

2009, 54" X 80" woven cotton "photo throw"

HAWK WINDOW

2009, 42 inches round, stained glass made in collaboration with Marina Borker.

Installation Views:

Sunsnatcher

2009-03-20T22:02:00.007-05:00

These two stained glass pieces are included in the American Design Club's HUE ARE YOU? exhibition currently on view at The Future Perfect in Brooklyn. Each measures 14 x 6 and was designed by me and fabricated by Marina Borker. The one on the left is meant to replace vinyl decals meant to ward birds off from flying into windows. The one on the right is just pretty.

UPDATE: Someone stole the black bird from the exhibition. While I am flattered that said thief would risk jail time in order to own a piece of stained glass, (s)he should know that karma can be a harsh mistress.

The LOVE series

2009-02-21T09:56:00.005-05:00

These cushions were created for a french book on art and design, title to follow, and will be shown at the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore 2/27-3/1. LOVE!

Birdmen

2009-02-21T09:54:00.003-05:00

Young Mr. Lincoln

2009-02-06T04:58:00.004-05:00

This piece was selected for the Abraham Lincoln Birthday Bicentennial exhibition currently on view at ART IN THE AGE in Philadelphia.

The Travers Series

2008-10-10T14:23:00.007-05:00

Here are the correct sides of the set of cushions I completed this summer for four Knoll Tulip chairs. The reverse sides are below.

City of Lost Angels

2008-09-16T18:14:00.011-05:00

A piece made for SPRING's A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH show. The first view is a daylight one, the second is the piece in the dark. 13 X 20 inches, polyester glow-in-the-dark thread embroidered on silk bengaline.
The passage, in which each word is embroidered in braille at ninety degrees and in tiny french knots, is from Milton's Paradise Lost:

....our final hope
Is flat despair: we must exasperate
Th' Almighty Victor to spend all his rage,
And that must end us, that must be our cure,
To be no more; sad cure; for who would lose,
Though full of pain, this intellectual being,
Those thoughts that wander through Eternity,
To perish rather, swallowd up and lost
In the wide womb of uncreated night,
Devoid of sense and motion?

Son of Frankentoile

2008-09-04T17:38:00.004-05:00

I've revisited my Frankentoile concept, this time concentrating on adding context to a monochromatic Pierre Deux print. Breathe....BREATHE!!!!

The COLD COMFORT Cushion Cluster

2008-08-27T12:41:00.012-05:00

My first product designed with the great outdoors in mind. Remnant Sunbrella® indoor/outdoor fabric encasing custom-made porcelain nipples, filled w/ feathers & down.

The EXTRA-FANCY ABATTOIR

2008-06-04T06:57:00.013-05:00

My 25 piece installation

ProtoBolster in THE EXTRA-FANCY ABATTOIR

is on view in at SPRING in DUMBO this summer:

www.spring3d.net/

http://protobolster.blogspot.com/

photos by Steve Butcher.

ProtoBolster

2008-05-05T11:51:00.011-05:00

http://protobolster.blogspot.com/

The ProtoBolster is an earth-friendly cushion made from remaindered fabric cuttings and stuffed w/sustainable, plant-based kapok fiber: 25 inches of cuddling pleasure.

Illustration:PLAY

2007-12-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

There's a 10 page bit on my work in the book above published by the nice kids at Victionary.

memo: Stitching Time, a sampler

2007-11-17T10:11:00.001-05:00

I was invited to created a green clock for the Make Time for a Green Cause benefit held Nov.16th at SPRING in DUMBO. A memo, or large fabric sample, is stretched on a hoop and the coded numerals 1-12 are embroidered in either a glow-in-the-dark or tweed thread on the reverse side of a print depicting a Roman statue. Reading outwards from the center, the numerals are in UPC code, Braille, Postal code and Morse code. The hands of the clock are needles so please be careful if attempting to read the Braille.

http://www.treesftf.org/main.htm

http://www.maketimeforagreencause.com/

Frankentoile

2007-11-17T10:01:00.000-05:00

I resurrected my Frankentoile concept for the Pierre Deux 40th birthday soiree/competition. 20 cushions were given as gifts to the participants and judges. Hmmmm, it just occurred to me that although I was a participant (see embroidered piece below), I received no gift. A silly oversight on someone's part, no doubt. The print is pieced back together using cast off scraps from the cutting of the cushion itself. I have a bit of fabric left over and I'm working on some which are a bit less conventional.

Hypertrichosis

2007-10-29T07:28:00.001-05:00

"Congenital generalized Hypertrichosis or werewolf syndrome is a medical term referring to a condition of excessive body hair." - from Wikipedia. Just so you know...

Pierre Deux

2007-10-28T09:04:00.001-05:00

Here's a 20 X 24 inch embroidered linen wall piece which is to be auctioned off for Aid To Artisans on Nov. 14th at OCHRE in NYC. The event is a celebration of The French design house Pierre Deux's 40 year anniversary.

The Knot Sky

2007-10-24T08:07:00.002-05:00

Glow-in-the-dark french knots embroidered onto a slub-heavy wool, it depicts the stars of the summer sky and measures 18 X 18 inches. The first picture is a daylight view, the second a nighttime one.

Taking Things Seriously

2007-10-24T07:56:00.000-05:00

I have an essay in the pretty wonderful new compendium Taking Things Seriously published this month by Princeton Architectural Press. My object even made it onto the cover. It was also featured on a holiday card I did a while back.

The Lost Girls

2007-07-17T15:26:00.000-05:00

A series of prints I've just finished for SPRING's THREADED show in DUMBO. Each measures 24" X 36" and is a archival giclée print on heavy weight canvas, embroidered w/rayon floss, stretched and mounted. Prices furnished upon request.

Statement:
A few years ago, I was hired by a rather high end, psuedo-scientific cosmetics company to design
a limited edition "art box" filled w/ anti-aging unguents for their holiday season. Never one to shy away from incorporating a subversive message into my work while shilling for THE MAN, I came up with the custom toile design of The Lost Girls inspired by JM Barrie's characters from Peter Pan: little boys dressed in animal costumes who are afraid to grow up. The client presented the initial designs to it largest retailer, they were horrified and I was promptly fired. Revisiting the toile later on, it occurred to me that the cosmetics metaphor can very easily be carried through to my noncommercial work whereby embroidery is applied to a preexisting traditional print in order to make the original design more appealing, relevant and desirable to modern tastes. The stitch thus becomes a superficial application that changes the form of the whole in an attempt to first conceal and then appeal to The Other: Pretty, Fresh, New & Young!

send out the clowns

2007-07-16T15:15:00.001-05:00

While wondering why I've been doing so many clowns in the past few months, a friend pointed out that my grandmother collected ceramic clowns when I was a child...I dont even like clowns but I cant seem to stop embroidering them. I think I'll start doing monsters from here on in.

'nother sofa

2007-06-12T08:49:00.000-05:00

I chose the same Pierre Frey toile I used for the headboard (see below), this time in black, for five large cushions to sit on a built-in platform that forms a sofa for a house in the Hamptons. I'll post a photo once the piece is installed.

a clown for Beatrice's first

2007-05-14T07:39:00.000-05:00

5 X 7, 2007

a few more rowboats

2007-04-20T09:59:00.000-05:00

it's my favorite motif in the print.

Toile & Tats cushions

2006-12-12T15:00:00.001-05:00

some highlights of the Toile & Tats line from the past year.

www.historicallyinaccurate.com

Toile Sofa, the first

2006-12-11T16:08:00.000-05:00

I did this for The Future Perfect in Williamsburg. The sofa is made by Bensen and the toile from Pierre Frey.

http://www.thefutureperfect.com/

Toile Sofa, the second

2006-12-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

The second sofa. It's there now - check it out. As shown: $5500.00

http://www.thefutureperfect.com/

Danger in the Garden

2006-12-11T15:22:00.000-05:00

My Danger in the Garden cushions were featured in the ponderous Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers. Silhouetted insects are embroidered on a pornographically fecund cotton rose print.

Braille cushions

2006-12-11T15:13:00.000-05:00

This set was made for the Molly Dillworth curated exhibition THE GREAT AMERICAN STORAGE at Spring last spring. Silk and polyester french knots sit atop a grey wool jersey. They now reside on a couch in Texas.

www.spring3d.net/

a black cat

2006-12-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

One of my first forays into the world of machine embroidery.

Pour Yvette

2006-12-11T14:49:00.000-05:00

Pillow cluster featured in *Wallpaper last year.
6 cushions of black moire with a white silk grosgrain ruffle ribbon creating the outline of a fallen body. wicked.

haiku lantern

2006-12-11T14:41:00.000-05:00

THEY EMERGE EACH NIGHT:
A SWARMING, GLITTERY HOARD
READY TO PARTY

This piece was made for Spring ILLUMINE exhibition last winter in which 30 artist/designers were asked to customize a plain white Japanese paper lantern. I constructed the moths out of paper: their bodies & antennae are black, their eyes are 2 black swarovski crystals and their wings are patterns made using pornographic images culled from the internet.

http://www.spring3d.net/

a portrait

2006-12-11T14:23:00.000-05:00

If you see me, say hello.

Commanders Palace

2006-12-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

This past summer I spent a month embroidering wall panels to be upholstered onto the walls of the Rockwell Group's redesign of the interior of the venerated Commander's Palace in New Orleans. The custom toile depicting life along the Mississippi was rendered by Silver Hill Atelier on a necessarily flame-retardant synthetic twill. This being the case, I used rayon floss and the candy colors complemented the synthetic sheen of the fabric nicely. While the client loved the work, it should be noted that I was asked to remove the clown noses in the banquet scene.

Upholstered Headboard

2006-12-11T13:28:00.000-05:00

These are the detailed areas of a commission recently completed for a client of a custom made upholstered headboard. I chose a new Pierre Frey toile in plum which depicts the actual toile making process as it was done a couple of hundred years back.

memo: HERO

2006-12-11T12:10:00.000-05:00

A piece made for Spring's autumn 2006 show IN THE DARK in d.u.m.b.o.

Glow in the dark thread hand-embroidered on the reverse side of a cotton toile print depicting the marriage of King Arthur to Guinevere.

dimensions - 16" X 20"

http://www.spring3d.net/