Interview with the Artist, Karen Guancione -- "In Stitches"

From Karen Guancione Art

Bolsas de Mandado © Karen Guancione, Mixed media installation, machine sewn plastic bags, grommets, size: 900 square feet, photo © Bruce Riccitelli. All rights reserved.

Introduction
It's difficult to be objective when I'm such a big fan of Karen Guancione and her art works. However, I made an effort during our second interview when we visited her "In Stitches" exhibition at the Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences, that ran from May 10 through June 18, 2012.

The large-scale installation is a different format than that of "A Portable Constant Obsession." The interview is different as well. Karen not only speaks about her work, but also of her relationship with her mother, a woman who has had a profound influence on her life and art.

Prior to the interview, I photographed the exhibit from a variety of different angles and heights. It's difficult to convey the size of her Bolsas de Mandado (the hanging panels of sewn plastic bags), but this opening video shows the exhibit from the vestibule of the building. As Karen walks diagonally through the installation, she helps to show the scale of the work.



The Nature of the Bolsas de Mandado

In the next video, Karen talks with me about how she fashions the panels and works within a space to mount an installation. Following the video is a close-up of a panel's grommets.

From Karen Guancione Art

Bolsas de Mandado © Karen Guancione, Mixed media installation, machine sewn plastic bags, grommets, size: 900 square feet, photo © Debra Schiff.

The name Bolsas de Mandado originates from the Mexican shopping bags used to carry groceries, small items, laundry, and so forth. Below, Karen tells me about the bags and what it was like to sew them into the panels. The video is followed by a photograph of the panel she uses to explain the name.

From Karen Guancione Art

Bolsas de Mandado © Karen Guancione, Mixed media installation, machine sewn plastic bags, grommets, size: 900 square feet, photo © Debra Schiff.

Karen's Favorite Panels and Bags
In the next series of videos, Karen and I talk about the panels that have special meaning for her. I'm especially interested in her stories of the people who have donated bags from all over the world, even under extreme circumstances. Because the videos fit together so nicely, I won't interrupt them with text.











A Mother's Role in Creating Art
In this final video, Karen talks about her very first Bolsas de Mandado panel. She also talks about her mother's bag folding, and enduring influence on her art and life. If you're like me, you'll need a tissue when you watch this piece.



Conclusion
As ever, I am privileged to be able to help document Karen's work. She makes it very easy by articulating her techniques and purposes in a lively and educational way. I look forward to the next opportunity to experience her art and ask the questions I don't normally get to ask an artist when spending time with her/his work. But that will have to wait until she returns from her rejuvenating trip to Nice.

From Karen Guancione Art

Summer Hiatus and Upcoming Posts

I didn't expect to take a month off from posting here, but sometimes life events take precedence over creative endeavors. However, while on a recent trip to the West, I had the opportunity to tour the wonderful Book Arts Program at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Earlier in the season, a good friend from the MLIS program at Rutgers, Jen Fitzgerald and I visited Longwood Gardens for the Bruce Munro Light exhibit. I'll be posting about both those trips in the coming weeks.

Until then, I'll be editing my photo backlog, working on another home renovation project (updating all the bathrooms at once), and preparing for some big events at my Chester Library job. One event centers around The Map. It will be returning from a summer at the Center for Conservation of Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, and it will receive its share of fanfare when it arrives.

Speaking of Chester, I made the local papers. There were a couple of articles on the World War II newsletters I processed and later digitized with the help of the Morris County Library pros. One of the articles is here. If you scroll down a little, there's an image of the newspaper. The story begins on page 2.

Stay tuned for more tours and travelogues.