Hanging On By a Thread
Glass beads, thread, marbles
8" X 8" X 9"
1998
Hanging On By A Thread was made for a show that was curated by Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge MA. The title of the show was “Artifacts and Archetypes”. I was asked to write some text for a label that might accompany this piece if it were to be found in a museum collection sometime in the future:
In the latter part of the twentieth century there was a renaissance in beadwork. It is believed that this may have been related to the hysteria that occurred as civilization anticipated the year 2000. As the millennium approached, neurosis became increasingly evident in the general population. Predictably this was reflected in Religion, Politics, and Art. Though little is known about this Artist, it is believed that this is an autobiographical piece reflecting an obsessive-compulsive desire to work in a medium that is time consuming and tedious beyond reason. This compulsion was not uncommon among artists of the time and is believed to be a reaction to the onset of the computer age. Considering the hours that this kind of work required, it is not surprising that the majority of artist who were drawn to this medium endured lives plagued by squalor and anonymity. This piece has survived remarkably intact and is a good example of pre-millennium neurosis-based artwork.