Pattern surrounds us, from striped wallpaper to the rows of books on bookshelves. The underlying concept behind pattern is repetition-repetition is key to understanding a pattern when we see it. \Repeat, Repeat,"" showing through March 8 at the Gallery of Design, exhibits four artists who use pattern to explore concepts and process in their work. As part of the School of Human Ecology Centennial Year exhibition series, ""Repeat, Repeat"" relies on the viewer's knowledge of pattern as connected to the world of textiles and interiors in order to come across as a coherent body of work.
The most obvious reference to textile patterns is in the work of Susie Brandt. Her screen-printed fabrics feature brightly colored patterns of circles that overlap and interweave with each other. Upon closer examination, the patterns are constructed from such shapes as old records, CDs and saw blades, implying that pattern is evident not only on a visual level, as in patterned fabrics, but on auditory levels as well, as with music and work.
Brandt creates patterns that are pleasing to the eye, while reminding us that at their simplest level, patterns come from simple shapes that surround us. We are the ones who create meaning for the shapes.
Jerry Bleem concentrates on process and repetition in his works. ""Give Me,"" a large image meticulously constructed from tiny bits of postage stamps, is a prime example. Bleem recreates the 10-cent Red Cloud postage stamp at a size of about eight feet by five feet, using his obsessive technique as a political message about the oppression of the Native Americans. By creating the challenge of collecting, matching, organizing and positioning tiny bits of paper onto a huge canvas, Bleem creates a pattern of process that is echoed in the pattern of stamp images. Performed at such a large scale and carried out with ordinary found objects, the banality of the process is emphasized.
Bleem urges us to look at the processes involved in daily life not as byproducts of our goals, but to gain insight into our lives.
Architectural decoration has long had its roots in pattern, and Piper Shepard uses her interest in architecture as a springboard for its exploration. ""Chambers-Variation #2"" consists of large pieces of cloth that are elaborately hand-cut and constructed as hanging chambers through which the viewer can pass. They are delicate and ethereal little spaces that spring from the intricate patterns found in Islamic architecture. The history and dependability of these ancient patterns, combined with the flow and movement of the cloth, create a wonderful contrast. The spaces feel like little sanctuaries, both exotic and private.
The fourth artist in the exhibition, Kyoung Ae Cho, hails from close to home-she lives and teaches in Milwaukee. Despite her urban setting, Cho uses nature as her starting point for her exploration of pattern. One of the strongest works of the whole show, ""Specimen,"" uses balsam fir needles, hair and fine cloth to create a grid pattern on the wall. One pine needle is sandwiched between two layers of cloth; Cho then sews a strand of hair around each pine needle to hold the cloth together and keep the pine needle in place, with excess hair trailing off at each end.
When situated in a grid of 200 pieces, the result is quite stunning in its simplistic beauty, which relies solely on repetition. The pine needles and hair resemble some kind of insect larvae or other scientific specimen, and when placed against the sterile white background of the cloth and gallery wall, the viewer is invited to scrutinize them. By extending this invitation, Cho asks us to examine both the patterns inherent and nature and the patterns that humanity creates.
It's not necessary to be a student of textiles or design to understand and appreciate ""Repeat, Repeat."" All that is required is a working knowledge of the patterns that surround us, whether we are conscious of them or not. Take a look around: at the wood grain on a table, or the veins in leaf, or a snowflake. After doing so, you will understand a bit more about where the artists in ""Repeat, Repeat"" are coming from.
