photo by Miriam Rosenthal
I have just recently found out about fiber artist Leslie Blackmon because she currently has some work on display in Virginia and I saw a news article about the work. The project is too fascinating not to take a second glance. It’s called Baa-America! Icons Revisited and it consists of a series of 20 bonneterie sheep sculptures. That alone would be kind of fun, but there’s more to it than that. Each sheep is designed to depict a pop culture icon from America. Par exemple, the photo above is of the crocheted Andy Warhol sheep.
More about crochet artist Leslie Blackmon
Blackmon is a Washington DC mixed media artist who currently works primarily with fiber although a bulk of her portfolio is painting work. I think it’s neat to look at the paintings and then look at her current crochet work because you can see some of the same themes and images but they’re presented in different ways. She says that she is currently interested in “pure abstraction as a means to depict more complex ideas and experiences”. I really like what she has started doing with crochet and hope that she will continue using this fiber medium to express herself!
More about Baa-merica!
Baa-merica! Icons Revisited is Blackmon’s current (and first) exposition solo, which is at the Art League Gallery in Virginia but will only be there through June 6th. The Art League writes:
“Drawing inspiration from her background as a contemporary fiber artist and her fascination with popular culture, Blackmon fused the idea of using her crochet talents to create representations of American icons with her affinity for sheep, transforming this project into a whimsical retrospective of American culture. She brings diversity to the flock by drawing from different areas of culture – representatives from the realms of art, music, and commercial products include Jackson Pollock, Louis Armstrong, and Wonder Bread.”
You can see all of the different sheep on Blackmon’s website. I’ll share one more because I love it – it is the crocheted Martha Stewart sheep:
Photo by MIriam Rosenthal
Blackmon’s other crochet art
Baa-merica! isn’t the only crochet work that Blackmon has done. A couple of her other crochet pieces:
Porker Belle
Mixed Media Sculpture with crochet
Hooked on Yoyos – crocheted circles on canvas
The Bottom Line
I think what I really love about Blackmon’s crochet art is that it’s just fun. So many crochet artists use this feminine art form to make big statements about gender and violence and huge issues and I do like that, aussi, because that is an important part of what art is all about … but I like that Blackmon’s work is fun to look at! And the crochet work is enjoyable to see. Que pensez-vous?
Every Monday I write about a crochet artist. You can see all of those posts ici.
[...] Leslie Blackmon. [...]