Client: Mouse House, Inc.

Overview

For this installation, fiber artist Susan Lenz unraveled miles of of thread scavenged from yard sales and donated by friends across the North America. 130 baskets were suspended from the ceiling at Gallery 80808, an 18' x 20' space in Columbia, SC. The massive accumulation of thread both informs and confounds, acting as a labyrinth of the human mind, logically connected to everyday definitions and irrationally linked to the failures of memory, aging, and a world interwoven with threads.

Goals

The goal for this installation was to create a unique setting for a local arts publication's launch of their newest issue (Jasper Magazine) as well as to kick-off the city's "Cultural Passport", a campaign to increase awareness of diverse literary and art events, coordinated by OneColumbia. The magazine's focal article covered Palmetto Opera. The reception included vocal performances highlighting the organization's upcoming production of La Boheme. The city's "Cultural Passport" project centered on diversity within the arts community. Thus, Susan Lenz's installation was created to tie the aims of these two groups together through the common thread of imagination. The installation mimics popular visions of the human mind, a massive center of brain waves, lightening bolts, and cartoon text all symbolized by her threads. The installation was designed for viewers to walk through and under the baskets as if wandering through a colorful, artistically inspired mind.

Process

OneColumbia and Jasper Magazine both needed space and a visual arts component for their project launches. Palmetto Opera desired a creative space to promote their upcoming performance. Susan Lenz used the public space outside her rental studio to create an installation that accommodated the needs of all parties.

Additional Information

The installation was successfully submitted to the Mesa Contemporary Art Museum and will be on view there from April to August in 2016.