Anna Carlson
The Time It Takes, 2020
cotton, ink, wood, nails. 60”w x 32”h x 6”d
Several of the works in this series explore how a conversation ‘looks.’ A verbal exchange can be depicted in several ways: as a line, as columns of text that interlace, and as a limitless textural pattern that gives context to the present. In this work, the conversation is hand-written on a long strip of muslin. The continuous line connects the speaker’s words to the listener into a tape that alludes to 8-track and cassette tapes. Time stamps measure out each minute so that a 30-minute conversation can be seen all at once. Each loop is different as there are more words spoken in some minutes while fewer in others.
Anna Carlson
Spaces Between, 2020
cotton, thread, ink. 20" w x 54" x 3"d
The hand-written the words on a cloth tape are cut into segments of one exchange—a question, or make a comment, and a response. Some are very short, some are long. As I continue to develop my interview skills; I ask better questions, and listen longer. It’s important to allow plenty of space after an answer, and this piece is showing the critical importance of listening.
Anna Carlson
Unfolding, 2020
silk, indigo, pigment 48"w x 90"h x 16"d
This piece, “Unfolding” takes the form of Heraclean bronze tablets, and documents the conversation in terms of the process of memory. The dark end suggests the memory as distant and elusive. As the conversation unfolds, and is recorded, transcribed into text, and then printed onto silk, the color gets lighter and lighter, suggesting illumination and clarity. The blue pieces you see here in the gallery are dyed with natural indigo. Indigo is a plant material, and when the vat is tended properly, will give deep colors on and on. The color blue is that of distance, as mountains from far away, and so the color shows that these are memories. You may have noticed that many of the pieces are in this tall narrow form at. In 2019, I visited the National Archeological Museum in Naples, Italy and saw a Heraclean bronze tablet, with Greek writing on one side, and Latin on the other. The text was some sort of records, and I could make out a few of the Latin words, yet the Greek lettering appeared as a beautiful pattern of lines and spaces.
Anna Carlson
Menu For Life, 2018
Couche (pastry cloth), ink, thread 23" x 33"
Anna Carlson
Engram 1.2, 2015-2016
Screen-printed dye on cotton, silk with embroidery, sewn construction and audio recording. variable
Anna Carlson
Engram 1.2 (detail), 2016
silk, cotton, thread variable
Anna Carlson
Engram 2.0, 2017
silk, cotton, thread 42" x 42" x 4" deep
Anna Carlson
Textual Obscura (detail), 2016
cotton, silk, thread 40" x 40" x 4" deep
Anna Carlson
Traced and Transcribed gallery view, 2017
gallery view showing reverse sides of Textual Emerger, Textual Contineo, and Textual Obscura. variable
Anna Carlson
…together, 2016
Screen-printed dye on cotton with embroidery, construction. 25"w x 19.5"h x 2"d
