Tue Dec 20, 2011
Textiles enjoy a close kinship with storytelling and narrative. As
an artist interested in religious traditions and expressions of sacred
form, fiber arts and labor-intensive needlework are primary mediums by
which I examine the nature of transformation in ritual practice. Several
years ago, I was invited by Rabbi Liza Stern of Congregation Eitz
Chayim (Cambridge, MA) to create a new Torah mantle. The task of
fabricating a ceremonial garment - that by virtue of its beauty would
signal the central presence of Judaism’s core sacred texts - was
daunting. Over several years’ time the project inspired my in-depth
encounters with the ancient narrative that I experienced in conjunction
with rabbinic traditions of ‘midrash’ – the interpretation and
re-interpretation of the biblical text as a guide for living and
foundation for understanding – in close relationship with the vibrant
life of the congregation. The investigation guiding my design of the
Torah mantle generated a second project for the collective spinning and
weaving of a ritual textile used to bind the Torah scrolls together. In
the end, both projects proved to be seminal platforms for my vision of a
socially-engaged art practice.
- Catherine Tutter, December 2011
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/cambridge/2011/12/for_cambridge_artist_design_fo.html
