Mixed media sculpture
Altered antique thread dispenser, taxidermy racing pigeon, yarn, turf rubber crumb and serving tray
3'H x 1.5'W x 1.5'D
2022

The Art of Storytelling
is a sculpture composed of multiple found objects each with their own unique and problematic histories. When combined, they create a vignette which aims to challenge or recontextualize those histories while generating a sense of reclamation and revision. The crux of this sculpture is an antique thread dispenser produced by Fredericksburg Art Pottery in Virginia in the 1920s. This thread dispenser, originally painted in blackface, would hang on a wall in a sewing room. A ball of thread, string or yarn would be placed in the top of the head and pulled through a small hole in the mouth. I was stuck by the contrast of such a mundane, utilitarian device carrying such violent intentions in both its aesthetic and functionality. The bird that sits on top of the head is a taxidermy racing pigeon which lived its entire life in captivity and was bred specifically for competition and the financial gain of its owner. The bird is pulling the thread from the mouth of the string dispenser alluding to a metaphorical consumption of carcass entrails, but more poetically, references a passing down of tropes, stereotypes and lies in the form of a red thread (hence the title of the piece). Of importance here is that the thread dispensers’ original purpose has not been rendered inoperative…on the contrary, it is functioning exactly as intended yet its orientation has been altered to expose its problematic existence. The blackface paint has been removed and it has been repainted in an equally ridiculous version of “whiteface” or, more to the point, to resemble its original creator. The thread dispenser no longer exists in the world the way it was originally intended to. The entire sculpture rests on a bed of Astro turf rubber crumb plated on a reconstruction era serving platter presenting a challenging relationship between the football field and he cotton filed, a reoccurring theme in my studio practice.