Reading List: Grabbing Whatever’s Closest
Acccompnaying her solo exhibition, Grabbing Whatever’s Closest, this May, Ashleigh Robek has curated a reading list for those interested in diving into what guides and inspires her practice. The exhibition opens on Friday, May. 1, during Holsum Open Studios from 5 to 8 p.m.
Book Recommendations
Women who Run with the Wolves
Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
by. Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Within every woman there lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. She is the Wild Woman, who represents the instinctual nature of women. But she is an endangered species. For though the gifts of wildish nature belong to us at birth, society’s attempt to “civilize” us into rigid roles has muffled the deep, life-giving messages of our own souls.
Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years
by. Elizabeth Wayland Barber
Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing clothing created from spun fibers. In Women's Work, archaeologist-linguist Elizabeth Wayland Barber "weaves the strands of mythology and literature, ethnology and documented history into a rich tapestry" (John Noble Wilford, New York Times Book Review), illuminating the vital role women held in pre-industrial societies. With a distinctive and innovative approach to ancient remains, Barber examines ancient textiles from Stone Age string skirts and ancient Egyptian sleeved tunics to intricate Neolithic Swiss linens and colorfully patterned Minoan dresses, offering us captivating glimpses into the daily lives of women through the cloth they made and wore.
Worn
by. Sofi Thanhauser
In this panoramic social history, Sofi Thanhauser brilliantly tells five stories—Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool—about the clothes we wear and where they come from, illuminating our world in unexpected ways. She takes us from the opulent court of Louis XIV to the labor camps in modern-day Chinese-occupied Xinjiang. We see how textiles were once dyed with lichen, shells, bark, saffron, and beetles, displaying distinctive regional weaves and knits, and how the modern Western garment industry has refashioned our attire into the homogenous and disposable uniforms popularized by fast-fashion brands.
Journals & Articles
Anna Atkins: Photographs of British Algae
by. Hope Saska
Anna Atkins (1799-1871) was an English botanist and, some argue, the very first female photographer, most noted for using photography in her books on various plants.
Having grown up with her father John George Children — a chemist, mineralogist, and not too successful zoologist — she was surrounded by science and also contributed to her father's work. Her engravings of shells can be found in her father's translated edition of Jean-Baptiste de Monet Lamarck’s Genera of Shells, published in 1823, but it is her work with cyanotypes that she is best known for. Only 13 copies of the handwritten book are known to exist, some of which are in various stages of completion.
Iconic Images, Symbols, and Archetypes: Their Function in Art and Science
by. Frances R Westley
The relationship between art and science is one of contrasts and commonalities. We look at one commonality between art and science: the central role of iconic images. We argue that iconic images are the touchstone symbols in both art and science and provide similar functions for both. We propose that these iconic images provoke an openness and a receptivity to our deepest emotional capacities and a connection between those and the dynamics of the broader social-ecological systems in which we operate.