Bethany Taylor visits CF at the Webber Gallery
September 28, 2019
On Wednesday, September 18, CF hosted Bethany Taylor at the Webber Gallery. Taylor is an associate professor and heavily involved in the WARP program (The Workshop for Art Research and Practice) at the University of Florida.
She started out as a painter but was soon dissatisfied with a single image that doesn’t change. She then moved on to video but eventually wanted to come back to hands-on material art.
“I liked the idea of something that’s changeable, that’s moving, and never stays the same,” said Taylor. “So, a lot of my work completely falls apart, and is completely impermanent.”
Taylor has many exhibits in this country and internationally. Many of her exhibits that she showed in the presentation included a tapestry. In the past, before tapestry was mainstreamed, it showed status and power. Tapestry was something of great value hung in castles and palaces.
She even compared tapestries to social media. “They told stories, just like social media does today. You have political, cultural, and environmental issues shown in tapestry. In the same way, as you see on social media.”
Taylor stated she doesn’t enjoy making art that sells but tells a story. In her woven art, she uses one sting to make a picture. These exhibits are usually accommodated with tapestry and filled with political or environmental causes that Taylor is passionate about. Most of her woven drawings revert right back to a ball of string.
One piece in particular that caught the eye of many students at the presentation was “sleeping through the dream.” Taylor talked about how she had gotten her inspiration from a Walmart American flag blanket. From that inspiration, Taylor created a multifaceted story of her own opinions about this country we live in.
“Our flag is not supposed to be turned into as many things as we turn it into,” said Taylor. “It seemed very apathetic and I had some concerns. So, I unraveled it.”
For more information about “Artist Talks,” and other events around campus visit https://www.cf.edu/calendar.
Story & photos by: Ta’Bria Snowden
