On October 23, 2015, I attended the SoftCore gallery on 2 Pine street, Alfred, New York in the Fosdick Nelson gallery. This gallery consists of three dimensional objects and works made with fabric of all kinds. There were many works from different artists, but these two pieces caught my eye. The first design is from Mark Newport and is titled “Batman 3″. The second design is from Erin Riley and is titled “Originally Alone“.
Newport hand knit this piece and used acryllic and buttons. I found it interesting how Newport took a character, Batman, that is so well known and in a way, made it his own. It is hard to see in the picture, but the face section of the top of the outfit was made specifically different than Batman’s usual outfit. This difference was repeated within all of his other outfits within the gallery as well.
Riley used wool and cotton to create his design. I found it interesting how Riley made the car look so destroyed with the materials that were used. The dull colors in the background really allow the vibrant red on the car stand out. Since the car is destroyed, the individual inside of it is most likely dead. This correlates with the title “Originally Alone” because when you die, you die alone.
After going to the SoftCore gallery and observing these works as well as many others, I learned things that I can use within my own artwork. I learned that keeping the background dull allows the audience to really focus on what you want them to. I also learned that sometimes it is great to have your own take or representation of someone else’s work.
Nadia Parfait 