What May Be
Host / Curator: Ted Key & Leslie Rice, Notre Dame High School
Artist: Sarah Applebaum
Ted Key and Leslie Rice make up the fine arts faculty at Notre Dame High School, an all girls, Catholic day school right around the corner from the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art. In fact, the students are often assigned to visit the gallery and respond to the latest exhibition.
When selecting an artist to work at the school, Ted and Leslie wanted an artist who would not only respond to the architectural or social dynamics of the site, but also include the students in the process and construction of the artwork. In describing their selection process, Leslie wrote:
Instead of being merely a site specific art piece, I would like the artist to be actively engaged with students. I want the artist to facilitate a small group of student assistants. Whether this means helping design the art piece or helping to prep- I’m open. I feel that including the students needs to be an integral part of the piece, and I consider this non-negotiable.In reviewing portfolios, both teachers were struck by Sarah Applebaum’s work and felt strongly that she would be a good match for their students. Leslie Rice found her “appealing, especially because she is interested in creating a ‘people specific’ work.” Sarah’s portfolio involved a great deal of knit environments and costumes created through a combination of ‘found’ and altered knitted sweaters or blankets. They also felt that the artist’s material choices would appeal to the large faction of student knitters on campus and offer them an alternative to “the traditional wearable mode.”
Proposal for A Bonding Experience
I’d like for all the students in your art classes to collaborate and make a group Sweater. Each student will contribute a sweater to the project. This can be any sweater as long as it’s big enough for that person, has long sleeves and is knit or crocheted. The sweater can be their own sweater or someone else’s. If anyone wants to find something really crazy I encourage them to go to a thrift store or see what their parents or grandparents might have in storage. Each student can embellish their sweater in any way they see fit. It can be silly, meaningful, boring, pretty, scary, etc. This will be their project. The sleeves of the sweaters will ultimately be sewn, knit or crocheted together by the students so that a circle of attached sweaters is created.- Sarah Applebaum