Fionnáin apžvelgė autoriaus Mario Schulze knygą String Figures
A beautiful, coherent tangle
5 žvaigždutės
String figures are temporary artworks made from string, very often known in the western world through the associated children's game 'cat's cradle'. They are a storytelling device, using shapes made from string. Their potential was recently popularised by philosopher Donna Haraway, but their history stretches back centuries and they are still found in almost every country in the world, albeit less common than they may have once been in many cultures. In the early 20th Century, film, photographs and the actual string figures were collected from many places featured in this book, including the Solomon Islands, Nigeria, Brazil and Greenland. These artefacts were collated by western anthropologists for European museums, one colonial hand recording their history while the other erased it.
This book, String Figures, is the research result of an exhibition held in Switzerland in 2024. It combines essays by anthropologists, artists, and other researchers to form …
String figures are temporary artworks made from string, very often known in the western world through the associated children's game 'cat's cradle'. They are a storytelling device, using shapes made from string. Their potential was recently popularised by philosopher Donna Haraway, but their history stretches back centuries and they are still found in almost every country in the world, albeit less common than they may have once been in many cultures. In the early 20th Century, film, photographs and the actual string figures were collected from many places featured in this book, including the Solomon Islands, Nigeria, Brazil and Greenland. These artefacts were collated by western anthropologists for European museums, one colonial hand recording their history while the other erased it.
This book, String Figures, is the research result of an exhibition held in Switzerland in 2024. It combines essays by anthropologists, artists, and other researchers to form a wonderful, broad and coherent history of the artform and a contemporary reflection on it. The book is split into sections: first, a research exploration of string figures including essays on artistic history, mathematical theory and anthropology. The second section features contemporary artist approaches and reflections on the String Figures exhibition, with some high quality photographs. Finally, a series of shorter essays gives some perspectives on string figures today.
The quality of the editing by Mario Schulze and Sarine Waltenspul throughout is exceptional, and the writing and depth in each essay matches this. Every chapter has something to grab hold of, whether it is another piece of the complex history of string figures, or a personal reflection on how they are made, or a deeper dive into colonial exploitation through museum culture. The result is one of the finest research books I have read on a single topic, and a beautifully in-depth look at an often disregarded artform. As always, there were a couple of essays that were a little forgettable, but none that were of low quality. With so many perspectives and ideas, the book could have been a messy knot, but the result is a beautiful mesh of opinions, perspectives and research that is a joy to read.