American artist Diane Meyer combines photography with embroidery emphasising the physical and tactile quality of each captured image. The use of cross stitch echoes pixelation which introduces another dimension to the compelling images, many of which were taken pre-digital photography when the subjects were less aware of how to react infront of the camera. 

What is your background in textiles? 

I don’t actually have a background in textiles. I studied Photography at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts where I received a BFA and then went on to get an MFA from the University of California, San Diego. My mom had taught me cross-stitch when I was younger- she would sometimes let me stay up late and watch TV with her and we would often cross-stitch at that time.  While I always liked the slow, meditative quality of it, it  was something that I initially kept pretty separate from my studio practice.

Where are you based and where do you work? 

I grew up in New Jersey but I am currently based in Los Angeles. At the moment, I have a home studio which works well for me- although it is sometimes a challenge to keep my cat away from the string. 

How do you describe your art? 

For the past few years, I have been working on several series of hand-sewn photographs, Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten and Berlin. I have also recently begun a new series based on class photographs. 

The series Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten,  is based on snapshots and personal photographs taken at various times throughout my life and organized by location. In this series, cross stitch embroidery has been sewn directly into family photographs. The images are broken down and reformed through the embroidery into a hand-sewn pixel structure. As areas of the image are concealed by the embroidery, small, seemingly trivial details emerge while the larger picture and context are erased. I am interested in the disjunct between actual experience and photographic representation and photography’s ability to supplant memory. By borrowing the visual language of digital imaging with an analog process, a connection is made between forgetting and digital file corruption. The tactility of the pieces also references the growing trend of photos remaining primarily digital- stored on cell phones and hard drives, but rarely printed out into a tangible object. 

The other series that I have been working on is based of a series of photographs that I took along the entire 104 mile path of the former Berlin Wall. Sections of the photographs have been obscured by cross-stitch embroidery sewn directly into the photograph. The embroidery is made to resemble pixels and borrows the visual language of digital imaging in an analog, tactile process. In many images, the embroidered sections represent the exact scale and location of the former Wall offering a pixelated view of what lies behind. In this way, the embroidery appears as a translucent trace in the landscape of something that no longer exists but is a weight on history and memory. I am interested in the porous nature of memory as well the means by which photography transforms history into nostalgic objects that obscure objective understandings of the past.

The images were taken in the city center as well as the outskirts of city where I followed the former path of the wall through suburbs and forests. I was particularly interested in photographing locations where no visible traces of the actual wall remain but where one can still see subtle clues of its previous existence. These clues include incongruities in the architecture that occurred as new structures were built on newly opened land parcels, changes in streetlights, or newer vegetation. Often the embroidered sections of the image run along the horizon line forming an unnatural separation that blocks the viewer. This aspect of the sewing emphasizes the unnatural boundaries created by the wall itself. The sewing, which is soft and domestic provides a literal contrast to the concrete of the wall and a metaphorical contrast to its symbolism.

Additionally, I am currently work on I am working on a new series of 16-20 large scale hand-embroidered photographs of old elementary school class photographs from the 1970s. This project will continue my interest in the relationship between photography and memory and is an extension of an earlier project, Time Spent That Might Otherwise Be Forgotten.” In the class photographs, the faces of the students, or what would normally be the main focal points of the image, are obscured with cross-stitch embroidery made to resemble the digital pixel structure of the image. By obscuring what would typically be the most important parts of the image, otherwise overlooked details are brought into focus such as body language and the embodiments of social convention. I am interested exploring these details to reveal not only the relationships between the various figures, but also how, even at a very young age, children were taught and instructed to pose in particular ways based on gender. Drawing on the ideas of Roland Barthes in his book Camera Lucida, the project will also explore the ways in which clothing items were carefully chosen by parents to convey a particular impression for peers and future generations. I am interested in this time period not only because it is my own generation, but because it is the last generation to have a childhood unclouded by digital technology. These class pictures were taken before camera phones and digital cameras and at a time when having one’s class picture taken was still a serious and important occasion- something that has been lost on today’s children who are accustomed to their parents photographing them with camera phones repeatedly throughout the day- and thus more susceptible to the impulses of impressions management through pose, body language, dress and other details in the image. 

Your work is so unique. How long did you take to find your concept for combining photography and embroidery? 

I was interested in combining a traditional, analogue process with the visual language of digital imaging. Through experimentation with the process, I realised I could match the colours in the photograph and create the effect of pixelization. A long time ago, I was working on a series of landscapes using small squares of carpet remnants which also created a pixelated effect. Although I didn’t realise it at the time, I think the embroidered photographs came from my original experiments using carpet remnants. 

For awhile I had been working on several bodies of work of more traditional photographs that were digitally outputted as light jet prints. I became frustrated by the lack of tactility and missed the actual process of art making. I felt frustrated that, with image editing software like Photoshop, images can be completely perfected which made me want to embrace a process full of imperfections- while borrowing the visual language of pixelization and digital imaging. The embroidery also emphasises the photograph as a physical, tactile object rather than something simply viewed on a screen- the standard way that images are currently consumed. I became interested in the almost meditative quality of the process given the repetitive and time consuming nature of the process. Optically, I was also interested in the physical quality of the embroidery- that it is raised just slightly above the surface of the image and the reflective quality of the thread.

Did you ever use another stitch instead of cross stitch? 

So far, I have only used cross stitch as it seems to work best to suggest pixelization. 

How do you work?

I don’t really make sketches of the work beforehand although sometimes I will draw on top of a copy of the photograph to get a sense of where I should place the embroidery. 

A lot of time it really is trial and error since it can be a bit tricky to fully visualize how it will look when completed. I have definitely started a lot of pieces that I had to abandon because I realized the embroidery wasn’t quite working. 

How does the needle and small stitches not rip the paper? 

I’m sort of surprised that the paper has held up as well as it does. I experimented quite a bit with different paper types and surfaces and finally settled on a thick Hahnemuhle paper. I think that, especially with the really large pieces, the sewing itself keeps the paper together. Because I am changing colours constantly while working on each piece, the embroidery on the back gets very layered and intertwined. I think it ultimately helps support the structure of the piece. 

What is the highlight of your career so far? 

I was included in an exhibition at the George Eastman Museum, “Matter of Memory: The Photo as Object in the Digital Age” curated by Lisa Hostetler. I was so honored to have been included in this exhibition and to have my work alongside so many photographers who I have admired and been inspired by throughout my career. The museum itself has long been very special to me. For a long time,  I have had a book of the museum’s collection, and some of my very favorite photographs are in their permanent collection and in the history of photography, so many pivotal exhibitions have taken place there. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring textile artists? 

I don’t have specific advice for textile artists- Im not even sure I would consider myself to be a textile artist, but the advice that I would give to any artist is to just keep making art and to do projects that are important to him or her. I think its very important for artists to not only have a strong work ethic and to be dedicated to their studio practice, but to also be able to easily bounce back from setbacks or rejection letters without being discouraged. I think finding and forming a local community is also very important. 

www.dianemeyer.net

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