Tilleke Schwarz Essay

1124 Words5 Pages
The Dutch artist Tilleke Schwarz is a contemporary embroiderer who draws with thread. Her work is often whimsical and colourful, containing images, graffiti, icons and texts and the viewer is invited to decipher the connections and meaning of the images, making their own interpretation. Her work is like visual poetry with narrative elements; they are not complete stories but they convey contemporary culture. I decided to look at Tilleke’s work in further detail as I found her ideas interesting and humorous and liked the way she used mixed media in her work. The way in which she presents text is innovative and exciting and having studied some of her examples, I experimented with similar designs and created some of my own pieces in her style. I particularly like the images she uses in her pieces; they are childlike in a graphic style and are of everyday items with added text. The text is often that which bombards us in modern day life, for example, ‘Click to add title’ or ‘Paper jam’. She gets ideas from life in general and the use of the text in her work makes it quirky and fun. She uses the text to poke fun, ‘Caution – may be hot. Sip with care!’ In this example, she is probably pointing out the ridiculous society we live in with disclaimers having to be issued everywhere to stop individuals suing and taking legal action against others. A very 21st century trend. Tilleke was born in 1946 in the Netherlands and was educated at a Dutch High School. She went on to study at the Academy of Fine Arts and Industry, (1965-67) and later at the Free Academy for Modern Art, (1985-1990). Her professional career began in 1990 when she started exhibiting her work around the world, lecturing, teaching and writing about textile art in specialist magazines. She has won several prizes for her work, including the European Coats Mez Sponsor for Modern Embroidery

More about Tilleke Schwarz Essay

Open Document