Material Difference: Soft Sculpture and Wall Works

Today there are no limits to what are appropriate materials to use in art making. In this richly-illustrated book sculptures of the human form constructed of thread, sticks, cantaloupe peels, and beads are pictured. Interiors of five collectors' homes are presented showing the pleasure and comfort the owners derive from living with their handsome, provocative, even surreal possessions. It is art that invites touching. Polly Ullrich delighted in finding art-historical precedents for the objects produced between the mid-twentieth to the early 21st centuries by an international group fo creators whose work has been accepted into private and public collections in the Midwest and around the world. The artists represented mined (and modified) traditional techniques from fields outside painting and sculpture, especially textile arts. Crocheted thread, twisted wire, embroidered drawings, woven hangings, stapled photographs, zippered wood, expoxied burlap, and knotted maps are used in some of the pieces selected. A diverse palette of animal products are employed including: exotic feathers, human hair, fish skin, hog casing, and egg shells. Material Difference is essential for the art connoisseur (collector, critic, curator, scholar, historian, student, dealer, artist), textile professional, and interior designer.