RAW PROGRAM: THREADS: GATHERING MY THOUGHTS AT THE MESA ARTS CENTER MUSEUM

The Rising Arts Writers Program is an initiative created by The Arts Beacon to encourage, mentor, support and post writings by aspiring locals writers.  With the intention of fostering critical responses to art and artists in the Valley, the RAW Program creates an opportunity for up and coming writers to comment on their own art scene using the platform of The Arts Beacon website while also being a valuable resource for local artists seeking insights into their practice.

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Thread is a common material often overlooked in everyday life. South Carolina fiber and installation artist Susan Lenz brings the material to life and gives it a much deeper meaning in her installation, Threads: Gathering My Thoughts. The installation is currently on display at the Mesa Arts Center Museum of Contemporary Arts until August 7, 2016.

Lenz manipulates thread to emphasize artistic, non-functional uses of the material. Elevating fabric in an unconventional way, Lenz delves into the complexity and depth of the human mind figuratively by intertwining thousands of brightly-colored fibers.

The work is made up of a variety of wicker baskets suspended from the ceiling that contain thousands of vibrantly-colored strings entangled and connected to one another, creating a colorful web of sorts. The interwoven thread flows effortlessly from ceiling to floor out of the baskets. As the viewer steps into the small white room where the piece is installed, they are enveloped in a sea of colors. When standing in the center of the room, the strings completely surround its spectator, forcing one to fully experience the multidimensional piece and consider all it is meant to represent. The way the huge mass of thread is lit from above creates uniquely-shaped shadows on the surrounding white walls, adding another layer of pattern and dimension.

Through her blog, various social media platforms and online fiber art groups, Lenz asked for donations of old, neglected, and unused spools of thread. People from throughout North America sent her their half-used spools of thread that had become too brittle over the years. Lenz also accumulated many spools herself from yard sales.
After amassing a huge collection of thread, Lenz took the time to unravel each one. Over a period of weeks, this large entanglement reminded Lenz of all the thoughts that run through the human mind at any given moment.

The installation started small, with just one basket. Lenz realized that one basket didn’t fully represent the vastness of thought in the human mind so the installation gradually grew larger. Lenz felt the installation needed to be much bigger to “Illustrate the myriad thoughts, emotions, ideas and things that go through our head at any point while we’re awake and probably while were asleep.” The current installation at the Mesa Arts Center contains about 130 baskets.
The work is an imaginative visualization and interpretation of human thought. The labyrinth created by the threads is messy and chaotic yet organized all at once. This could symbolize the way thoughts and memories work together harmoniously but at times can become jumbled and overlapped. The arrangement evokes a web of firing neurons.

Reflecting on how the mind and fibers relate, Lenz realized there are many words and phrases in the English language that directly reference their connection like “spin me a yarn,” and “weaving your thoughts together.” With the installation, Lenz sought to break down these literary definitions commonly attached to the words by using physical objects to convey broader meaning. The arrangement conjures thoughts of these familiar words and phrases and deepens their meaning through visual interpretation.

The piece not only represents the artist’s thoughts but also the sheer energy and power the human mind can possess. Although the installation is titled, “my” thoughts, she hopes that those who view it see it as a manifestation of the thoughts in their own mind as well.

Threads: Gathering My Thoughts has been on display in many other museums but each time Lenz uniquely configures the installation to the particular space. Stepping into this installation is like stepping into the interworking of the human mind. Lenz transforms the space and creates an original piece full of texture and meaning. The use of a common material to represent something so complex and limitless is both clever and captivating. Threads: Gathering My Thoughts is an immersive, must-see installation.