Embroidery That Mummifies Print Journalism
May 5, 2013 1:07 PM Subscribe
Lauren DiCioccio uses a simple needle and thread on cotton muslin to mummify and honor an endangered artifact– the printed newspaper.
Interesting that the artist concentrates on image and obliterates the content, which is the greatest value of print journalism.
posted by Miko at 1:20 PM on May 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Miko at 1:20 PM on May 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
Embroidering typography must be very difficult and probably not that striking.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:23 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:23 PM on May 5, 2013
These are good.
posted by mochapickle at 1:26 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by mochapickle at 1:26 PM on May 5, 2013
There's more pieces like these on her website as well as some pretty great paintings.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:30 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by shakespeherian at 1:30 PM on May 5, 2013
Life's rich tapestry.
posted by arcticseal at 1:31 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by arcticseal at 1:31 PM on May 5, 2013
I like them a lot but can't help feeling the idea could be put to more daring uses rather than some statement about the death of print journalism. But it might be because I just came from an embroidery art exhibition about abortions, dementia and child abuse and my stomach still hurts.
posted by Marauding Ennui at 1:35 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by Marauding Ennui at 1:35 PM on May 5, 2013
That is utterly beautiful.
As far as content versus images goes: how many people favour images over text these days? They can both deliver a lot of information in the proper context, but we expect that densely written pieces from "reputable" source value text over image.
I wonder how you could embroider one of the NYT's brilliant infographics. (That last word just had to be added to my Firefox dictionary. Hmm.)
posted by maudlin at 1:46 PM on May 5, 2013
As far as content versus images goes: how many people favour images over text these days? They can both deliver a lot of information in the proper context, but we expect that densely written pieces from "reputable" source value text over image.
I wonder how you could embroider one of the NYT's brilliant infographics. (That last word just had to be added to my Firefox dictionary. Hmm.)
posted by maudlin at 1:46 PM on May 5, 2013
If content is the greatest value of print journalism then web journalism does in fact have it beat. Presentation is indeed what old media does best: you don't need to know any addresses or queries to pick up a paper and read it.
posted by LogicalDash at 1:55 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by LogicalDash at 1:55 PM on May 5, 2013
If content is the greatest value of print journalism then web journalism does in fact have it beat.
Oh, absolutely not. Most sources of web journalism, when you dig a layer to identify the originating point of the content, turn out to print-based or broadcast journalism reproduced or rehashed for an online format. There are a few outlets doing original reporting, but really precious few. Web journalism still can't pay for itself.
Presentation is indeed what old media does best
Indeed; the visual organization of a newspaper is an amazing thing to behold. There's a classic teaching exercise in which students analyze the front page of a paper and categorize the information to be found. There's much more than we're usually consciously aware of. And as the paper proceeds, the information and form are melded together in really amazing ways, and a variety of them. Also, I do miss that it's quite a generalist resource. Few (or no) online platforms will give you everything from breaking news to recipes to stock reports to sports scores to the value of the home next door to you to movie times and church service locations to analysis and opinion - in a digestible, filtered, daily form. Presenting and organizing all that is no mean feat.
posted by Miko at 2:08 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Oh, absolutely not. Most sources of web journalism, when you dig a layer to identify the originating point of the content, turn out to print-based or broadcast journalism reproduced or rehashed for an online format. There are a few outlets doing original reporting, but really precious few. Web journalism still can't pay for itself.
Presentation is indeed what old media does best
Indeed; the visual organization of a newspaper is an amazing thing to behold. There's a classic teaching exercise in which students analyze the front page of a paper and categorize the information to be found. There's much more than we're usually consciously aware of. And as the paper proceeds, the information and form are melded together in really amazing ways, and a variety of them. Also, I do miss that it's quite a generalist resource. Few (or no) online platforms will give you everything from breaking news to recipes to stock reports to sports scores to the value of the home next door to you to movie times and church service locations to analysis and opinion - in a digestible, filtered, daily form. Presenting and organizing all that is no mean feat.
posted by Miko at 2:08 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
Interesting that the artist concentrates on image and obliterates the content, which is the greatest value of print journalism.
I absolutely disagree. What makes print (newspapers, magazines) so great is the way the words and photos work together, among other things. Besides, the photos are content.
posted by girlmightlive at 2:12 PM on May 5, 2013
I absolutely disagree. What makes print (newspapers, magazines) so great is the way the words and photos work together, among other things. Besides, the photos are content.
posted by girlmightlive at 2:12 PM on May 5, 2013
Yeah, you're right. The photos are content. I guess, though, that the image is the attribute not really most unique to print journalism or really the most endangered kind of content - the long form, deeply researched and reported written piece is. That's what I meant. I'm mainly just interested about why she chose to do it this way (other than the obvious that yeah, 10 point text is hard to embroider).
posted by Miko at 2:17 PM on May 5, 2013
posted by Miko at 2:17 PM on May 5, 2013
Her website suggests that she's interested in newspapers as physical objects-- information that we can touch. I think it's less about an intellectual concern over journalistic rigor in the face of a changing media landscape.
posted by shakespeherian at 3:28 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by shakespeherian at 3:28 PM on May 5, 2013 [1 favorite]
DiCioccio was a fellow 365 Days of Print resident artist, and I had a chance to meet her at a traveling group show that featured some of our work from the project. These pieces look even better in person, the handiwork is exquisite. As part of the 365 project we were tasked with making one piece of artwork every day based on/in response to that day's print newspaper. I have no idea how she managed to create the level of work she produced under what were (for me, at least) highly challenging time constraints. As mentioned above, she's concerned with issues of transience, passage of time, and nostalgia and not as much with the idea of a newspaper's position as the gold standard for journalism.
posted by stagewhisper at 6:03 PM on May 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by stagewhisper at 6:03 PM on May 5, 2013 [2 favorites]
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