Noel Anderson

Noel Anderson's work tries to deploy European tapestry weaving as a ground from which to build a multivalentconstellation gathering the following: the function of European tapestry as indexes of empire, early-modern weaving techniques, the technical origins of computational devices, and our current screentechnology as the progeny of the history of European textiles. Formulating these elements into anensemblic vision, my work offers the audience woven images of Black representation and figurationon which acts of black labor and performance are resurrected and repurposed – picking cotton,singing, playing jazz, being early computers, etc.. The tapestry’s threads are pulled, creating an alloverpattern of cotton thread. This act cites the abstractions of Pollack by-way-of Twombly. Aligned withmy tapestry work, my sculptural works further redress Black representation as a merging of digitalmeans and hands-own acts; of contemporary technologies and historical performances; of absenceand presence. Similar to my woven works, my sculptures deploy virtual space as a site to gather andreformulate a series of elements, weaving together historical, material, and conceptual concerns intoa unique fusion of matter. All of this in service of a poetic understanding of black performance and representation.