the kindergarten factory - the weaving place by Meinolf and Althoff

*all photos courtesy of Travis Joseph Mainoff

Travis Joseph Mainoff and Kai Althoff’s “the weaving place” is like a textile factory assembly line set in the wrong room. the white strewn walls with elaborate ceiling mouldings mixed with turquoise upholstery accents dictated notes of childhood playfulness. balls of yarn and woven fabric laid lazily around the room adding to the quirky kindergarten atmosphere. visitors of the art gallery were set sitting in a numbered row holding large wooden looms with spools of yarn weaving their colourful blankets. they were in deep concentration - performing repetitive weaving motions trying to perfect their product.

this whimsical interior was designed by Althoff, a German artist, while the artistic concept of weaving was created by Mainoff of San Francisco. Mainoff invented the large detachable loom called the Laser Loom which he brought around to weave with in public places. he’ll tie one end to a tree for stabilization and the other around himself and starts weaving. it is no wonder that soon he becomes a public spectacle with people vying to try their hands at weaving too. “the weaving place” was the product of the artist’s experiences. he wanted to explore the “potential of the individual in the production of cloth…[because] textiles are central to human culture and so immediately physically experienced in our daily lives.” “the weaving place” is not a factory because there are no machines and it’s certainly not efficient, but there exists a connection between the makers and what is made. every imperfection of the weaved pieces are irreproducible, playing with our sense of value we put in perfect commodities.


in an art discussion tour called “canon”, ideas flew around about what this space represents. for example, someone brought up the point that this was not fine art or depictive art, but rather a community collaborative art. another art-goer noted that the contrasting concepts of the profane factory vs. sacred childhood were merged together in this room. “the weaving place” is definitely open up to many interpretations for discussion, but there is one philanthropic aspect of the project which is unarguable - the pieces of cloth weaved by visitors at the art gallery will be stitched together into a blankets to be donated to the children’s hospital.

*where you can visit the weaving place: Vancouver Art Gallery
http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/exhibit_kai_althoff.html
*where you can view more of Travis Joseph Meinolf work: http://actionweaver.com/

*where you can view more of Kai Althoff's work: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/kai_althoff.htm

- cup of red