Seams to be Constructed Exhibition Weaves Together Art and Community

For over three months, the Stedman Gallery at Rutgers–Camden’s Center for the Arts has served as a working studio, classroom, and community space for Seams to be Constructed, an exhibition by artist-in-residence Margery Amdur, professor of art in the Camden College of Arts and Sciences.

The mixed-media fiber installation wraps the gallery’s walls and floors in an immersive and ever-evolving display. Using a blend of traditional and experimental techniques, Amdur has cut and sewn pieces of existing designs, creating reliefs, tapestries, and wearable art. As its name suggests, Seams to be Constructed has continued to fill out over the duration of the exhibition; the installation has quite literally grown over time as it plays host to community workshops and educational tours.

Amdur is the first artist-in-residence to bring her work to the Stedman. “This idea was first proposed one evening, when Cyril Reade, director of the Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts (RCCA), was visiting my studio,” Amdur said in an interview with Artblog. ‘We both got extremely excited about the gallery becoming a ‘living organism,’ an oversized work-in-progress.”

Photo courtesy of Margery Amdur

Photo Credit: Jake Foster

The installation features intricately crafted forms made with tactile elements such as sponges, wire, and frayed textiles. Jake Foster, gallery and public programs coordinator for the RCCA, said there is intentionality behind every material and piece. “She wants you to see the process, whether it is digital or physical,” Foster said.

One of the many repeating elements in the exhibit is a digitally printed gray fabric with red dots, which visitors have interpreted in varied ways.

“I think of them as fingerprints. Some people think of them as an infestation of bugs,” Foster said. “When we bring in schoolchildren for educational tours. we ask, ‘What do you think of when you look at this shape or this pattern? How many elements can you find?’”

The Stedman Gallery does not allow the public to touch the art; however, in tours, docents pass around exhibit materials so visitors get a better sense of what Amdur used. “We talk about how tactile qualities can invigorate visual art,” Foster said.

A row of sewing machines at one end of the gallery is surrounded by textiles poised for experimentation. Students in the Special Topics in Painting course have contributed to the exhibition by painting the red dots, sewing strips of fabric, and attaching zippers to the fabric strips. “They are learning together, because Margery wasn't trained in sewing. It gives people permission to make mistakes and even have those mistakes be visible,” Foster said.

Shelby Donnelly and participants at her workshop. Photo by Jake Foster.

Amdur curated a group of community workshops to complement the exhibit led by women teaching artists. In one event, called Forming Material Relationships, attendees were asked to bring in meaningful fabrics, like an heirloom tablecloth or a child’s bedspread, and incorporate them into new, wearable pieces. “Those past uses imbue the work with more meaning,” Foster said. “Someone brought traditional fabric from their country. Someone even brought in a wedding dress.”

Amdur’s Seams to be Constructed is part of a regional initiative called (re)FOCUS, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of a feminist art exhibition called Philadelphia Focuses on Women in the Visual Arts/1974. The Stedman Gallery and more than 60 arts organizations in the Philadelphia region will reflect on that citywide festival’s recognition of women in art now through the end of May.

The Center of the Arts will host an Artist Talk with Amdur and Closing Reception on April 11. The event is free and open to the public. Click here for more information.

Design: Karaamat Abdullah