Anne Weitze
Anne Weitze
Weitze’s embroidery uses many of the colors and techniques of traditional domestic craftwork—but the sneaky, subversive humor is far from what one can find on a “Home Sweet Home” pillow. Her small tapestries exhort us to “Don’t do as I do. In fact, don’t even do as I say” or “Always remember that you are unique. Just like everybody else.”
Weitze’s embroidery uses many of the colors and techniques of traditional domestic craftwork—but the sneaky, subversive humor is far from what one can find on a “Home Sweet Home” pillow. Her small tapestries exhort us to “Don’t do as I do. In fact, don’t even do as I say” or “Always remember that you are unique. Just like everybody else.”
Lefty (Self-Portrait)(detail)
Embroidery on Canvas, 12” x 9”
2007
Click on the download link below to see the full image
Embroidery on Canvas, 12” x 9”
2007
Click on the download link below to see the full image
Anne Weitze's small-scale embroidery puts an ironic, contemporary spin on old-fashioned needlework. Her series "Treasures of Spam" uses the familiar tortured prose of spam email subject lines, rendered with delicate flourishes. The years Weitze spent in the advertising world inform another embroidery series illustrating corporate jargon, professional buzzwords, and other nonsense familiar to all beleaguered cubicle dwellers. More recently, Weitze (b. 1957, New Jersey) has been creating embroidered portraits, including a self-portrait and a series of renderings of the First Ladies.
THE ART
Weitze’s embroidery uses many of the colors and techniques of traditional domestic craftwork—but the sneaky, subversive humor is far from what one can find on a “Home Sweet Home” pillow. Her small tapestries exhort us to “Don’t do as I do. In fact, don’t even do as I say” or “Always remember that you are unique. Just like everybody else.”
In her self-portrait, banners swirl around her mop of blonde hair, proclaiming that she “Meanders to a different drummer.” And “For a good time, call someone else.” Lest we become judgmental, she lets us know that “I’m not contagious, It’s genetic.” The pretty pastels and thick textures are in contrast to the wry intelligence behind the domestic façade.
This artist is represented by Project Onward
Project Onward is a communal studio where artists with developmental, cognitive, and mental disabilities are provided with the materials, art education, and support to develop a professional body of work. Project Onward is a program of the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.
