Talk About Art with Rebecca Hooper
Dock to Gallery: Transforming Maritime Material into Art
Colorful ocean creatures come to life in the large-scale rope weavings of Newport artist Rebecca Hooper. Hear her talk about her artistic evolution and current works in this presentation sponsored by the Coastal Arts Guild. All are welcome.
Rebecca’s popular and successful business, Gypsea Weaver Studio, built its identity on functional production-weaving. This includes rope doormats, market baskets, and jellyfish sculptures for locals and the tourist trade. The work begins at the dock as the material comes directly from Newport’s commercial fishing fleet. The rope spent years in the Pacific, hauling crab pots and moving through vast stretches of waters. Rebecca reflects that “somewhere in the repetition, the rope started to ask for something more.” At this point her works moved from functional to art as she began to explore the question of not what could be made with the rope, but what are the stories it holds? What are its histories and labor and “relationship to the marine ecosystem it helped to sustain and stress in equal measure”?
A solo exhibition of Rebecca’s work, “Woven from the Port,” will additionally be on display at the Newport Visual Arts Center from June 12 to August 30. For more information contact coastalartsguild@gmail.com.