Erin M. Riley: Sex and Weaving
We have arrived at a strange place. To expose and be exposed has become somewhat of a norm in our infinitely inquisitive and voyeuristic society. To 'skin and bare it' is a common place, with nudity being more accessible then ever and selfies at an all time high. The use of technology and endless social media outlets have made the promotion of virtual pornography nearly endless as well. Not that I'm complaining...
As your typical, curious being, I can certainly side with some of the interesting spectator commentary and possible benefits that may go along with this influx. Artist Erin M. Riley, who directly pulls from some of these images, has taken advantage of our current state of disrobed selfies in her often explicit, woven textiles. Mainstream social media has benefited her provocative weavings, as the voyeuristic are now able to express themselves as frequently and freely as they see fit to an array of anonymous witnesses in a sea of bandwidth. I imagine, that in the near cyber-future, all of these party-snaps and skin-shots will either end up stored on an enormous pornographic server in space, or on our walls in the form of Riley's hand-woven tapestries, like rare archeological uncoverings, marking this profoundly definitive era of our existence.
-Hannah Stouffer
Hannah Stouffer: Hey Erin! Tell me the truth, how many nude selfies have you taken in the mirror??
Erin M. Riley: I haven’t kept track of the amount of selfies I have taken in the mirror, too many to count! I took a few while I was an artist in residence at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art to make pieces for a show and every now and then I will come across a great bathroom mirror so I will take some for future projects. I don’t have a habit of taking selfies these days for sharing purposes. I live with my boyfriend in New York now, and we share a studio so there is not much of a need for mirrored selfies because we hang out in real life.
Amen to that. What were you like as a teenager? I'm curious at what point of your adolescent antics you chose this path.
I was a weird kid as a teenager, shaved head Chelsea sort of haircut, heavy eye makeup, I made all of my clothing, lots of bleach and patch worked denim. I was basically a punk kid but was never allowed to go to parties or anything so I got really into in going to hardcore shows and hanging out with straight edge kids. As soon as I could get a job I spent most of my time serving coffee, running registers or working in kitchens so I could buy a car, save for art school and move out on my own.
Was there something about your upbringing that influenced you to use the subject matter that you do in your work?
A lot of my work is expressing a freedom and comfort in sexuality that I never had growing up and that has really only blossomed in the last 4-5 years. Having two sisters didn’t make girls easier to relate to it actually made it harder, and I rarely had female friends who I felt comfortable to talk with and express these feelings with. Sex was an off limits topic in my family, and as the middle child I kind of had to figure out how to date, set guidelines with guys and comfort levels for myself. As is pretty common with girls the fear of getting pregnant was instilled in me very early so I was hyper careful above all else. My work is less rebellion and more reveling in the comfort you get when you’re 28 and finally feel safe expressing yourself. We all go through such similar scenarios I want to be open with my experiences so people don’t think they are alone.
I was going to ask if your work is part nostalgic, but it seems to be more expressive at this point, correct?
I think there is nostalgia for the moments in life when dating is still the unknown, when relationships are not so predictable and still quite exciting. I had some pretty tumultuous years in college dating guys in bands who didn’t exactly treat me great so seeing the young girls taking these pictures wanting and being capable of being loved is so endearing. It’s sweet still.
A lot of your work deals with this adolescent experimentation, nudity, alcohol, and drugs seem pretty prominent. Do you remember your first drink? First cigarette? First kiss? I want stories.
I remember hanging out with girls who later became the popular girls and drinking sips of beer from the bottles their brothers had laying around, mixing it with orange juice so it would taste better. Though when I was 8 I went to my first funeral for three family friends who were killed in a drunk driving accident, so despite not really understanding what drunk meant, I decided not to drink after that.
I remember having a puff of a cigarette in middle school with some kids that were hanging outside the school. But I started hanging out with some straight edge kids who introduced me to that concept and from an early age it made a lot of sense to me.
As for kissing, I think I started that pretty early. I don’t remember my first kiss it must have happened in kindergarten. There were a few first kisses with guys I really liked that were pretty epic experiences but they weren’t my first kisses ever. I would hang out with these skateboarders at the school across from my house and it felt like an eternity waiting for this one guy to kiss me, he finally did it very dramatically as I was walking home, it was dark out. Real romantic to a freshman in high school but he was kind of out of my league so nothing happened after that kiss.
Are there any topics you feel would be inappropriate to weave in your textiles or is it all pretty much fair game at this point?
Everything is fair game as long as it is a topic I am personally invested in, I was collecting a lot of pictures of girls who had overdosed, a lot of death related pictures but those were always too heavy for me to weave, I feel like I would fall apart weaving those images. There is a story of me crying at the loom in college that I try to avoid repeating.
It’s a pretty interesting juxtaposition taking this heavily traditional craft and creating such risqué, contemporary imagery with it, do you ever get slack for that?
As a young person using tapestry technique I started my art career balancing on the edge of craft and contemporary art on purpose. I was part of guilds and textile groups but my work was always rejected for content, while simultaneously being exhibited and supported in contemporary art galleries and magazines all across the country and abroad. I don’t get that much slack directly but I come across comment threads saying my stuff is vulgar, pornographic, offensive, a waste of time, etc. I don’t search it out but when I find it it’s hard to stop reading! At the same time it’s been interesting biting my tongue on some of the content I see using the same materials as mine but I try to remain neutral. I enjoy what I do, and I am getting used to pushing back at the negativity.
Do you look at the internet and technology in a positive light for young women and men to express their sexuality, or is it too much?
I learned about sex on the internet, but that was 15 years ago when AOL and chat rooms were pretty much all there was online, people traded random nude pictures of professionally shot porn stars back and forth. So for me, it taught me how to type my desires but not express them vocally. I think that sometimes the mass sharing of images and the constant need for visual stimulation can be too much. Sometimes it is frustrating when a guy asks over and over for pictures when you just don’t want to send any, there is the fear that he will move on to the next girl who can provide, or is already texting with someone else simultaneously. I worry for young people because they have so much pressure on them already; this documentation of their first sexual experimentations is potentially pretty harmful.
I agree, it certainly is an awkward time to experience your first sexual encounter, for both genders. Actually, do you ever depict males?? I can't remember seeing any strange erections in your work...
I don’t depict males! I have woven a girl giving a blow job but it’s the only erection I have woven. I try to work from the perspective I know the most about and so it’s been hard to incorporate nudes of men without feeling like a predator myself.
Speaking of, remember chat-roulette? I feel like your work is pretty open to accepting this strange type of interaction.
I went on chat roulette once or twice, I always felt very uncomfortable, though that’s probably the point, but I hate anything like Skype or video chatting, face timing, it’s too uncomfortable.
So where do you pull your images from? Do you shoot them yourself? Are they ever found images?
I find my images online; I search Google, lurk on Facebook or follow different tumblrs. I am always saving pictures on my phone or wherever I see something that I love. I love the intimacy that selfies provide… I have been recently taking my own photos in order to get the right composition or position of the figure. I did a series of pieces based on images of myself in the summer of 2012, pieces taken with a webcam, as if a person I was dating was prompting the poses. Basically I was reliving situations in texting or online chatting where guys ask for one picture and then another, and get more and more specific as the chatting goes on.
Are any of the characters in your works based off pictures of yourself or friends??
Most of my work is a reflection of me in different stages and situations. I haven’t used pictures of my friends but I have asked old boyfriends for pictures back from when I was in college; unfortunately those photos are long lost on fried computers, dead sidekicks and flip phones, or so they say.
Are you part of any weaving groups with a bunch of seniors? That could make for an interesting conversation I'm sure...
I am weaning my way out of the weaving world, I was trying to coexist and support the medium but I get so many emails from weavers who tell me to fix articles where the interviewer calls something embroidery or knitted, or a bunch of them will check out a show and pay no attention to the content but tell the gallery how I should finish/weave/hang my work differently. I have been sent the same online article more than a handful of times on the ways you are supposed to hang fabric.
For a long time I tried to remain respectful, but I finally realized that while my work is made on a loom, these pieces are not traditional by any means and rather than call them tapestries I have just started describing by the materials they are made with. I do love talking with the students who are studying textiles currently; they are excited about the work I am making. I am glad they can see a different way of using materials that have been kept in the dark for so long.
How long have you been working with textiles for? Has this always been your medium of choice?
I have been weaving for 10 years; I went to art school at Massachusetts College of Art & Design with the idea of being a fashion major, but applying with mostly paintings. Finding the fibers major changed my trajectory instantly, I took weaving as my first elective freshman year and took it every semester afterwards, as well as assistant teaching as a junior and senior. It was something that I just connected with, so it took the place of painting or sewing.
Where did you get your first loom?? Was your grandma into weaving, I feel like its a trade that you would pick up from somebody...
I never needed my own loom until I finished grad school in 2009. Both of my looms were trades, luckily I haven’t had to buy one yet. I don’t know if any of my ancestors were ever weavers, maybe back in Ireland. My grandma passed away while I was in graduate school so I never got to ask her what she thought of my art. I’d like to think she would be into it but I didn’t know her very well.
Do you ever sketch ideas out? What is your creative process like?
I plan my work in sketch form first, tracing drawings or planning spacing or composition. Tapestry is mostly woven using what is called a cartoon; basically a drawing to scale that is kept under the warp threads during weaving. This helps lead you while you progress on a piece, keeps everything on point.
Approximately how long does it take you to complete a hand-woven piece? What was the largest textile piece you've weaved, and the smallest?
My work takes from 30-100 hours to complete, the weaving is just one step in the process, I spent a huge amount of time taking apart and blending yarn as well as dyeing and drawing the pieces.
The largest piece I wove was in graduate school at Tyler School of Art where I built a lot of frame looms, the piece was 15 feet wide by 8 ft tall; the smallest piece was 11 x 17 for a group show a few years ago.
How has it been living in New York, you were in Philly for awhile before that, right?
Living in New York has been awesome. I am working full time in my studio in Bushwick on various projects. Most of my artist friends live here so it’s good to see everyone at openings and around town. I am glad that seeing art, making art and having discussions with artists is a regular part of life now. The art never ends! In Philly I was full time working in my studio but stayed pretty isolated so it’s been a great change.
Do you have any upcoming projects you'd like to tell us about?
I have a lot planned as far as experimentation goes, digital weaving, resin & mixed media pieces as well as trying to work much larger in the next few years. My loom only goes 4ft wide so I am on the hunt for a huge loom to weave on.
Any plans tonight, indulgences? Selfies??
I don’t have any plans, most likely going to weave until it’s time to head home. My indulgences are driving on the highway in my pickup truck, and really good coffee. I am also really good at sleeping and eating donuts.
ERIN M RILEY
Hannah Stouffer
For Juxtapoz Magazine
As your typical, curious being, I can certainly side with some of the interesting spectator commentary and possible benefits that may go along with this influx. Artist Erin M. Riley, who directly pulls from some of these images, has taken advantage of our current state of disrobed selfies in her often explicit, woven textiles. Mainstream social media has benefited her provocative weavings, as the voyeuristic are now able to express themselves as frequently and freely as they see fit to an array of anonymous witnesses in a sea of bandwidth. I imagine, that in the near cyber-future, all of these party-snaps and skin-shots will either end up stored on an enormous pornographic server in space, or on our walls in the form of Riley's hand-woven tapestries, like rare archeological uncoverings, marking this profoundly definitive era of our existence.
-Hannah Stouffer
Hannah Stouffer: Hey Erin! Tell me the truth, how many nude selfies have you taken in the mirror??
Erin M. Riley: I haven’t kept track of the amount of selfies I have taken in the mirror, too many to count! I took a few while I was an artist in residence at Bemis Center for Contemporary Art to make pieces for a show and every now and then I will come across a great bathroom mirror so I will take some for future projects. I don’t have a habit of taking selfies these days for sharing purposes. I live with my boyfriend in New York now, and we share a studio so there is not much of a need for mirrored selfies because we hang out in real life.
Amen to that. What were you like as a teenager? I'm curious at what point of your adolescent antics you chose this path.
I was a weird kid as a teenager, shaved head Chelsea sort of haircut, heavy eye makeup, I made all of my clothing, lots of bleach and patch worked denim. I was basically a punk kid but was never allowed to go to parties or anything so I got really into in going to hardcore shows and hanging out with straight edge kids. As soon as I could get a job I spent most of my time serving coffee, running registers or working in kitchens so I could buy a car, save for art school and move out on my own.
Was there something about your upbringing that influenced you to use the subject matter that you do in your work?
A lot of my work is expressing a freedom and comfort in sexuality that I never had growing up and that has really only blossomed in the last 4-5 years. Having two sisters didn’t make girls easier to relate to it actually made it harder, and I rarely had female friends who I felt comfortable to talk with and express these feelings with. Sex was an off limits topic in my family, and as the middle child I kind of had to figure out how to date, set guidelines with guys and comfort levels for myself. As is pretty common with girls the fear of getting pregnant was instilled in me very early so I was hyper careful above all else. My work is less rebellion and more reveling in the comfort you get when you’re 28 and finally feel safe expressing yourself. We all go through such similar scenarios I want to be open with my experiences so people don’t think they are alone.
I was going to ask if your work is part nostalgic, but it seems to be more expressive at this point, correct?
I think there is nostalgia for the moments in life when dating is still the unknown, when relationships are not so predictable and still quite exciting. I had some pretty tumultuous years in college dating guys in bands who didn’t exactly treat me great so seeing the young girls taking these pictures wanting and being capable of being loved is so endearing. It’s sweet still.
A lot of your work deals with this adolescent experimentation, nudity, alcohol, and drugs seem pretty prominent. Do you remember your first drink? First cigarette? First kiss? I want stories.
I remember hanging out with girls who later became the popular girls and drinking sips of beer from the bottles their brothers had laying around, mixing it with orange juice so it would taste better. Though when I was 8 I went to my first funeral for three family friends who were killed in a drunk driving accident, so despite not really understanding what drunk meant, I decided not to drink after that.
I remember having a puff of a cigarette in middle school with some kids that were hanging outside the school. But I started hanging out with some straight edge kids who introduced me to that concept and from an early age it made a lot of sense to me.
As for kissing, I think I started that pretty early. I don’t remember my first kiss it must have happened in kindergarten. There were a few first kisses with guys I really liked that were pretty epic experiences but they weren’t my first kisses ever. I would hang out with these skateboarders at the school across from my house and it felt like an eternity waiting for this one guy to kiss me, he finally did it very dramatically as I was walking home, it was dark out. Real romantic to a freshman in high school but he was kind of out of my league so nothing happened after that kiss.
Are there any topics you feel would be inappropriate to weave in your textiles or is it all pretty much fair game at this point?
Everything is fair game as long as it is a topic I am personally invested in, I was collecting a lot of pictures of girls who had overdosed, a lot of death related pictures but those were always too heavy for me to weave, I feel like I would fall apart weaving those images. There is a story of me crying at the loom in college that I try to avoid repeating.
It’s a pretty interesting juxtaposition taking this heavily traditional craft and creating such risqué, contemporary imagery with it, do you ever get slack for that?
As a young person using tapestry technique I started my art career balancing on the edge of craft and contemporary art on purpose. I was part of guilds and textile groups but my work was always rejected for content, while simultaneously being exhibited and supported in contemporary art galleries and magazines all across the country and abroad. I don’t get that much slack directly but I come across comment threads saying my stuff is vulgar, pornographic, offensive, a waste of time, etc. I don’t search it out but when I find it it’s hard to stop reading! At the same time it’s been interesting biting my tongue on some of the content I see using the same materials as mine but I try to remain neutral. I enjoy what I do, and I am getting used to pushing back at the negativity.
Do you look at the internet and technology in a positive light for young women and men to express their sexuality, or is it too much?
I learned about sex on the internet, but that was 15 years ago when AOL and chat rooms were pretty much all there was online, people traded random nude pictures of professionally shot porn stars back and forth. So for me, it taught me how to type my desires but not express them vocally. I think that sometimes the mass sharing of images and the constant need for visual stimulation can be too much. Sometimes it is frustrating when a guy asks over and over for pictures when you just don’t want to send any, there is the fear that he will move on to the next girl who can provide, or is already texting with someone else simultaneously. I worry for young people because they have so much pressure on them already; this documentation of their first sexual experimentations is potentially pretty harmful.
I agree, it certainly is an awkward time to experience your first sexual encounter, for both genders. Actually, do you ever depict males?? I can't remember seeing any strange erections in your work...
I don’t depict males! I have woven a girl giving a blow job but it’s the only erection I have woven. I try to work from the perspective I know the most about and so it’s been hard to incorporate nudes of men without feeling like a predator myself.
Speaking of, remember chat-roulette? I feel like your work is pretty open to accepting this strange type of interaction.
I went on chat roulette once or twice, I always felt very uncomfortable, though that’s probably the point, but I hate anything like Skype or video chatting, face timing, it’s too uncomfortable.
So where do you pull your images from? Do you shoot them yourself? Are they ever found images?
I find my images online; I search Google, lurk on Facebook or follow different tumblrs. I am always saving pictures on my phone or wherever I see something that I love. I love the intimacy that selfies provide… I have been recently taking my own photos in order to get the right composition or position of the figure. I did a series of pieces based on images of myself in the summer of 2012, pieces taken with a webcam, as if a person I was dating was prompting the poses. Basically I was reliving situations in texting or online chatting where guys ask for one picture and then another, and get more and more specific as the chatting goes on.
Are any of the characters in your works based off pictures of yourself or friends??
Most of my work is a reflection of me in different stages and situations. I haven’t used pictures of my friends but I have asked old boyfriends for pictures back from when I was in college; unfortunately those photos are long lost on fried computers, dead sidekicks and flip phones, or so they say.
Are you part of any weaving groups with a bunch of seniors? That could make for an interesting conversation I'm sure...
I am weaning my way out of the weaving world, I was trying to coexist and support the medium but I get so many emails from weavers who tell me to fix articles where the interviewer calls something embroidery or knitted, or a bunch of them will check out a show and pay no attention to the content but tell the gallery how I should finish/weave/hang my work differently. I have been sent the same online article more than a handful of times on the ways you are supposed to hang fabric.
For a long time I tried to remain respectful, but I finally realized that while my work is made on a loom, these pieces are not traditional by any means and rather than call them tapestries I have just started describing by the materials they are made with. I do love talking with the students who are studying textiles currently; they are excited about the work I am making. I am glad they can see a different way of using materials that have been kept in the dark for so long.
How long have you been working with textiles for? Has this always been your medium of choice?
I have been weaving for 10 years; I went to art school at Massachusetts College of Art & Design with the idea of being a fashion major, but applying with mostly paintings. Finding the fibers major changed my trajectory instantly, I took weaving as my first elective freshman year and took it every semester afterwards, as well as assistant teaching as a junior and senior. It was something that I just connected with, so it took the place of painting or sewing.
Where did you get your first loom?? Was your grandma into weaving, I feel like its a trade that you would pick up from somebody...
I never needed my own loom until I finished grad school in 2009. Both of my looms were trades, luckily I haven’t had to buy one yet. I don’t know if any of my ancestors were ever weavers, maybe back in Ireland. My grandma passed away while I was in graduate school so I never got to ask her what she thought of my art. I’d like to think she would be into it but I didn’t know her very well.
Do you ever sketch ideas out? What is your creative process like?
I plan my work in sketch form first, tracing drawings or planning spacing or composition. Tapestry is mostly woven using what is called a cartoon; basically a drawing to scale that is kept under the warp threads during weaving. This helps lead you while you progress on a piece, keeps everything on point.
Approximately how long does it take you to complete a hand-woven piece? What was the largest textile piece you've weaved, and the smallest?
My work takes from 30-100 hours to complete, the weaving is just one step in the process, I spent a huge amount of time taking apart and blending yarn as well as dyeing and drawing the pieces.
The largest piece I wove was in graduate school at Tyler School of Art where I built a lot of frame looms, the piece was 15 feet wide by 8 ft tall; the smallest piece was 11 x 17 for a group show a few years ago.
How has it been living in New York, you were in Philly for awhile before that, right?
Living in New York has been awesome. I am working full time in my studio in Bushwick on various projects. Most of my artist friends live here so it’s good to see everyone at openings and around town. I am glad that seeing art, making art and having discussions with artists is a regular part of life now. The art never ends! In Philly I was full time working in my studio but stayed pretty isolated so it’s been a great change.
Do you have any upcoming projects you'd like to tell us about?
I have a lot planned as far as experimentation goes, digital weaving, resin & mixed media pieces as well as trying to work much larger in the next few years. My loom only goes 4ft wide so I am on the hunt for a huge loom to weave on.
Any plans tonight, indulgences? Selfies??
I don’t have any plans, most likely going to weave until it’s time to head home. My indulgences are driving on the highway in my pickup truck, and really good coffee. I am also really good at sleeping and eating donuts.
ERIN M RILEY
Hannah Stouffer
For Juxtapoz Magazine
