72 postcards - 8" x 5.25" 2003

Recently I arranged that seventy-two colleagues and friends return these tapestry woven postcards to me, by mail, from around the world.

I had adapted an airline map (JAL) that was centered on Tokyo to cover the entire world with the North Pole at its center.  This view of the world is as distorted as any flattened world map must be.

It is also symbolic of the inevitable reality that each of us carries on our own world map.  Ours is an individual map laden with conditioned points of view, with biases that grow out of our own limitations.  It goes beyond the accident of geography.  Our maps encompass our environmental, social, national and personal experience.

As a more general comment, I have mailed some 100 tapestry postcards and packages all around the world for more than 30 years.  Perhaps surprisingly, not one has failed to reach its intended destination.

Archie Brennan

detail of "Henry VIII with 'Coptic' beard - A Reconstruction of an anonymous 16th century portrait," 2006.

From ATA (American Tapestry Alliance): For the next month the Archie Brennan online exhibition will continue to be available for viewing.  It is curated by Anna Byrd Mays and includes a large body of tapestry images and some essays by Archie which give insight into his work.

Don’t miss it!

www.americantapestryalliance.org/Exhibitions/WebExh.html

Here is a wonderful exhibition showcasing many of Archie’s works in one location!  It is curated by Wednesday Group member AnnaByrd Mays who has done a terrific job giving background information and organizing the images into themes, such as “Windows/Textiles/People,” “Packages and Postcards,” and “Words,” just to name a few.  Enjoy!

ATA Web Gallery Exhibition

Detail from “At a Window,” 1974.

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