The Art of Surprise

Loom luminary Kathryn Pannepacker weaves something to be desired (and set on fire).

by Deni Kasrel

ARTBURN: For Kathryn Pannepacker, a trip to the dollar store can turn into a shopping spree for art supplies. Photo By: David Foss (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

"I tell people I'll stop weaving when I run out of wool," quips Kathryn Pannepacker, relaxing in her studio. "But people keep giving me wool, so it looks like that won't be happening anytime soon." She gestures to nearby stacks of bins filled with colored skeins of wool. At the center of the room sits a large loom holding a work in progress.

Truth is, in the off chance that she did run out of wool, Pannepacker would likely continue to weave. She has, after all, created pieces using rubber bands, aluminum foil, pipe cleaners, licorice, combs and plastic straws.

Clearly she has taken to heart the words of Jean Pierre Larochette, a third-generation French tapestry weaver in whose Berkeley, Calif., studio Pannepacker apprenticed early in her art career. "Jean Pierre told me, 'You have to learn the trade and then you can break the rules,'" recalls Pannepacker, who adds that after learning many "old school" techniques, designs and details of the craft, "I was then kind of curious how to work with unusual materials."

And so, nowadays, a trip to the dollar store can easily turn into a shopping spree for art supplies. That's where Pannepacker got all those cotton swabs she used in a piece created for the 2003 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, when she sat at a loom set in the lobby of the ticket office and gradually wove a 53- by 58-inch tapestry, appropriately titled 7,000 Q-tips.

"When I was doing that piece, people would walk in and they would be drawn to it. They would see all the white material and they would come over to see what it was, and then they would get right up on it and start laughing," says Pannepacker. "It's that whole surprise element of material that I find intriguing."

The artist needs not be present to gain satisfaction from the surprise experience her work may generate. With her ongoing Scatter/Gather project— launched at the '05 Philly Fringe — Pannepacker turns into a "phantom weaver," creating "little ditties" between fences and gates, or "wherever else there's a good place." Originally dispersed in various parts of town including Old City and South Philadelphia, elements of Scatter/Gather, which the artist describes as "like the popcorn trail of my daily life," have since sprung up wherever she goes, including Hawaii, Mexico and Lithuania.

Aside from visually demonstrating Pannepacker's subtle sense of humor, these works tie into her desire to bring art out of the gallery and into the community: "It's the idea you don't have to be in the elite to see it." Pannepacker's devotion here extends beyond weavings to encompass providing art instruction to school children and senior citizens, as well as maintaining a dual career as a painter with the city's Mural Arts Program. Works in the latter category include her Peace Star mural at Herman and Chew streets, and the expansive Wall of Rugs mural at Girard and Belmont avenues, featuring textile designs from 43 countries.

Most recently, Pannepacker's kept busy making tapestries for a show at the Seeber Gallery, where she shares space with her pal Corey Armpriester, for an exhibition titled Allegiance: War or Peace. Pannepacker presents a series titled Pretty Little Bombs. "The idea is there are all these little fires going on in the world today," she explains.

If the humor is subdued for this one, the element of surprise remains strong, especially when making close inspection of these pieces — many of which incorporate national flag designs — which amply display Pannepacker's penchant for utilizing man-made materials along with staples of weaving, such as wool, cotton, jute and silk. The yellow parts of her flag of Rwanda are made from caution tape. A flag of Sierra Leone sports a diamond shape in the center made of silver pipe cleaners and red-tipped matches: It's her take on the notion of blood diamonds. A piece that shows the Israeli and Palestinian flags divided by a wide band of hundreds of matches, in the middle of which sits a small opening, offers quiet commentary on that particular world conflict.

She has been known to set weavings on fire — the match part, that is. The rest of the piece, which she treats with flame retardant, remains intact. Even without the pyrotechnics, these works burn with a strong message.

"When I weave thousands of matches into something but they're not set on fire, it's got all this potential energy," she says. "It's about the capacity for something to happen."

(d_kasrel@citypaper.net)

Allegiance: War or Peace, through Sept. 23, opening reception Fri., Sept. 14, 5-9 p.m., closing reception Sun., Sept. 23, 4-7 p.m., Seeber Fine Arts Gallery, 2007 Chestnut St., 215-756-7999, www.seeberfinearts.com.