Cut Paper Art Installations Made With Black Tyvek

Vortex

Artist Julie Friedman creates gorgeous creative and innovative installation art from black Tyvek® and an X-ACTO knife that were recently show at the 95th Toledo Area Artists (TAA) Exhibition. She "loves telling people what I use - I always say 'it's that stuff they wrap houses in for insulation' and their eyes light up!" Friedman's work manipulates light and shadows and "incorporates an exploration of positive and negative shapes through the use of images." Additionally, she often layers Tyvek® because the "juxtaposing and layering images of trees and telephone poles lead to connections both physical and metaphorical."

When asked why Tyvek® is her chosen medium, Friedman says that she was learned about using Tyvek® while attending a paper cutting workshop. Friedman says she loves using Tyvek® "because of the ease of cutting, first and foremost" and because "it is also so durable and I don’t have to worry about tearing and ripping like I do with paper." Friedman notes that

Tornado

over time her pieces have "grown in scale and I have been able to explore how the viewer can interact with the images. Cast shadows create another world inside and around the structure."

Tornadoes is one of Friedman's pieces that was shown at the TAA Exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art’s Canaday Gallery. In this installation, the addition of "a kinetic element and light help stretch the bounds of the medium." Friedman comments:

The idea of the tornado came to me first as a formal design element. A shape I drew by hand to include in a cut out. Usually my cut outs are all images I photograph and manipulate on the computer. So the tornado was a scribbly form that I liked and after I drew it I realized what it was and I began to create stories and scenarios. I drove around town taking pictures of houses and using Photoshop I would change the contrast until the essence of the house was left in strong black and white shapes. I have used architectural elements in my work off and on, all throughout my career stating as an undergrad. Houses, both literally and symbolically. Shelter and security. I started to collage 3 elements: tornado, house, vegetation/ wires. Different scenarios. Adding elements of surprise in the tornadoes. Birds-fish-chairs. Sometimes there is a feeling of stasis. Like even though there is this tornado blowing through your backyard everything is still the same. Nothing has been destroyed. It is the moment before. Other times the telephone poles are broken and the wires are flying and electricity is in the air.

A Greenhouse for Life

All photos are used with permission. Special thanks to Julie Friedman for providing us with information.

If you need Tyvek material for your own art project, Material Concepts supplies many varieties of Tyvek. Just contact us for more information or call 215-338-6515 or 1-800-372-3366 for information or to buy Tyvek.