Bruce Conner
BLINDMANS BLUFF, 2003/1987
Jacquard tapestry
101 x 90 in. Ed. of 6
64 x 56 in. Ed. of 6

Bruce Conner’s innovative work in media as diverse as assemblage, drawing, collage, photography, and film has led to his recognition as one of the most influential artists of his generation. Conner’s work is often characterized by unexpected juxtapositions, from which relationships emerge between far-ranging cultural and historical fragments. His tapestries were woven from digitally manipulated translations of small-scale paper collages; most of the images used in the collages were taken from old illustrated books on the New Testament, the life of Christ, or the Bible. The figures have been re-imagined as players in allegorical scenes, addressing themes of mortality and the relationship between medicine and myth. There is a sense of self-examination and emotional inquest throughout; when Donald Farnsworth asked Conner if one of the figures was a self-portrait, Conner replied, “All of them are me.” -Nick Stone

BLINDMAN’S BLUFF is derived from the 6 11/16 x 6 1/16 inch paper collage of the same name by Bruce Conner, dated September 13, 1987. The collage was scanned and digitally edited by Bruce Conner and Donald Farnsworth at Magnolia Editions in Oakland, CA. The weave file was created by Donald Farnsworth. It was woven on a Jacquard loom in Belgium with cotton threads.