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Amanda Browder

American, born 1976

Amanda Browder and volunteers sew fabric for Spectral Locus at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library's Central Library. Photograph by Tom Loonan.

Spectral Locus,

Public Artwork Details

Credit:

Commissioned by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Public Art Initiative, 2016

From mid-August to mid-September 2016, Amanda Browder's monumental public artwork, Spectral Locus, was installed on the façades of three prominent buildings in Buffalo: 467 Richmond Avenue, a church built in the 1800s; 950 Broadway, known to many as the Eckhardt Building; and the Albright-Knox’s own Clifton Hall.

In spring and summer 2016, Browder asked the Western New York community to donate non-stretch fabrics with bright colors and bold patterns as the core materials for her project. Browder then welcomed the entire community to join her for public sewing days throughout the region from April to August 2016 to cut, craft, and sew giant swaths of donated fabric. These actions form the core of Spectral Locus—and are in fact the true art form. The artwork is located in the work. That is, the production of the work is where the artist locates the value of her work—where the art is. The installation of the work is intended to display the work, to show how communities can come together to produce something unimaginable alone.

Browder has said, “The idea is that it is similar to a rainbow—a happenstance encounter with something so awesome that you would tell more than one person about it—and that conversation, construction, and reinterpretation is just as unique as the piece.” Visit Amanda Browder's website

Amanda Browder's rendering of Spectral Locus at 467 Richmond Avenue. Image courtesy of the artist.

Installation view of Amanda Browder's Spectral Locus at 467 Richmond Avenue. Photograph by Tom Loonan.

Amanda Browder's rendering of Spectral Locus at 950 Broadway. Image courtesy of the artist. 

Amanda Browder's Spectral Locus at 950 Broadway. Photograph by Tom Loonan.

Amanda Browder's rendering of Spectral Locus for Clifton Hall. Image courtesy of the artist.

Installation view of Amanda Browder's Spectral Locus on Clifton Hall. Photograph by Tom Loonan.

About Amanda Browder

Amanda Browder (American, born 1976) is a textile and installation artist who, with the help of volunteers, uses donated and recycled fabric to create monumental quilts, covers, and drapes designed to add striking alterations to large architectural structures. Browder received her MFA/MA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2001, and taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2001 to 2007. She received a Chicago Community Arts Assistant Program Grant in 2006 and again in 2007. Browder is also a founding member of the acclaimed art podcast “Bad at Sports.” Visit Amanda Browder’s Website

Thank You!

Many thanks to the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Buffalo Arts Studio, Buffalo History Museum, Hamburg Public Library, Olmsted Center for Sight, Starlight Studio & Art Gallery, Stitch Buffalo, and all of the people who participated in the public sewing dates for their support of this project.

Initiative Sponsors

The Public Art Initiative is supported by the County of Erie and the City of Buffalo.

County of Erie logo
City of Buffalo logo

Project Sponsors

This project is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Art Works

To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

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  • Dozens of shirts sewed together at the sleeves
    Public Art

    Kaarina Kaikkonen's We Share a Dream

    Kaarina Kaikkonen's AK Public Art project We Share a Dream, 2015, also used community sourced fabric.

    Learn More

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Past Related Events

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Amanda Browder gives an artist talk in the Auditorium

Lectures and Talks

Artist Talk: Amanda Browder

Friday, May 6, 2016

7:30 pm - 8:30 pm EDT

Amanda Browder and participants sew large swaths of fabric

Art Activities and Classes

Drop-In Art Activity: Public Sewing with Amanda Browder for Spectral Locus

Friday, May 6, 2016

4 pm - 7 pm EDT

Amanda Browder and participants sew large swaths of fabric

Art Activities and Classes

Public Sewing with Amanda Browder for Spectral Locus

Saturday, May 7, 2016

1 pm - 5 pm EDT

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