String Art Nails It!

Denna Jones ‘It was like looking through a bird cage’, declared artist Henry Moore describing how 19th c string mathematical models seen during a 1930s visit to the Science Museum, London inspired him to incorporate strings stretched taut across metal to create a series of sculptures. More than a century...

Denna Jones

‘It was like looking through a bird cage’, declared artist Henry Moore describing how 19th c string mathematical models seen during a 1930s visit to the Science Museum, London inspired him to incorporate strings stretched taut across metal to create a series of sculptures. More than a century earlier French mathematician Gaspard Monge (1746-1818) demonstrated his principles of “descriptive geometry” with silk strings stretched across a curved wooden frame. The models caught the public’s imagination, and versions by Fabre de Lagrange  and Theodore Olivier were widely collected in the 19th c. Eventually forgotten, a DIY version – nail and string art – became a popular craft in the 1970s. And now string art is enjoying a revival thanks in part to a Henry Moore exhibition at The Royal Society, London in 2012, and to the vogue for vintage craft techniques. COVER magazine,  artist Susanne Davis and 12 year old Dar Tarrasch from Tel Aviv, have joined the string art fun.

To highlight our stand at designjunction during the London Design Festival, COVER  commissioned Susanne Davis to interpret our logo as string art.

One of the visitors who joined the scrum to photograph the COVER string art logo was 12 year old Dar Tarrasch from Tel Aviv, Israel, who celebrated her Bat Mitzvah with a trip to London with her mom to visit the Design Festival. She too is a string artist and shares two of her creations (below) exclusively for COVER’s readers. Intrigued by her talent, Denna Jones asked how she learned string art:

‘I learned string art from my dad, Ricardo. He’s a neuroscientist at Tel Aviv University, and before moving to Israel from Chile when he was 19, he learned string art and sold his artwork in the streets to save enough money for his beginning in a new country. I was very excited when he passed to me his knowledge, and these are my first 2 independent works. I have still much to learn, and I became more aware of it after seeing your amazing work at the designjunction. It was inspiring when I was photographing your work, and you approached me to guide me to the best angle to photograph the logo, and I enjoyed the opportunity to show you a picture of the heart in my Iphone that I made for my boyfriend.’

Dar’s heart and her One Direction logo are amazing – and she’s only twelve! COVER is proud to have Dar as our youngest fan, and we suggest if One Direction are looking for artwork for their next tour, Dar is your go-to girl.