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Artist weaves tale of loss and tributeBy MICHAEL PATRICK WELCH © St. Petersburg Times, published November 10, 2000 On Aug. 22, 1999, Christie Safos' stepfather, Robert Price, was killed by an out-of-control truck as he sat on his front porch in Tampa. From that moment her art changed. "That's when I realized: it all has to be about (the loss)," she said. The result, Safos' exhibit, When you die, will you please come see me?, is currently on display at the University of South Florida's Centre Gallery. The show is a homage to Price as well as a way for Safos to sort out the loss. A huge tree made from thick cable and colorful yarn, with "branches" stretching upward and drooping at the ends, dominates the gallery space. Strewn about on the floor are life-size human figures: one shines celestial, wrapped in gold telephone wire and containing memories of Price (birth and death certificates, office trinkets). Other figures, woven from cotton, slump to the floor, defeated. Safos is a professional weaver, the only registered "Noble Weaver" in Florida. She has used her 1940s-era loom to sew and display her works at fairs, realizing, only after the accident, that she could and should use her weaving knowledge to create moving sculptures such as The Messenger, a larger-than-life, looming creature of black and blue cotton. "He symbolizes my messenger," says Safos. "Though I still don't know what the message is." Safos has even grown her own cotton for the past six years. "Not just typical white cotton, either," she says proudly. "Brown and green cotton." The sculptures have helped supplement Safos' emotional loss. "I can't wait till the show is over," said Sofas. "So I can have them back at my house: I live alone, but with them around I'm never really alone." If you goWHAT: Sculpture exhibit, When you die, will you please come see me? by Christie Safos. WHERE: The University of South Florida's Center Gallery, Phyllis P. Marshall Center, USF's Tampa campus. WHEN: Today until Nov. 17. Gallery is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Reception from 7 to 9 p.m. today . COST: Free CALL: (813) 974-5464.
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From the Times |
