WONDER WEB

Gennady Oreshkin rappels out of reach on the “Inspinite” wonder of spider silk.

In May 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled an exhibition of European and American prints, drawings, illustrated books and antique wallpaper designs. Alongside works by Rembrandt, Castiglione and Dürer was a 19th-century etching on a stone plate by the American artist Otto Henry Bacher, titled Arachne and depicting a nude woman whose long hair merges into a web. The piece is inspired by the namesake Greek myth of a mortal who challenged Athena to a weaving contest and was transformed into a spider for her impudence.

Among the other fascinating works in the exhibition were Vija Celminis’ Web 2 print, Candace Wheeler’s Spider Web in black ink, pale-yellow gouache and graphite, and Henry Weston Keen’s pen composition Spider, Web, Snake and Flowers. The least literal piece was Spider Woman by Louise Bourgeois.

Before becoming Anna Wintour’s favourite breakfast food (or at least according to comedian Kevin Zak), spiders were a subject of reverence and fascination for countless artists, poets and musicians. Now, the eight-legged creatures are all the rage in textile design. It’s relatively easy to make spiders do things and, sometimes, even make things on behalf of their captors. Say, for example, you were Berlin-based architect Tomás Saraceno. If so, you’d capture three spiders from distinctly different breeds and make them create an installation over 18 months. And what an impressive one!