Taxi #4 (The Urban Chase)

The tapestries in this series were woven by four artists from one wide panoramic photograph cut into four square quadrants. The idea was to explore how we see, and how this is an expression of our individual identities. The original photograph was of yellow taxicabs reflected in a triple-paned window of Balducci’s Delicatessen in New York City. The images were fractured by the window glass, and further fractured and reflected by the four artists in very different ways. The Urban Chase represents how individuals see the same image so very differently, portraying the harried nature of city life. There are many different and equally valid ways to see the world around us.

This series was one of the first true collaborative projects at the Scheuer Tapestry Studio (STS). Four weavers had exclusive control over their compositions. The series traveled widely in exhibition, and was featured in numerous publications. Beverly Godfrey was in the first set of studio apprentices at STS, Susan Maffei is wife of Archie Brennan, founder of the Dovecot Tapestry Workshop in Scotland, and Deborah Hildreth was from the second set of studio apprentices, along with Joyce Hulbert.

Techniques: Hand pieced, hand stitched, machine stitched, hand woven tapestry (Gobelin)
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Credit Line: Gift of Ruth Dundas