Embroidery becomes extreme art

NEW YORK -- An emerging cadre of artists is getting radical with needle and thread.

A new exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design showcases an edgy reiteration of a craft form that has more often been associated with older women in their living rooms than culture-confronting artists in the public sphere.

In "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery," there are doilies in the shape of viruses like HIV and herpes, embroidered tattoos on a stuffed arm mounted on the wall and a wide-open mouth stitched out of human hair.

Forty-eight artists from around the world come together, each representing a divergent interpretation of embroidery to make a uniquely provocative statement.

"It's become very, very trendy," said Diana Rupp, founder of the Make Workshop, which offers crafting classes at the museum during the exhibit, which started Nov. 8 and runs through March. "In the past, maybe the fine art community shied away from using things like knitting and sewing and embroidery, and now I think that it's becoming more and more mainstream, and being accepted by the fine art and gallery world."