sarah browne, a model society, patterns & thoughts, 2008

5/26/2018 Sarah Browne, A Model Society, Patterns & Thoughts, 2008

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sarah browne


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sarah browne


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about this book 6

patterns 11

Rotten Politics 12

Expensive 14

Free Clean Water 16

Long Workhours 18

No War 20Debt 22

Awesome Daycare 24

Exclusive Isolation 26

Safe Jobs/ High Taxes 28

Boredom 30

Minority Complex 32

Gossip 34

thoughts 37

A Model Society Sarah Browne 3

A Model Genome G sli P lsson 4

ese Days Are Ours FanWriterWV 45

Possible Memories Tom Moylan and Sara

Your Politics has Turned You Into Sheep


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About this Book

is book of knitting patterns came from two years of conversation betwe

Sarah Browne and people living in Iceland. ese sweaters contain fragments

discussions about Icelandic society knitted into their fabric, and this bohow to knit or adapt these sweaters for yourself.

Some re ections and tangents to this process can be found at the back of this

the thoughts section.

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How to Knit a Lopi Sweater

Traditionallopi sweaters (lopapeysa in Icelandic) are knitted in

a circular needle or a set of double pointed n

individually before all being put onto once c

yoke . Decreases shape the yoke to the collar.nishing required all that s needed is to graf

work in any loose ends on the wrong side of tLopapeysaare unisex an

there is no di erence between the front and ba

be worn facing either way.

Needles and Other Tools

Circular needles, or sets of double pointed n

round. For all of the garments in this book,

needles unless indicated otherwise. e larger

and yoke) are generally knitted on needles that

circular needle, or a set of double pointed n

such as the sleeves and collar. Useful extras in

makers, crochet hook, a sewing machine and a d

Straight needles are used for knitting sectio

includes the hoods and ear aps in some of the

the same way as sweaters. ey are divided after comp

sturdy rows of stitching on either side of the c

between them. Cu s can then be knitted or croc

fabric.

Tension (gauge)

e tension for all the pieces in this book, un

needle and stocking stitch, 13 sts and 18 rows

correct gauge is not obtained smaller needle

larger needles to give the stitches more spacin

row gauge it is easy to correct for row gauge by

the garments in this book are made using doublelopi

wool. (Withlopiyou never need to tie two ends together wyarn the last couple of inches can be twisted lig

yarns will yield di erent results, so be sure to

get the correct sizing.

Two colour knitting

When knitting two or more colours in a row,

loosely across the wrong side of the garment

stranding over more than three stitches. If th

the nished knitting will pucker and be unevenis to turn the work inside out so the wrong si

cylinder, which is slightly larger.

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How to Read a Stitch Chart

Charts are graphs of squares that represent knitted fabric. When reading a char

box represents one stitch. e di erent symbols in the squares represent di

colours in the pattern which can be changed as you like. When knitting in the

you are always working on the right side of the sweater and all rows are readright to left, from the bottom of the grid upwards. (If knitting back and fort

are followed right to left for the right side and left to right for the wrong s

grey, blocked out space in the grid marks a stitch that has disappeared becaus

reduction in the previous row.

Increasing & Decreasing

To increase on the sleeves, or between the ribbing and body of sweater, work as

With left needle from front of work, pick up strand between last stitch knitted

stitch. Knit, twisting the strand by working into the loop at the back of the nee

To decrease by one stitch, knit two stitches together. To decrease every fth stit

to knit four stitches, then knit two together, and to continue this way til th

row. All decreases in the patterns are to be worked this way unless indicated oth

To space a number of decreases evenly in a round, divide the total number of stit

the needle by the number of stitches to be decreased. If the answer is a whole number

two less than this number, knit two together, and repeat to the end of the row.

Example: 200/ 20 = 10. *K8, k2tog; repeat from*.

Abbreviations

dec decrease

dpns double pointed needles

inc increase

k knit

k1, p1 knit one, purl one (rib)

k2tog knit two together

MC main colour

pm place mark

RH right hand

rnd roundRS right side

sl 1, k1,psso slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over

sc single crochet

st stitch

St st stocking stitch (alternate rows of knit and purl)

WS wrong side

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Repeats

A repeat is always counted from one stitch to th

same point in the next pattern. A repeat of six re

with, as does eight or nine. However repeats of

no central stitch and a very blocky pattern e

in this book), and no attempt is made to synchr

the yoke, there is no problem about the number o

it ts into every band.

Designing - How to Make Patterns

All patterns in this book are bespoke, knitte

accommodate a particular text. Alternative siz

this is both because sizings are very exible, an

will use this book to help design their own patte

Patterning is easy with a little patience, a few su

is especially easy with thelopisweater because of the way it is knit

show approximate number of stitches to be used

sleeves):

Women: S (130/ 30), M (140/ 36), L (150/ 38)

Men: S (150/ 38), M (160/ 40), L (170/ 40)

Sizes for young people and children can be wor

for a tighter or looser adult t) by knitting a s

stitches to a desired measurement.

You need to:

1. Knit a sample and work out the number of s

chest size you want to knit to.

2. Pick out pattern repeats that you like, and

Your repeat must divide evenly into the tota

for example, a repeat of 8 will work into a ro

3. All lopi sweaters loosely follow the sam

begin at the yoke: 12 rows, dec every 8thst in the next rnd; 8 rows

6thst in the next rnd; 6 rows, dec every 4thst in the next rnd; 4 ro

every 2ndst in the nal rnd; switch to smaller n

ribbing. Reductions become more frequen

nears the collar; their intervals and fre

4. A note on text inserts: these are easy to m

on graph paper and how you want them to be c

pattern. Work out the total sts for your t

on either side; subtract this total from th

en work out a repeat that will t evenly with

sure to begin the repeat at a point that allo

text insert, e.g. so that it nishes on a cobefore the text begins.

Resources

For ideas and practical help:

www.knitknit.net

Artist s publication dedicated to the intersection of traditional craft andcontemporary art, founded in 2002 by artist Sabrina Gschwandtner.

www.microrevolt.org

knitPro is a web application that translates digital images into knit,

crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns.

www.stealthissweater.com

Artist Lisa Anne Auerbach s website title refers to Abbie Ho man s

Steal is Book,a survival guide and manifesto for those who fantasize

about (or pursue) anarchy. Her knitting follows similar politics.

www.woolworks.org

Volunteer-run site full of information for handknitters. Access to freepatterns, stockist information, knitting books and magazines, internet

resources and knitting guilds.

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Rotten Politics

Main body

With colour 2 and smallercircular needle, cast on

132 sts. Join, being careful

not to twist sts. Work 2

in k1, p1 rib. Change to

larger needle and begin

chart 1. Switch to MC.

Work evenly in knit until

body measures desired

length [14 approx]. On

the nal row, bind o 6 sts

for underarm, knit until 60

sts on RH needle and put

on holder for front, bind

o next 6 sts for underarm,

knit to end of rnd and

put these sts on holder

for back. Do not break o

MC. Leave on needles.

Sleeves

With colour 2 and smallercircular needle, cast on 32

sts. Work cu as k1, p1

rib to desired length [2

approx]. Transfer to larger

circular needle/ dpns and

inc by 4 sts spread evenly

in the rst row 36 sts.

Work chart 1. Switch to

MC and inc by 2 sts every

8th row to a total of 42 sts.Complete desired length

to underarm. Final row:

sl 3 sts, work to the nal

3 sts and tie o . ese 6

sts are for the underarm.

Place the remaining 36 sts

on a holder. Work second

sleeve.

Yoke

e repeat pattern of theyoke is linked and decreases

evenly. Grey shaded boxes in

the chart represent stitches

that have disappeared

through a reduction.With

larger needle and MC, k

36 across one sleeve, k 60

across front, k 36 across

other sleeve, k 60 across

back, pm and join total

192 sts. Work chart 2:

dec every 6thst as marked

in row 12 164 sts. Text

insert: k 39 sts [chart 3

-linking the repeat to chart

2] + k2 st MC + [rotten

politics chart 4 32 sts]

+ k1 st MC+ k 64 sts

[chart 3] to end of row.

Continue until repeats

are complete. Dec evenlyby 36 sts in nal row of

the repeat 128 sts.NB:

in the next repeat, the tips

of the triangles pointing

downward meet with

alternate lines in colour 3 the

previous row.Work chart

5, decreasing every 3rdst in

row 5 - 96 sts, and every

2

nd

st in row 10. e yokereduces to 64 sts after the

nal repeat.

Finishing

With smaller dpns orcircular needle and colour

2, work x 3 in k1, p1

rib for neckband. Cast o

loosely, fold in and secure

with stitching. Work in

ends on the wrong side

of the knitting. Graft the

underarms.

1, 2, 3 & 5

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Rotten Politics Modelled by Arna B ra Kar


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Expensive Modelled by Nalini Gr ndal with


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Free Clean Water

Main body

With MC and smallercircular needle, cast on


not to twist sts. Work

2 in k1, p1 rib. Change

to larger needle and knit

one row. On the second

row, work pattern repeat

as in chart 1, ignoring

the reductions marked

for the rst row. Work

evenly in knit until bodymeasures desired length

[15 approx]. On the nal

row, bind o 6 sts for

underarm, knit until 79 sts

on RH needle and put on

holder for front, bind o

next 6 sts for underarm,



for back. Do not breako MC. Leave 158 sts on

needles.

Sleeves

With MC and smallercircular needle, cast on 40





knit one row, increasing

by 4 sts, evenly spaced

40 sts. Work chart 1,

ignoring the reductions

marked. Beginning on the

1st row after chart 1, incby 2 sts every 6throw. Do

this 6 times, ie. until there

has been an increase of 12

sts and the total number

of sts knitted on the arm

is 52. Work desired length

to underarm typically

16 approx. Final row: sl 3

sts, work to the nal 3 sts

and tie o . Tie o these 6sts for underarm, place the

remainder 46 sts on

a holder. Work second

sleeve.

Yoke

Join sleeves to body asfollows: with larger needle

and MC, k 46 across one

sleeve, k 79 across front,

k 46 across other sleeve,

k 79 across back, pm and

join total 250 sts. Work

chart 1 upside down .

Note the decrease every

5thst in row 14 208 sts.

Knit one row MC. Begin

chart 2 in next row byknitting a row in colour

2. Text insert [charts 2

& 3]: work 40 sts [chart

2 diamond pattern] +

k2 colour 3 only + [free

clean water 60 sts]

+ k2 colour 3 only + k

remaining 100 sts [chart

2 diamond pattern]. K 1

rnd in MC, dec evenly by44 sts - 164 sts. K chart 5

and dec every 2ndst in the

next row: 110 sts. Knit a

row in MC dec a further

2 sts spread evenly around

the yoke 108 sts. Knit

another row in MC as k1,

k2tog 72 sts.

Finishing

For the collar, withsmaller dpns or circular

needle and MC, work

3 in k1, p1 rib. Cast o





underarms.

2 & 3

1

4 & 5


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Free Clean Water Modeled by H inn J n


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Long Workhours

Main body

With MC and smallercircular needle, cast

on 132 sts. Join, being

careful not to twist sts.

Work 2 in k1, p1 rib.

Change to larger needle

and begin chart 1. Work

evenly in knit until body

measures desired length



underarm, knit until 61 stson RH needle and put on







Sleeves


32 sts. Work cu as k1,

p1 rib to desired length

[2 approx]. Transfer

to larger circular needle/

dpns and inc 6 sts spread

evenly over the rst row.

Inc by 2 sts every 10th

row, until there are 42 sts.

Work desired length to

underarm. Final row: sl 3


and tie o . ese 5 sts are

for the underarm. Place

the remaining 37 sts on


sleeve.

Yoke

With larger needle andMC, k 37 across one



k 61 across back, pm

and join total 192 sts.

Work chart 1, noting the

dec every 5th st in row 9

160 sts. Text insert: k 34

sts [chart 2] + 2 st colour

4 + [workhours chart 3

37 sts] + 3 sts colour 4 +repeat [chart 2] to end of

row. Continue until charts

2 & 3 complete. K 1 row

in colour 3, dec every

4th st 128 sts. Next

rnd: because the pattern

repeats 9 times, an uneven

number, the diamond

shape is split either side

of the text insert long .k 34 sts [chart 4] + 3 st

colour 3 + [long chart 5

14 sts] + 3 sts colour 3 +

repeat [chart 2] to end ofrow. K 1 row in colour 3,

dec every 3rdst 96 sts.

Work chart 6. K 1 row in

colour 3, dec every 2nd

st 64 sts. Work chart 7.

Mark a central st in the

centre of the front (neck).

Hood

e hood is knit by

picking up the 64 sts atthe neck, beginning at the

marked midpoint, and

knitting back and forth on

straight needles. Begin

with smaller needles

(same size as used for

cu s) and work 1 in

k1, p1 rib. Switch to larger

needles (same size as

used for body), and workin St st for 12 rows. In

the next row, inc by 1 st

either side of the central

st at the back of the hood.Continue this repeat

every 3 rows or so until

there are 72 sts. Finish by

working the last 7 rows as

shown in chart 8, casting

o in the nal row.

Finishing

Fold over the hood and

sew it together at the top,

matching the two sidesof the pattern together

neatly.

Using a 6 mm crochet

hook, work 2 rnds sc

around the edge in

colour 2 and MC. Make

pompoms and a cord if

desired (can be worked

into hood using elastic

thread). Work in endson the wrong side of

the knitting. Graft the

underarms.

1

2 & 3

4 & 5

6, 7 & 8


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Modelled by Rosa Sigr n JLong Workhours


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No War

Main body

With MC and smallercircular needle, cast

















Sleeves


36 sts. Work cu as k1,

p1 rib to desired length

[2 approx]. Transfer

to larger circular needle/

dpns and work chart 1.

Inc by 2 sts every 8throw,

until there are 43 sts.

Complete desired length

to underarm. Final row:

sl 3 sts, work to the nal





sleeve.

Yoke

With larger needle andMC, k 38 across one





chart 1 upside down . K 1

row in MC dec every 3rd

st 149 sts. K 1 rnd MC

and 2 rnds in colour 3.

Text insert: k 36 sts [chart

2] + 3 st colour 3 + [no

war chart 3 23 sts]

+ 3 sts colour 3+ repeat

[chart 2] to end of row.

Continue until charts 2

& 3 complete. K 1 row in

MC, dec every 4thst 120

sts. Work chart 4. K 1 row

in MC, dec every 3rdst

90 sts. Work chart 5. K

1 row in MC as k1, k2tog 60 sts.

Finishing

With smaller dpns or

circular needle and MC,

work 3 in k1, p1 rib

for neckband. Cast o





underarms.

1 2

3

4 5


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No War Modelled by sta Karen laf


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Debt

Modelled by Margret Huldrunard ttir


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Awesome Daycare

Main body

With colour 2 and smaller

circular needle, cast

















Sleeves

With colour 2 and smallercircular needle, cast on 40





work chart 1. Beginning

on the 1strow after chart

1, inc by 2 sts every 6th

row, until there are 52 sts.

Inc 1 nal st 3 rows later

to give a total of 53 sts.

Work desired length to




for the underarm. Place

the remaining 47 sts on


sleeve.

Yoke

With larger needle and

MC, k 47 across one





chart 2. K 1 row in MC,

dec every 5thst 191 sts.

Text insert 1 [charts 3 &

4]: work 52 sts [chart 3] +

2 sts MC + [daycare 27

sts] + 2 sts MC + 108 sts[chart 3]. K 1 row in MC,


Text insert 2 [charts 5 &

6]: Work 36 sts [chart 5] +

2 sts colour 3 + [awesome

31 sts] + 2 sts colour

3 + 82 sts [chart 5]. K 1

row in MC, dec every 3rd

st 115 sts. Work chart 7,

at the same time dec by 3sts spread evenly around

the rst row 112 sts. K

1 row in MC as k2tog, k1

74 sts.

Finishing


circular needle and colour

2, work the collar in k1,

p1 rib for 3 . Cast o





underarms.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


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Awesome Daycare Modelled by Dolores R s Valencia Walter


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26

Exclusive Isolation

Main body

With colour 2 and smaller

circular needle, cast on




larger needle and begin

chart 1. Switch to MC.




the nal row, bind o 6 sts

for underarm, knit until69 sts on RH needle and

put on holder for front,

bind o next 6 sts for

underarm, knit to end of

rnd and put these sts on

holder for back. Do not

break o MC. Leave on

needles.

SleevesWith colour 2 and smaller

circular needle, cast on 42





work chart 1. Switch to

MC. Inc 3 sts every 9th

row until there are 51 sts.

Complete desired length

to underarm. Final row:sl 3 sts, work to the nal





sleeve.

Yoke


MC, k 45 across one





chart 2, note dec every 6th

st as marked in the nal

row 196 sts. Text insert:

k 51 sts [chart 3] + k2 st

MC + [exclusive chart

4 32 sts] + k1 st MC+k 64 sts [chart 3] + k2 sts

MC+ [isolation chart 5

30 sts] + k1 st MC+ k

13 sts [chart 2] to end of

row. Continue until charts

3-5 are complete. K 1 row

in MC, dec every 4thst

156 sts. Work chart 6.

K 1 row in MC, dec every

3

rd

st 117 sts. K 1 rowin MC, dec a further 3 sts

spread evenly 114sts.

Work chart 7. K 1 row

in colour 2 as k1, k2tog

76 sts.

Finishing


circular needle and colour

2, work 3 in k1, p1 rib

for neckband. Cast oloosely, fold in and secure




underarms.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


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Exclusive Isolation Modelled by Vi ar J n


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Safe Jobs/ High Taxes

Modelled by Vesna Jesic Dan elsson with

Ana Saed s Jesic rsd ttir


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30

Boredom

Main body

With MC and smaller

circular needle, cast on110 sts. Join, being careful



larger needle and work





underarm, knit until 50 sts

on RH needle and put onholder for front, bind o






Sleeves

With MC and smaller

circular needle, cast on 27sts. Work cu as k1, p1



circular needle: there are

no increases in the sleeves:

work desired length

[13 approx] straight to




for the underarm. Placethe remaining 22 sts on


sleeve.

Yoke


MC, k 22 across onesleeve, k 50 across front,




chart 1. K 1 row in MC,


Text insert: k 22 sts [chart

2] + 1 st MC + [boredom

chart 3 30 sts] + 2 sts

MC + repeat [chart 2] toend of row. Continue until

charts 2 & 3 complete. K

1 row in MC, dec every

5thst 100 sts. Work

chart 4, at the same time

decreasing a further 4 in

the rst rnd to make the

repeat of 8 t within a

rnd of 96 sts. K 1 row in

MC as k1, k2tog 64 sts.Work chart 5. K nal row

in MC, dec every 3rdst

48 sts. Mark a central st

in the centre of the front

(neck).

Hood

e hood is split by

picking up and knittingback and forth on straight

needles the sts either

side of the central stitch

(marked above) at the

neck. Begin with smaller

needles (same size as used

for cu s) and work 1 in

k1, p1 rib. Switch to larger

needles (same size as used

for body) and work 4 rowsin St st. Inc by 1 st either

side of centre st (back of

neck) every 3rdrow, until

there are 52 sts. Work

until hood measures 6

approx from neck cu .

Finish by working the

last 6 rows as shown in

chart 6. Cast o loosely in

colour 2.

Finishing

Fold over the hood and

sew it together at the top,

matching the two sides

of the pattern together

neatly.

Using a 6mm crochet

hook, work 1 rnd in

colour 2 around the edge

of the hood. Work inends on the wrong side


underarms.

1

2

3

4

5

6


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31

Boredom Modelled by Vignir or Gu mundsson, with ris Arn


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33

Minority Complex Modelled by Hrafnildur Sig


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34

Gossip

Main body

With MC and smaller

circular needle, cast on130 sts. Join, being careful

not to twist sts. Work

2 in k1, p1 rib. Change

to larger needle and knit

one row before beginning

pattern repeat [chart 1].




the nal row, bind o 6 stsfor underarm, knit until

59 sts on RH needle and

put on holder for front,

bind o next 6 sts for

underarm, knit to end of

rnd and put these 59 sts

on holder for back. Do

not break o MC. Leave

on needles.

Sleeves

With MC and smaller

circular needle, cast on 30




circular needle. Inc by 2

sts every 6throw, to a total

of 42 sts. Work to desired

underarm length. Final

row: sl 3 sts to holder,knit row and tie o last

3 sts for underarm. Place

the remaining 36 sts on a

holder and work second

sleeve.

Yoke

Join sleeves to body as

follows: With largerneedle and MC, k 36 sts

across one sleeve, k 59 sts

across front, k 36 across

other sleeve, k 59 sts

across back, pm and join

190 total sts. Work chart

1. Knit 1 row, dec every 5th

st - 158 sts. e row with

the heart pattern [chart 2

- a repeat of 10] and textinsert [chart 3] is knit as

follows: work 41 sts [chart

3] + 3sts plain + [gossip

21 sts] + 4 sts plain +

remaining 89 sts [chart

3]. e heart pattern

should be arranged to

repeat either side of the

text. ere are two rows of

plain knit in MC (except

the dot of the i ingossip)

after the heart pattern is

nished. On the second

row, dec every 4thst 126

sts. Work chart 4. Knit 1

row in MC. Knit 3, then

dec every 3rdst to end

96 sts. Work the 4 rows

of chart 5. In the next row,

switch to MC and dec

every 2ndst 64 sts.

Finishing


circular needle and MC,work 3 in k1, p1 rib

for neckband. Cast o





underarms.

1

2

3

54


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35

Gossip Modeled by Hildur Sk lad ttir with Marg


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38

According to e World Database of Happiness, Icelan1

AModel


39/52

is project works from the form of the iconic Icelanlopisweater, and its typical re

Popular with tourists as well as a vital part of the Ic

expression of an intimate relationship with an ep

representation of the iconic Icelandiclopapeysathrough knitting catalogues

only invented around the 1940s) coincided neatly wisublime scenery, a hardy people and a historically is

project marks an attempt to mediate these sentimental

who actually live there.

I placed an advertisement for knitwear models in Rey

(male and female, aged between 5 and 85) formed a kind of

me to base my research. ey were asked to complete a short

included, what are the best and worst things about lif

relationship with the landscape?)2 A selection of their answers are editlopi

sweaters I make for each of them. With a couple of excepti

e sweaters are modeled in poses and locations typica

photographs, which depict harmonious social rela

perfect union of people with nature. ese images oper

paid in kind with a photographic print.

e images are produced as 35mm slides, using a manual c

language both of o cial and domestic archiving, of

of the images, combined with the technology that made t

from a current sense of time and place. e question i

distance from the current moment, the seduction of

Svetlana Boym describes nostalgia as a historical

loss that is not a simplistic longing for a return

lost is properly remembered or could be easily found.

nostalgia as symptomatic of a society in which noth3 Boym identi es th

potential of a re ective form of nostalgic longi

of the past determined by needs of the present have a dire4

e title of the project refers to the models who partici

necessary for the construction of this seemingly p

1Veenhoven, R.,World Database of Happiness,Erasmus University

Rotterdam. Available at: http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl.Accessed at January 2006.

World Values Survey via www.nationmaster.com.2 e survey was titledSocial Fabricand in total there were 52

respondents. Top answers for the best things about living in Iceland

were: landscape/ nature (23.8%); safety/ security/ child-friendliness

(16.4%); clean air and water (14.9%); no war (11.9%); smallness /

isolation (10.5%); people (10.5%); social welfare (7.5%). Top answers

for the worst things about living in Iceland were: weather/ climate

(28.7%); cost of living (16.7%); consumerism/ personal debt (13.6%);

isolation/ smallness (12.1%); social exclusion (12.1%); long workhours

(4.6%); politics/ government (4.6%); increased violence (4.6%).3Jameson, Frederic, Nostalgia for the Present inPostmodernism: the

Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism,Verso, 1991.

4Boym, Svetlana,e Future of Nostalgia, Basic Books,New York, 2001. page xvi.

A Model

Society /

2005-7

SarahBrowne

39

AModelGenome


40/52

is essay discusses the mappings of the new genetics,

informed by Sarah Browne s project in Iceland,A

Model Society. I suggest we think of the iconic Icelandicsweater (lopapeysa) as being an extension of the skin of

the Icelander s body. In such a perspective, the circular,

coloured pattern typical for the lopi sweater - and, by

extension, Browne s project - hints at bodily signatures

or birthmarks. is is in line with what many Icelanders,

informed by modern genetic imagination and nationalist

rhetoric, would refer to as a model genome , a relatively

homogeneousgenome ideally suited for analyses of

human genetics.

A Mode GenomeG sli P lsson

Sheep have been an important component of the

Icelandic economy from the time of settlement in the

ninth century. eir wool is complex, with di erent

colours and textures that make it useful for many kindsof clothing. Knitting was introduced to Iceland in the

Middle Ages, probably from England, and soon knitted

woollens replaced the wovenvadm l. e currently

fashionablelopisweater, however, is a fairly recent design.

Although thelopipattern is obviously decorative, it also

has a utilitarian, practical function. Usually placed at

the wrists and waist (bottom) of the sweater, as well as

the yoke, the double or triple thicknesses of the wool at

these points (created by the stranded method of knitting

the pattern) serve to make it signi cantly thicker andwarmer.

e exact origins of the typicallopapeysa construct

- a combination of particular woollen material, knitting

style, and, last but not least, circular patterns of di erent

colours - is a matter of some debate. In one theory, the

characteristic circular patterns draw upon traditional

sweaters worn by Greenlandic women. Others suggest

the patterns originated in Southern Sweden by the

middle of the last century. us, the rst true knittedyoke sweater has been attributed to the designer Anna-

Lisa Mannheim Lunns, born 1904, who worked

Bohub Stickning in Sweden.1Still others maintain the

design is uniquely Icelandic. Many Icelanders

believe it is a native thing and often they imaginmuch older than it really is. Most Icelandic

have only the remotest connection with Icelalopi

is now as likely to have come from the back of Brit

Falkland Island sheep as from an Icelandic on

even truer now than two decades ago.1

e debate on the history and authenticity of thelopi

sweater is interesting in its own right as it res

other debates (in both Iceland and many other c

about purity focusing on, among other thinlanguage, text, culture, and genome. Here as els

such debates re ect concerns with imagined comm

nation making, and representation. Whatever

or origin of the design - an issue which is di

not impossible, to settle once and for all ind

situated accounts and some form of represent

seems thepopularityof thelopisweater was established

soon after independence from Denmark in 1944

wake of the nationalist movement. While it has f

been popular among tourists, locally it fell ofor years. Young people in particular saw it as an

Wool Becomes Cool:

The Icelandic Lopi Sweater

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Zooming In - Beyond the Skin

With the development of the new gen

second half of the twentieth cen

discoveries and practices that engenetic material), mapping was inc

mapmakers themselves, to the minut

genetic material. Academic textbo

the language and imagery of the new

standard textbook describes the d

genome with the grand terms of dis

For the rst time, we will know our

the sequence of our DNA. en our vouniverse

withinreally will have begun .2

In the current era of biomedical

genetics, visual markers of one

scans and genetic ngerprints -

Could it be thatlopisweaters with their circul

di erent colours perform simila

and establishing personal ident

be seen as remainders of roots, b

for the past as well as a commentary o

world of genomic mapping in the ag

on voyages beyond the skin into

Interestingly, in earlier times fopeople in social space (not neces

but by default), due to the low frequen

smaller distances.1In some contexts, the use

patterns, colours, or dyes iden

village or even a single family or f

Index of Genetic Symbols

ethnic relic only t for limited outdoor activities in bad

weather. During the last years, however, it has gained a

surprising boost embodying new kinds of signi cations,

enmeshed in late-modern capitalism and postmodernplayfulness. Not only is thelopapeysaboth a working

out t in almost any kind of weather and a fashion

thing for both men and women and for all generations,

at times it functions as a kind of national costume

also appropriate for public occasions. Currently, there

is a lot of experimenting going on with material and

design. Sometimes the typicallopi design appears on

sweaters made in other material than wool. While such

experimenting is exploring new avenues, it underlines

the historicity of thelopapeysaconcept itself.

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Browne s participatory project,A Model Society, has

produced photographs, installations and publications.

In starting the work, Browne sought her participantsin Reykjav k, anyone who ever wanted to be a model ,

by placing an ad for one of the major local newspapers,

Fr ttabladid, in both Icelandic and English. Following

initial contact, the respondents, males and females aged

between 5 and 85, were asked to complete a survey.3

Together, the respondents formed a kind of virtual

community, maintained through correspondence via

email and a series of photoshoots.

For Browne, the work is focused on idealizedrepresentations of thelopapeysa, in particular the

romanticized visual language of knitting pattern

photography that the work appropriates. ese

representations serve to sentimentalise landscape as well

as interpersonal relationships, often promoting a myth of

the nuclear family.4In the heyday of hippies and ower-

power thelopapeysaseems to have signi ed something

deep to Icelanders, especially young people, some kind

of return to nature and simplicity.5 e photographs

that compriseA Model Societyare deliberately taken in

such an idealized style, recapturing the nostalgia for therelationships with nature and society characterizing the

1960s and 70s, a time when thelopapeysawas becoming

fashionable. Signi cantly, one of Browne s participants

(Bjarnheidur J hannesd ttir) referred to the Icelandic

landscape as being like the skin of the Icelanders body:

attached and the largest organ .

Another important feature of the work is the participation

of the models in the text eventually knitted into the

sweater they eventually wear and pose in for the camera. e aim of theA Model Societyproject, the artist says, was

in some way to create a critical space in terms of how the

lopapeysais usually represented, as part of a wholesome,

sentimentalised, even utopian identity , a space opened

up and articulated through the model s participation,

interjecting discursive texts about the society that were

both positive and negative . e extracted texts, 13 in

total, includeLong Workhours, Rotten Politics, Safe Jobs/

High Taxes, Free Clean Water, and Exclusive Isolation.

While the responses are particular to Iceland, shesuggests, isolated from their context they have a general

quality, as if speaking of a model society .

Edward Farmer, Pedigree of One Family and its History of Asthma

in Eleven Generations courtesy of deCODE

A Model Society - A Model Genome

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On another level,A Model Society can be read as a

commentary on the notion of model genomes in

contemporary biomedicine and the gene talk of manynational contexts, including Iceland: the ways in which

the signatures of the body (genomes with particular

ideal characteristics) signal essences and identities o

groups and individuals, con ating somehow the inside

and the outside. A fragment of one of Browne s drawings

shows the means she used to calculate amount of stitches

in her knitting, how to place the text, what pattern repeat

to choose, and so on. [Some of these drawings are used as

the background images to this article]. In some ways, it

seems, her drawings relate to ideas of pattern and codingin the mapping of the body s contours and the sequencing

of DNA, keeping in mind the reference to the repeats

of patterns of four kinds of subunits - the chemical bases

of A, G, C, T - in discussions of the structure and change

of hereditary material. e act of drawing, of outlining

and arranging repeats, also draws attention to ruptures

in established patterns, to genetic engineering, the

deliberate alteration and design of genetic structures. Not

only, then, doesA Model Societyunderline the con ation

of inside and outside, it also underlines the con ation

of nature and culture, emphasizing human ddling withthe biomarkers of the individual, managing life itself .

e exploration of the human genome is not simply

driven by fascination with the unknown, with exotic

landscapes and territories. It partly derives its momentum

from the desire to understand diseases and nd feasible,

marketable cures, in particular personalized medicine

geared to the genetic signatures of the individual

concerned. Established in 1996, deCODE genetics is one

of the important biotech companies on the scene. Basedin Reykjav k it uses the Icelandic genome and the wealth

of local historical records for the purpose of biomedical

research and drug development. Drawing upon the

presumed model genome of Icelanders, deCODE

genetics has focused on several diseases its best known

image, seen left, of the pedigree of asthma and its history

within one family, is used as the company logo.6

e genetic age has increasingly de

in terms of DNA; thus, concepts

citizenship seem pertinent norede ned the meaning of bodily s

they can be decoded and digitalize

can be revised through biotechn

engineering. At the same time, bo

become commodity, biovalue or

jargon. e deCODE saga is too clo

point. Perhaps Browne s work re

that Icelandicness , underlin

patterns, is unique and a valuable7

rough the ages Iceland has regul

by travellers, in particular sh

Icelanders have frequently explor

satisfy their curiosity or to lo

mixing has ensued. e North Atla

not simply isolate the communit

connects - genomes as well as peo

in the current era of globalizat

becoming a multicultural commun

Browne s work. e participants i

people who are Finnish, IcelandAmerican, Spanish-American-I

Herzegovina and Sri Lanka.

While people from di erent rac

participated in the project, they

deliberately to achieve this e ec

mixing that happened was purely un

unanticipated, as Browne did n

country of origin, or in most

(before she met them some people diphotographs). People s opinio

text) were the chief criteria for s

relatively high involvement of

due to the fact that the advertiseme

both English and Icelandic. e u

the Icelandic context seems to ha

of an internationalist pers

multicultural sample, neverthele

and destabilize the discourse of

that pervades the model genome de

debates surrounding nationa

signature that thelopapeysacould potentially b

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Dermography

For medical scholars, the skin has often been presented

as the largest organ of the body. For social theorists, in

contrast, the skin is an archaeological record with aseries of temporal layers of social memory.8 If the skin

is packed with social memory, dermography (from

the Greek derma, skin) is ethnography, an embodied

description of a way of life. In a sense, the skin serves

as an (auto)biographical source of information, saturated

with details about the body s identity. Such a description

is not necessarily exact. A huge cosmetic industry seeks

to develop means for solving or hiding a whole range of

skin problems , rushes, acne, blackheads, etc., problems

which often seem to run much deeper, in the immunesystem and the body s responses to itself, other bodies,

and the rest of the environment. For some, focusing on

the skin is to succumb to visualism. For others, however,

the skin signi es connectivity among people.

Birthmarks are some of the important signatures of

the skin and most people have one or more birthmarks.

eir cultural reading, however, varies from case to case.

In some cultures, birthmarks represent a direct link to

the past, the ancestors, the population, nation, or ethnic

group, and the identity of the unique individual, muchlike, in some theories, the modern notion of genetic

barcodes or ngerprints.

I have suggested that focusing on the Icelandiclopi

sweater Browne s workA Model Societycan be seen as a

commentary on the fascination of the modern era with

model genomes and the ways in which they provide

promising but complex avenues into ancestral connections

and the mysteries of common diseases. Browne s project

seems to address a multiplicity of viewpoints andidentities that would complicate any idea of model

society and the compromises that would be necessary

to achieve such an ideal of constructed perfection. Given

such an interpretation, thelopisweater is the second skin

of the Icelanders body, a fragile membrane between self

and society. By extension, its characteristic circular design

is the equivalent of the biomarkers of hereditary material,

underlining individual di erences as well as common

characteristics vis- -vis other populations . While all

lopisweaters are assumed to have something in common,a family resemblance or a collective birthmark in a

metaphorical sense, no twolopisweaters are completely

identical, especially if they are handmade. e inser

text in Browne s sweaters, the rupture in patternsto make each sweater a unique combination, made to

worn by one particular individual. us, it unde

the idea of the individual birthmark, unique irregu

in the genome that, nally (with the new genetics

both recognizable and subject to some form of

control.

In Icelandic, the notion of stretching thlopi

metaphorically refers to an overly extended disc

the excessive repetition or unnecessary elaboran argument, often in the negative sense as in

stretching thelopi (bara ad teygja lopann). At the risk of

some stretching , I conclude by saying that I ho

discussion has illuminated some aspects of theA Model

Societyproject, drawing attention to the rhizomic t

oflopibeyond the surface appearance of orderly patter

as well as some of the complications of model

genomes and societies. Stretching thelopi, after all, may

have quite important functions, in particular ma

communion under the immanent threat of silen

misunderstanding. Much like, perhaps, the junkof our genome.

References:1McGregor, Sheila (1984).Traditional Scandinavian Knitting. Batsford: London.2 Strachan, Tom and Andrew P. Read (1999).Molecular Genetics.Second edition. Oxford: BIOS

Publishers.3Browne, Sarah (2005-2006). A Model Society: Social Fabric . Unpublished survey.4

Browne, Sarah, personal communication.5J nsson, rn D. (2006). Ull verdur? Tilurd og fall slensku l

of the IcelandicLopiSweater). Unpublished paper.6deCODE genetics was surrounded by controversy due to its plan

Icelanders, in order to exploit the relatively homogeneous I

records for the purpose of biomedical research. While the compa

capital funds co-ordinated in the United States. deCODE geneti

through a business arrangement with the pharmaceutical giant

database project, and the source of much of the controversy ar

the entire population. After nine months of national debate

a bill authorizing the construction of the database.7 It would be fair to say that when the artist and I began talking a

connection . e question remains, if the artist hadn t thou

am forcing them (much like structuralists sometimes have done down the thought is there. And that art is subconsciously re e8 Connor, Steven (2004).e Book of Skin. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

44

G sli P lsson is Professor of Anthropology at

Reykjavik, Iceland.

These Days Are Ours

FanWriterWV


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FanWriter WV

October 1974

Well, there it was. Except for the name change, Ar

same. Richard and Lori Cunningham held hands

their eyes momentarily lost on memories.

e place was still doing well. e waitress, who d

was far too young to have been working at the o

Nobody was dancing like they used to in the old d

now, part of a national chain. It still had a ju

instead of Buddy Holly.

Do you think the others will come? Lori aske

practice in Illinois, but I was really lookin

Chachi again.Richie stroked his moustache. Joanie and Ch

album. ey said they d try to make it if they could. H

Man, there are times when I wish we could just tur

happened over the last ten years...we really were

weren t we?

Well, we all had to move on. I know how much yo

Milwaukee after you got back from Vietnam...

I was a di erent person then. I was still tryin

kind of silly now, I know.

No, Richie; you wanted safety and normality aEspecially after what happened with Fonzie...

Richie suddenly felt uncomfortable. Maybe we

leave. I think he d like that. His last letter soun

I m sorry, honey, Lori said. I didn t mean t

No, it s OK. It s just...sometimes I still can

was always the toughest, coolest guy I ever knew.

I know. Lori looked down. But even he had h

Richie looked over at the jukebox, wondering

the disco music coming out of it now. Would he

tune? But he didn t see the Fonz of old standinlook on his face, the man who d been taken away

today. e man he still thought of as his best frie

that his former hero had lost his mind and now

Why couldn t I have seen it coming? Richie tho

should have seen the stress building up in the Fo

always managed to hide it so well with a shrug and

Roger had tried to lift his spirits by getting him

like Ashley right before Richie went to Vietnam

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Possible


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Sarah I rst came across your work at theRalahine Centre for Utopian Studies in 2005,

when I was researching a short series of articles,

published in theVisual Artist s Newsheet,

which related to contemporary art s ongoing

relationship with utopia. Could you tell me a

little about what the centre is and does?

ss

MemoriesA telephone conversation

in March 2008

TomI came here in 2002, and there was nothing,

I just started it. And there s a really good

international group of utopian scholars, who

kind of segue into being utopian practitioners,either politically or artistically, like there are

many people who are part of communes or

people in the kibbutz movement. So the utopian

meetings we have, like in North America, and

we re hosting the one here in July, they re pretty

utopian events anyway. People are just decent

to each other, it s not like the usual academic

conferences.

So we started, did a few seminars, and now

there s a core group of us, maybe ve or six of us.

We do a book series, we do the conference, we doa couple of workshops every year. And it s very

connected, particularly with Italy, with Bologna,

also Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Alaska... there s a

really interesting international network.

Sarah I came back to your work when I

was working on this project in Iceland,

A Model Society, which generated a

series of photographs with people living

there. e photographs appropriated the

utopian/ nostalgic form of knitting patternphotography, but inserted new messages

within it commentary by the participants

( models ) about Icelandic society... ranging

from rotten politics to awesome daycare to

exclusive isolation . ese slogans, authored

by the participants, were knitted into their

sweaters. Anyway, I became really interested

in the history of nostalgia, and how it rubs

up against ideas about utopia. Svetlana

Boym has suggested that the twentieth

century is bookended with utopianism at its

origins, and nostalgia at its close... linked to

the modernist project, really.

TomYeah, I met her years ago, when

postgrad actually.

SarahI was hopeful about her idea that nosta

can be a space for refection and critiqu

as, or more than, the popular idea of no

a form of escape. Something you fall int

TomWell, there s some connecknow Luke Gibbons work? He

calledTransformations in Irish C and in

that book, I forget where, but

doesn t talk about nostalgi

tradition. And he uses it in a

tradition gets misundersto

like nostalgia but in actua

of the hyper modern, traditio

for certain utopian impulses

values.

And then, Vince Geoghegan, whe s got a classic essay on mem

that s the key one that connec

back to Ernst Bloch, the utopi

he works with Bloch s two no

there s anagneresis memory and anamnesis

memory. Basically, there s a b

memory and a forward-lookin

a memory which keeps us captive i

it s like picking a scab, we r

back to the memory, and going

back, and it never goes anywhe

and it s like the older notio

then there s this forward n

that takes the memory, and us

hope, that as things were, so th

essay is in a book I edited with

titledNot Yet, ReconsideringErnst Bloch, an

sort of the main essay that eve

they re doing this kind of stu

So, given these two senses of

and forward looking, I can

would t in. I mean, in a sensenovel,News for Nowhere, do you know it?

47

Tomat sit,that sitexactly.SarahYes,thoughIhaven treadit.


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TomOh? I don t know that at all.

Sarah e dozen are all played by Dutch

actors, speaking English with approximationsof American accents... so there is this sense of

translation in place and in time, and a lack of

cohesion about the solidity of the past, or the

present, maybe. Re-enactment is becoming

almost a trope in contemporary art practice... I

guess it relates to the appropriation tradition of

the found object , that is maybe now a found

text . It seems that (in some cases) it could be

like Marx s idea of wearing the costumes of great

moments of the past, where artists are looking to

the past to imagine the future...

Tom at s it, that s it exactly.

Sarahand it tends to be quite a recent past a

well... so there s quite a lot of work th

refer to social or political moments i

or seventies, maybe revolutions that

fully realised. ere was a show in Proje

Centre a few years ago calledCommunismwhere

artists were asked to consider the wor

make a new work in response to it...

TomWell in the culture, and the eco

we live in, it erases the past. It er

as fast as it possibly can, so ho

near memory can be subversive.

SarahI m interested in science ction,

even though it s typically seen as a low

cultural form, it can contain the seeds

or progressive social thought?

TomVery much so. For one thing,

utopia nds its home in the twen

You nd more utopian writing in

than anywhere else, it just sorlook ahead. But what happened in t

terms of it not being seen as su

was a great sci novel from 1952 Space

Merchants.

Sarah ere s something interesting in

contemporary art practice too, where a lot of

artists are re-enacting either speci c artworks,

other political or cultural texts, or moments from

popular culture. Gerard Byrne is an artist who

made a work called1984 and Beyond, which is a

restaging of a 1963 series ofPlayboyinterviews

with 12 leading science- ction writers Isaac

Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke,

Robert Heinlein. e sci- writers are asked to

make predictions for the period between 1984

and 2000.

Sarah at s fascinating.

S r hYes though I h en t re d it.

TomHe has a utopia though it s essentially

a utopia based on the old communal way of

living.

SarahIt s based on medievalism, isn t it?

Tom at s it. It s based on the medieval

communal society. So you could argue that

that s a form of nostalgia too, using it as a way to

imagine a future.

48

SarahOkay...

Tom And it s an absolute indict

advertising industry, and of m

capitalism, and also of McCarth1952. But, you know, Mc Carthy an

others, they went after Hollywo

went after teachers, they went afte

but they completely ignored scien

there was a whole generation of

that stu in the fties, who then

in the sixties, and I would coun

them. But there was a lot of polit

ction that nobody even blink

Tom Because it was popular culture, it


49/52

T s s r r

bypassed the censors.

SarahSomething I m really interested in, as a

parallel to this idea of re-enactment in art, is the

(amateur) production of fan ction literature...I was wondering, as a professor of comparative

literature, if you had any thoughts on this?

TomSure. Do you know theSlashor the

Chaos ction? ere s a whole fan genre of

Kirk/Spock ction. It actually started in

lesbian culture, and it s kind sort of spread.

It s basically sexual fantasies about Kirk and

Spock, it starts from there and transforms

into very extended narratives and turns into

long storylines... A popular form like StarTrek is taken and re-written by fans.

Sarah And do you think there s any... critical

value in that?

TomOh, I think so. In the sense of it being a

found object , like you mentioned before, in the

sense of taking what s there in a media that aims

for the erasure of memory... and using that as the

grammar of critical thinking. So you don t need

outside ideas, you can use your own culture, andrebuild your own culture, but do it critically. So

in that sense, I think it could be argued there is a

utopian impulse. Bloch I think would see it that

way... he always talks about a utopian surplus ,

that there s a little kernel of hope within things

that is expressed when people work creatively.

Reading Bloch is like listening to jazz, just like

one, big, long... ri , on hope and possibility.Tom Moylan is Glucksman Professor of Con

English and Director of the Ralahine Ce

the University of Limerick. He is the authoDemand the Impossibl

Science Fiction and the Utopian ImaginationScience Fiction, Utopia, Dystopia; and numerous essays. Hi

interests focus on utopian theory, ex

science ction; and the processes of

change.

Sarah Browneis an artist based in Ireland. H

macro social structures through enga

She is interested in forming social co

popular culture acting as a surrogate fo

the mediation of individual desires wit

produces participatory projects, sculppublications, and critical writing.

49


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Your Politics Has Turned You Into Sheep, drawing seen on New York subway, 2006

50

A Model Society is a project and publicatio

e project was originally commissioned by


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51

r j s r ss

and received further funding from th

is publication has received support fro

Designed by Pure Des

www.puredesignsPrinted by GPS Colour Gra

Published in 2008 bycottagelab

ISBN 978-0-9554976-3

Images and patterns copyright 2Texts copyright the indivi

Special thanks to all the project partic

G sli P lsson, Tom Moylan, Gar

Association of Reykja

www.sarahbrown

Models in A Model Society

ris Arnard ttir

Vesna Jesic Dan elsson

Bjarni Gr ndal

Nalini Gr ndal

Elisabet Osp Gu mundsd ttir

Valey S l Gu mundsd ttir

Vignir or Gu mundsson

Margret Huldrunard ttir

S dis J hannesd ttirRosa Sigr n J nsd ttir

H inn J nsson

Vi ar J nsson

Arna B ra Karlsd ttir

sta Karen lafsd ttir

Hrafnildur Sigur ard ttir

Hildur Sk lad ttir

Jaakko Terguje

Ana Saed s Jesic rsd ttir

Dolores R s Valencia WaltersJayden Isabelle Walters

is is number of an editio


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ISBN 978-0-9554976-3-6

sarah browne, a model society, patterns & thoughts, 2008

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