Irrational Physics
Installation view of Sam Dienst: Cartoon Logic. Courtesy of the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery. Photo credit: Adam Reich.
I don’t know when it started, but there seems to have been a newfound nostalgia for old-timey cartoons on social media. Clip edits re-emerge as short reels, with Tom the cat’s legs spinning around like wheels, while Jerry slides across the newly mopped floor as if a figure skater. Unserious gravity, exaggerated movements, and unruly geometries form a world that defies mundaneness. Artist Sam Dienst, compelled by the “irrational physics that moves the objects” in cartoons, explores precisely this sense of motion and unique logic in her handwoven tapestries.
At JLG Projects—a new initiative by Jane Lombard Gallery that rethinks how art is experienced through immersive and unconventional presentations—Dienst’s exhibition, Cartoon Logic, enlivens everyday objects like stools, bottles, or kettles in playful ways. In an interview with IMPULSE Magazine, the fiber artist and sculptor discusses color, chaos, and cartoons’ cheeky and disarming visual language.
Xuezhu Jenny Wang: What does the title “Cartoon Logic” mean? When did you become interested in exploring this cartoon sensibility? What is distinct about how shapes and everyday objects show up in cartoons compared to other forms of visual expression?
Sam Dienst: The title of the show, Cartoon Logic, refers to the sort of irrational physics that moves the objects in the work. As in an old Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny cartoon, things float, fold, and interact with each other in a way more akin to cartoons than typical reality. I think I have naturally gravitated towards the absurd, and cartoon aesthetic feels perfect for it. Cartoons are also the name for the drawing that I use as a guide while weaving, so the title nods slightly to the process of tapestry as well. I think that cartoon language has a disarming quality that lets the work speak to a wide audience. Cartoons often have cheeky or subtle messages and jokes that let adult humor or subjects be explored in parallel to an often silly and seemingly childish plot or story.
Sam Dienst, Shadow Nails (2024). Hand-woven tapestry with embellishments. 27 x 37 in. Courtesy of the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery.
XJW: What does it mean to weave cartoonish forms into fiber-based art and bring it into a fine-art setting (i.e., in a gallery vs. distributing through television or the internet)?
SD: I think that cartoons are somewhat ubiquitous in the art world as a form. I am borrowing the energy and anthropomorphic quality of them in my imagery. The aesthetic of my weavings isn’t necessarily trying to say anything about the original distribution of cartoons; it's the logic of the physical shifting of forms within cartoons that I am exploring. The work being hand-woven tapestry also lends itself to the wiggly wobbly lines of cartoons, as well as giving a sort of pixelated feeling of low resolution digital files.
I am very happy to see textiles of all kinds appearing more often in fine-art settings, and the lifting of the entire fiber genre into a more serious art conversation is perhaps what I think about more than cartoons being brought into the space. My work does not reference any particular franchise or characters from cartoons, only the cartoon logic of forms is present.
XJW: In some of your pieces, objects are superimposed onto each other in a vibrant, chaotic configuration. Can you elaborate on what kind of visual impact you are interested in exploring, as well as the choice of colors?
SD: I love color and chaos, so the compositions are definitely an extension of my own human energy and disposition. The work actually starts as a black-and-white line drawing, compiled from many drawings into one. This line drawing is called a cartoon, and works as a map to follow while I weave. I do not, however, decide the colors for the piece in advance. The colors are chosen spontaneously from my large stockpiles of yarn, and this intuitive process keeps me engaged in an important way. Each color gets chosen for its relationship to the colors immediately next to it and the process is a game I'm playing with myself.
As for the impact, my goal is to make beautiful pieces that the viewer enjoys looking at for a long time, and that they will want to return to again and again. The added embellishments of beading, paint, embroidery, and felt appliqué further complicate the surfaces and reward looking closely at the pieces. These extra techniques also allow me to add new references and objects into the composition after it is woven, allowing my process to work more like a painter addressing an all-over canvas, which is opposite the linear directionality of the weaving method.
Installation view of Sam Dienst: Cartoon Logic. Courtesy of the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery. Photo credit: Adam Reich.
XJW: In Cartoon Logic, the pieces are mounted on a bi-color wall sectioned at eye level. Can you tell us more about this curatorial choice and means of display? And if you could choose anything, what’s the best setting and space for your work to be displayed?
SD: The wall colors came out of a discussion with the gallery to activate the space and designate the show as a cohesive section of the galley. The color itself is one that appears throughout much of the work, and I believe it suits the work well.
I think the best setting for my work is truly in domestic and communal spaces. I love that people choose to own my work and live with it. Much of my subject matter is gathered from my daily objects and habits, so it feels natural that they should live within the spaces where such items exist. That said, I truly am quite flexible on particular settings and believe my work can hold its own in many locations.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Sam Dienst: Cartoon Logic, presented by JLG Projects, is on view at Jane Lombard Gallery through March 8, 2025.
