The Farnsworth winter windows project is designed to showcase the work of Maine artists in our Main Street windows through the temporary installations of original artwork. The museum sought proposals from artists to create a site-specific installation for display in the windows from November 24, 2018 to January 15, 2019. Annie Bailey was chosen as this year’s finalist in the museum’s Winter Windows project.
The name of Bailey’s piece is Abbie Burgess, Lighthouse Heroine. It is a large “crankie” telling the story of Abbie Burgess. A crankie is an old storytelling art form. It’s a long illustrated scroll that is wound onto two spools. Annie’s automated crankie is painted with ink on cotton fabric.
Annie Bailey is a visual artist whose work is inspired by the midcoast community where she grew up. She is the daughter of a ship captain and has spent her life exploring and experiencing the local maritime culture. Bailey received her B.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been exhibited at the Farnsworth Art Museum, National Geographic, The Society of Illustrators, and the Calbeck Gallery, as well as in various other locations in New England, Alaska, NYC and Washington, D.C.
The mechanism for Bailey’s crankie was done in collaboration with Andrew White, who is an artist-maker and educator working out of Midcolab, a collaborative co-working space in Thomaston. The stitching was done by Dayle Ward, Sailmaker at Traditional Rigging Co. in Appleton.