State Dept spent $185,000 on one piece of "fiber"

Posted: Aug 4, 2016

The State Department doled out six figures for one piece of art made out of balls of thread, to be displayed in an embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. Government spending on lavish art has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after a report revealed the Department of Veterans Affairs spent $20 million on artwork while veterans died waiting to see doctors. The VA is not alone in purchasing pricey art on the taxpayers’ dime. The State Department spent $185,000 for “Lares and Penates,” a 9.5 foot by 9.5 foot fiber installation by Sheila Hicks, according to a government contract signed in April. The piece is made up of 98 balls of thread. "Rather than a sense of constriction, the various sized pieces are like precious small gifts, hiding happy mysteries," writes the art blog "Studio and Garden." "Lares and Penates are Roman deities who protected the household. We might see these small pieces as votive objects, made with a kind of prayerful attention in the repetitive motions of wrapping." The piece was purchased for the New Embassy Compound in Islamabad, which was completed last summer. The $699 million embassy was built using "green construction techniques," uses low-flow faucets, and is "fully compliant" with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Other works by Hicks include “Prayer Rug,” a 1969 piece made of wool and mohair, and a hanging installation made of giant balls of colored thread.;