Order and disorder - Christopher Bennett

Order and Disorder looks at the cross-cultural context and collaborative nature of Aligheiero Boetti's iconic artworks. The original, often large-scale works in his series Mappe (Maps), Tutto (Everything), and "squared word" were created in needle and thread by women in Afghanistan and in Pakistani refugee camps following the Soviet invasion in 1979, under the direction of Boetti (1940-1994).

Photographs of the artworks and of Afghan women embroidering them are accompanied by examples of embroidered garments and textiles made by Afghanistan's diverse peoples. Such items reveal the country's complex demography and illustrate the kinds of embroideries that were widely traded during the years that Boetti visited.

Christopher G. Bennett is the Dean's Postdoctoral Fellow in Contemporary Art at the University of Delaware. Roy Hamilton is senior curator of Asian and Pacific Collections at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. Alma Ruiz is a senior curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. Photographer Randi Malkin Steinberger collaborated with Alighiero Boetti on two previous books, Accunto Pantheon and Boetti by Afghan People.

The collaborative nature of these pieces places them at an intersection of Central Asian craft traditions and mid-to-late 20th century 'high art,' and this volume . . . is an excellent exploration of the artistic process and final works.