Private Commissions

Beaded Necktie

2002

Commissioned by Barry Durst, Brooklyn, New York
Medium: Glass beads, thread
Dimensions: 58 1/4 × 1 1/2 × 1/8 in.
Photograph: Courtesy of the artists
Exhibition History: Function and Fantasy: Steven and William Ladd, Mingei International Museum, San Diego, California, 2014. Curator: Christine Knoke

Commission Overview
We first met Barry and his partner Chuanda through a friend we knew from a photo shoot with MAK. William visited them at their home in Brooklyn, and soon after they came to our Bushwick apartment for a studio visit. Both were interested in commissioning work. Barry gravitated toward one of our glass-beaded neckties and wanted to collaborate with William on the color range and pattern.

Artistic Approach
Barry wasn’t shy about color, so this tie went bold: blue, purple, orange, and green. The tie was loomed with squared-off ends and crisp straight edges. This structural clarity wasn’t just a hallmark of our early ties but the natural result of working on a loom, with vertical warp threads running in parallel columns and horizontal weft rows intersecting at right angles.

For Barry’s tie, William ran stripes horizontally around the neck and knot. Below the knot, the front face featured a purple background with diagonal multicolor stripes, while the back contrasted with a blue background and diagonal stripes running in the opposite direction. The double-sided composition made the tie both wearable and sculptural, with color and pattern shifting depending on how it was seen or worn.

Engagement and Impact
For Barry, the tie became a vibrant, personal artwork. For us, it was another step in expanding the language of the beaded necktie, testing how bold palettes and mirrored structures could deepen the relationship between loom logic and ornament.

Context and Legacy
This commission was one of the earliest to fully embrace color complexity, moving away from muted palettes and into high-contrast, dynamic compositions. It also underscores the role of early collectors like Barry, who were willing to take risks and support us at a time when every commission helped sustain our practice in New York.

Barry remains a very dear friend. Over the years he went on to commission other works and became the first board president of our nonprofit, Scrollathon Inc. His belief in us, both as artists and as community builders, has been unwavering. This tie stands not just as an artwork, but as an early chapter in a relationship that has grown into one of the cornerstones of our lives and practice.