A Huddersfield-born artist has returned from an epic adventure in the USA.
Ian Berry – known as Denimu because of his work exclusively using old jeans – visited 11 states, met his idol David Hockney, heard about the sad decline of the US jeans industry and sampled urban regeneration US-style.
The former Newsome High School and Greenhead College student, whose work has featured around the world, was joined on his four-week trip by friend and former Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney.
Ian’s US odyssey began in the Big Apple, where he oversaw the dismantling of his installation, The Secret Garden, which had been on display at the Children’s Museum of the Arts.
The work, made entirely from jeans and using some of the last denim made in the USA, is expected to find a permanent home in the near future.
Ian had been asked to do a residency in Paducah, Kentucky – a city with Unesco World Heritage status and famed for its textile art.
Looking at the map, he spotted a few places he had wanted to visit on the way, including Greensboro – known as “Jeansboro” – in North Carolina, where the famed Cone Denim’s White Oak Mill had just closed down. He also visited Wrangler, which is still based in the town.
‘I was so sad that this mill had closed down,” said Ian. “I know many that cried when they heard the news. It’s sad you can no longer get mass-produced denim in the United States, but sadder that this historic mill – one with mythical status – is no longer around.”
Ian was invited to look inside the deserted mill and its abandoned machinery by local historian Evan Morrison.
Evan also arranged accommodation for Ian at Revolution Mill – a former Cone Denim site converted into a multi-million dollar complex, including apartments, offices, a museum and gallery, cinema, hotel, bars, breweries and restaurants.
“It was the most amazing regeneration I had seen,” said Ian. “And the apartment they gave us was stunning.”
Ian, whose work depicting a series of shop fronts featured at the Paducah Convention Center, said the town had also fought against decline.
“Coca Cola used to have a plant in Paducah, in this beautiful Art Deco building,” he said.
“For years it was empty and now it has a coffee shop owned by a Brit, a micro brewery and a restaurant as well as art and craft shops. The building is stunningly regenerated and brings a new life to the area.
The Arts School also had the most stunning regeneration. I want my studio there. It would be an inspiration to learn there.”
Ian’s meeting with fellow Yorkshireman David Hockney was the highlight of the tour. As a child, Ian was a massive fan of Hockney – having first come across his work as a 12-year-old on a trip to Saltaire with his dad.
A mutual friend arranged for Ian to meet Hockney for dinner during his American adventure.
Said Ian: “It was incredible to meet him. They really don’t make people like this anymore. I could have listened to him all night and while they say never meet your idols, he was above and beyond anything I could have imagined and his warmth and kindness towards me was incredible.
“He invited me to the opening of his New York show, but I was due to leave town beforehand, so he invited me to come and look at it being installed and he gave me a private, guided tour.
“I’m not going to say what was in private conversations, but it was an amazing talk. I will say he mentioned the Huddersfield Examiner! But for me it was taking me back to my childhood and how he was an inspiration. Kids need that.”
Ian ended his trip in Chicago where he visited the Art Institute.
He said: “I walked into the museum and found it to be one of the world’s best. But it had so much of the work I loved as a child and inspired me – Van Gogh’s bedroom, Seurat’s pointillism, Warhol, Monet, Hoppers’ Nighthawks and then I saw Hockney’s “American Collectors” piece. It really ended the trip in an amazing and emotional way.”
