Friday Fibers Roundup: Materiality

March 22, 2019

This week’s Friday Fibers Roundup looks at material knowledge and how some artists and schools are putting materiality first.

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1) The exhibition WOMEN EMPOWERED: Fashions from the Frontline, features items worn by prominent activists, politicians, artists, athletes, academics, and everyday unsung heroes. On display at the Cornell Costume & Textile Collection (New York) through March 31st, 2019.

2) “Why More Designers are Speccing Textile Art” by Judith Gura looks at how fibers and textiles are becoming more widely recognized alongside works in other media (via Architectural Digest).

3) “The Fantastic Life of Faith Ringgold” by Ken Tan spotlights the impressive synthesis of influences, an obdurate resistance to being told what she can or cannot do, and the bedrock of Ringgold’s art (via Hyperallergic).

4) “Parsons And Lidewij Edelkoort On The Value Of Imperfection And Why Textiles Matter” by Western Bonime digs into why it so important for us to know and understand the materials we work with, and why it’s sometimes no longer being taught (via Forbes).

5) “The Tatter Textile Library is a Crafter’s Paradise” by Catherine Hong looks into Blue: The Tatter Textile Library (Brooklyn, New York) and how a growing wave of artists, makers, fashion insiders, and other lovers of antique fabrics and handmade crafts can utilize the inspiring collection (via Martha Stewart).

6) “Descending into Lee Bontecou’s Apocalyptic Voids” by Brandon Truett examines Bontecou’s paper works and how they evoke the world as fragile, teetering on the brink of total calamity (via Hyperallergic).

7) “How to Be an Artist, According to Louise Bourgeois” by Karen Kedmey looks at the work and words of Bourgeois, who left behind an evocative body of work and writings in which many other artists have sought insight and inspiration (via Artsy).

8) “A Dutch Laboratory That Paints in Yarn” by Diane Daniel spotlights Finnish artist and designer Kustaa Saksi and Stef Miero, and their current project at TextielLab (Tilburg, the Netherlands) (via New York Times).

9) “Greenville’s Textile Industry Gets a Boost from New Fiber Arts Program” by Teree Caruthers spotlights a new fiber arts program at the Fine Arts Center prepares students for emerging jobs in thriving textile industry in South Carolina (via Livability).

10) “When ‘Outliers’ and ‘Outsiders’ are no Longer Useful Categories in Art” by Douglas Messerli looks at the exhibition Outliers and American Vanguard Art, and the subtle hierarchy among artists within the art world (via Hyperallergic).