Weaving, Trying to Make Sense of my Time at the Bottom of this Planet, Occasionally Tending our Sisyphaen Patch
by the Goddess of Procrastination and Expert Forgetter
Yes, exactly, Lynne; it appears to be anything goes as long as one uses some fuzzy stuff! And some stuff, particularly mixed media or felted stuff I've seen, well, I'll withhold my honest-est feelings on-line...
I guess I'm wondering what judges look for when they select or give awards to "fiber/textile art". Which is like asking... who's the best singer, ever, in history of human voice?
An answer to your blog question asking what is fiber art:
Fiber art is a really complicated thing to define... I'm going to college in just that major. Fiber Design. What separates fiber art from.... not art? In my humble opinion, a couple things. 1. It's made well. no shoddy craftsmanship or crappy materials. The materials are used well. 2. There has to be an idea, or a concept behind it. Even if it's just about design or process, there has to be a reason that piece exists. Whether you're protesting something or exploring the four seasons, there is a meaning.
I'm sure there's more in my head, but I am very sleepy! Really, as they say, art is what you think it is, or what you make of it. There's a lot of ugly stuff our there that is called art, but there is also a lot of BEAUTIFUL stuff.
Those are a couple artists who really inspire me. If you really want to explore and find some stuff out, I would see if your library has any good, contemporary, fiber ART books that profile artists or something like that.
I love your weavings!!
Oh, and I don't consider myself a fiber artist yet. Just for the record! I'm definitely still a student with my work.
For a bunch of contemporary textile art, check out www.fiberarts.com/. It's an American Textile art magazine. I'm almost positive they feature artists from all countries. There's some really great stuff there. Also, there's always some bad stuff as well, as with anything!
Brittany, I used to subscribed to Fiberarts, and I loved it, I loved looking at the photographs, but truth to tell, nothing really made me think of "this is how I would weave a piece so that it's not only a weaving or cloth but fiber art as well!".
I guess the question I'm really asking is how do I make some of my weaving into fiber art, or can utilitarian weaving ever become fiber art at all? And I'd like to think the answer to the second question is a resounding yes, but so far I haven't found ... a way for me to make fiber art.
And the second paragraph of my response to Lynne's comment above. It is so lame, and yet I keep wondering what makes something textile art in someone else's mind, and I keep looking for visual clues.
What I'm trying to do is to weave pieces to enter (and hopefully be accepted) in fiber/textile art exhibitions, without my having to do pictorial/tapestry, felting, embroidery/beading... I know there are beautiful woven pieces that we weavers all love, but they don't seem to be considered good enough to be included in fiber/textile art around here, ("art" being the sticky word for me,) unless there's more stuff piled on. And there aren't as many weaving exhibitions around as there are f/t art, at least to my knowledge.
Without being snarky about it, (I learned this word today,) I think we've seen stuff in f/t art exhibitions that looked like a cat coughed it up... Perhaps not you, but I have... and I have a hard time believing THOSE are f/t art, and what we do is not.
If art must renders to questioning and discussion, while craft doesn't have to, I guess that's the only justification for the f/t art vs "weaving" divide I see?? I am sad breathtakingly beautiful isn't art, but "WTF???" is.
5 comments:
whats this your next can of worms?
I should scan some images from a recent competition catalogue...Fiber Arts has a WIDE interpretation!
more like a chasm that the judges have to span.
yet, I will continue to make stuff with stuff and put it on a human form to twirl about.
please remind me to scan the winners from American Fiber show.
Yes, exactly, Lynne; it appears to be anything goes as long as one uses some fuzzy stuff! And some stuff, particularly mixed media or felted stuff I've seen, well, I'll withhold my honest-est feelings on-line...
I guess I'm wondering what judges look for when they select or give awards to "fiber/textile art". Which is like asking... who's the best singer, ever, in history of human voice?
An answer to your blog question asking what is fiber art:
Fiber art is a really complicated thing to define... I'm going to college in just that major. Fiber Design. What separates fiber art from.... not art? In my humble opinion, a couple things. 1. It's made well. no shoddy craftsmanship or crappy materials. The materials are used well. 2. There has to be an idea, or a concept behind it. Even if it's just about design or process, there has to be a reason that piece exists. Whether you're protesting something or exploring the four seasons, there is a meaning.
I'm sure there's more in my head, but I am very sleepy! Really, as they say, art is what you think it is, or what you make of it. There's a lot of ugly stuff our there that is called art, but there is also a lot of BEAUTIFUL stuff.
www.chelsearivergallery.com/mainpages/moranimages.htm
www.kyoungaecho.com/
Those are a couple artists who really inspire me. If you really want to explore and find some stuff out, I would see if your library has any good, contemporary, fiber ART books that profile artists or something like that.
I love your weavings!!
Oh, and I don't consider myself a fiber artist yet. Just for the record! I'm definitely still a student with my work.
For a bunch of contemporary textile art, check out www.fiberarts.com/. It's an American Textile art magazine. I'm almost positive they feature artists from all countries. There's some really great stuff there. Also, there's always some bad stuff as well, as with anything!
Happy thinking :)
Brittany
Brittany, I used to subscribed to Fiberarts, and I loved it, I loved looking at the photographs, but truth to tell, nothing really made me think of "this is how I would weave a piece so that it's not only a weaving or cloth but fiber art as well!".
I guess the question I'm really asking is how do I make some of my weaving into fiber art, or can utilitarian weaving ever become fiber art at all? And I'd like to think the answer to the second question is a resounding yes, but so far I haven't found ... a way for me to make fiber art.
And the second paragraph of my response to Lynne's comment above. It is so lame, and yet I keep wondering what makes something textile art in someone else's mind, and I keep looking for visual clues.
What I'm trying to do is to weave pieces to enter (and hopefully be accepted) in fiber/textile art exhibitions, without my having to do pictorial/tapestry, felting, embroidery/beading... I know there are beautiful woven pieces that we weavers all love, but they don't seem to be considered good enough to be included in fiber/textile art around here, ("art" being the sticky word for me,) unless there's more stuff piled on. And there aren't as many weaving exhibitions around as there are f/t art, at least to my knowledge.
Without being snarky about it, (I learned this word today,) I think we've seen stuff in f/t art exhibitions that looked like a cat coughed it up... Perhaps not you, but I have... and I have a hard time believing THOSE are f/t art, and what we do is not.
If art must renders to questioning and discussion, while craft doesn't have to, I guess that's the only justification for the f/t art vs "weaving" divide I see?? I am sad breathtakingly beautiful isn't art, but "WTF???" is.
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