Craft History at UGA

On Saturday, I traveled to the Georgia Museum of Art on the campus of the University of Georgia to tour "Crafting History: Textiles, Metals and Ceramics" at the University of Georgia. The tour led by curator Ashley Callahan was organized by Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance.

I hadn't given academic crafting much thought. The exhibit tells the history of craft instruction at UGA. If you attended the university or are familiar with craft history in Georgia, then I think you will enjoy the exhibit even more than I did. Teaching craft is often about innovation. Innovation comes from play. Expanding your skills within your craft often means learning and exploring new techniques. Students and instructors ask, "What if . . . ?" In a group environment, you can crowd-source the solution as different people explore different possibilities.

Wiley Devere Sanderson Jr. yardage, no date (1950s?), detail

Touring with a group also taps into group knowledge. For example, we looked at Wiley Devere Sanderson Jr.'s woven yardage. Suzi Gough, weaver and founder of SEFAA, remarked that the fabric looked like Bedford cord. Bedford cord is a textured weave structure that produces furrows running parallel to the warp. But when we got close to the fabric, we could see it was flat. I posit this may be an experiment in trompe l'oeil texture. The color is in the warp stripes. As best as I can tell, this fabric is tabby (plain) weave worked with a single-color weft (medium-dark green) — i.e. using only one shuttle. It could be executed on a 2-shft loom or rigid heddle. Easy! In the close up, notice the variety of carefully-chosen shades and tints of green. The orange-red color is almost a complementary color. The careful choice of color creates the illusion of texture without the work of a more complicate weave structure. Clever!

Glen Kaufman, Shaped Rug, circa 1976, detail of pile

Another piece utilizing color is Glen Kaufman's Shaped Rug from about 1976. Mr. Kaufman purposely disrupted the typically rectilinear form of the rug. You'll have to see the exhibit for yourself to see what I mean. In this detail, you can see the pile has been cut to different heights. And all the color is optically-mixed, since each color area has yarn of different colors. This rug really needs to be viewed in person, as the violet nearly glows. I would love to know the source of the yarn and dye, as it is still radiant 40 years later.

Edward S. Lambert, untitled, no date (1970s?), detail

Silk painting is a technique I have much admired by never tried. Edward S. Lambert's untitled piece has mandala-like geometric forms. The museum label mentions his interest in nature at the microscopic level. The fractal fringes of the shapes do seem derived from nature. The geometry provides an over-arcing organization, but the details seem chaotic and free. Once again, I'm showing you only a detail here of a larger piece. And as this is silk, the fabric is diaphanous, responding to even minuscule air movement.

Ken Bova, Welcome to the
Montana Grad Trap, 1979

The exhibit includes ceramics and metalwork as well. There is a medallion and scepter set that for decades was used to inaugurate new presidents at UGA. The regal effect of these accoutrements reminds me of a modern take on Ingres' 1806 portrait of Napolean on his Throne. The bit of metalwork I want to show you here, however, is a ring — Welcome to the Montana Grad Trap by Ken Bova. The "publish or perish" system in academia means professors of craft need to exhibit their work. Metalwork faculty across several universities organized an exhibition of rings, which then traveled from campus to campus. This allowed them to pad out their curricula vitae by listing every venue. In other words, they very cleverly gamed the system. The ring case is well worth your time, as careful inspection will uncover wit and innovation. Rings make a great starting point for experimentation, as they are small and do not necessarily require a lot of time or material. In this way, they remind me of SEFAA's annual Square Foot Fiber Pin-Up Show. The ring case is full of the sort of play experimentation that results in breakthroughs. And it will challenge your idea of what a ring might be.

"Crafting History: Textiles, Metals and Ceramics" is on display through Sunday 29 April 2018. If you find yourself over towards Athens, give yourself an extra hour or two to explore this exhibit. The creativity and variety may inspire.