Interwoven: A Look at the Fibers Open Studio
Written by: Linnea Sheneman. Photos by Ashton McDonald.
When I walked into Pepe Hall on the night of the Fibers department’s open studio this past Sunday, immediately all of my senses were engaged. A DJ in front of the doors played a lively familiar song and as I walked through the space and crowds of people young and old my eyes settled on the works of Fibers students that lined the halls and filled the rooms. Works like “Primal Instincts” by Lily Crumpton and “Ephemeral Beauty” by Lola White jumped out at me, and as my senses took in more and more pieces that deviated from fibers in the traditional arts and crafts movement sense, I began to question “what is fibers?” and what does it mean to these artists who are pushing fibers techniques and craft in bold new directions.
M.F.A. student Chloe Bunde defined what fibers means to her as “a focus on material and thought process” and using those more traditional methods of sewing and crochet to push boundaries in both everyday design and the world of more contemporary art practices. Bunde’s current work utilizes craft techniques to create a more contemporary storytelling-driven instillation, that transports the viewer to a storyline of sexuality, gender theory, and youth.
During our conversation, Bunde also touched on how the modern contemporary usages of fibers “uses craft practices as a feminist critique” taking an art form that was previously highly utilitarian and gendered and turning it on its head to use it as a tool of artistic expression to analyze the gender structures that exist around us.
I also got a chance to speak to another M.F.A. student Jennifer Hauber, whose work was bright, whimsical, and focused on found objects. Hauber defined fibers as asking the question “What is fabric?” and constantly pushing those boundaries. Hauber’s vibrant exploration that surrounded her desk incorporated CDs, fabric, yarn, and various items found on local walks. Hauber’s work is consistently repurposing material and creating wearable textiles that ask the question “What is fabric?” or more accurately “What can fabric be?”.
Throughout my experience at the Fibers open studio, I kept continually asking myself what is fibers and how can fibers fit into my major, and other majors here at SCAD. The answer quite simply is that it is interwoven, fibers can fit into any other major as any other major can fit into fibers. At the open studio, I saw work like Molly Shackelford’s that combined ceramic work with fibers, work like Joshua Archer’s that fused furniture design and fibers, Elizabeth Dickerson’s work that utilized photography and fibers together for storytelling, and work like Danielle Summerall’s that used fibers and fashion to create a vibrant and dynamic wig.
Fibers is a field full of specific techniques and broad uses that focus in deeper on the materials we use and not only asks: “What is fabric?” but also answers it with another question, “What do we want it to be?”.
