As you walk in the door of the Eastern Michigan University art gallery, there is a noticeable change from the norm. Instead of canvases lining the walls and sculptures placed on pedestals, quilts, tapestries and artfully sculpted yarns decorate the space.
This is the second time EMU has hosted the New Fibers show, a biennial collaboration between the EMU Art Department and a non-profit fibers guild, the Fiber Arts Network of Michigan. Lining the gallery walls are everything from quilting and screen printing to “dresses” made of newspapers. Applicants from around the country submit pieces to be selected by juror Tracy Krumm from the Kansas City Art Institute. The University Gallery is its only place to house the exhibition this year.
The pieces selected are chosen for their ability to use traditional techniques “altered though concepts,” said Brooks Stevens, member of FAN and fibers professor of EMU.
Traditional media used to create practical items like quilts and clothing are used to express art in this gallery, through pieces like a giant sun-like sculpture formed out of a T-shirt, a series of words created out of thread and abstract tapestry.
One piece, from EMU grad student Lois Bryant’s collection “The Ground Beneath My Feet,” portrays a crack in a sidewalk produced on digital loom technology, showing the emergence of technology in art.
“It’s a good introduction to people who don’t know a lot about fibers,” said Traci Shipley, a Masters of Fine Arts grad student and one of the crew installing the exhibit. “[The artists] use their craft to go beyond the tradition, explore new territories.”
The exhibit will make its gala debut from 4-7 p.m. today. Awards will be presented at 5:30, and a reception will follow. The juror who selected the pieces, Krumm, will be present for the event. The event will stay in the University Gallery on the second floor of the EMU Student Center until Dec. 11.
The art department has additional events tied into this gallery. A parallel exhibition of fiber pieces by EMU students will reside in the student gallery, near the stairs to the third floor, beginning Nov. 15. In addition, lectures with fiber artists are coming up. Christy Matson, an assistant professor at the Art Institute of Chicago, will hold a lecture at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Student Center Ballroom B.
For more information on EMU art exhibits, visit http://art.emich.edu, or become a fan of “EMU Art Galleries” on Facebook.
