|
Exhibits |
Current and UpcomingHarue Shimomoto: An MFA exhibitionJune 20 - July 4, with an artist's reception Thursday, June 19, 7 - 9 p.m. Note special hours for this exhibition: Tuesday - Friday, 12 - 6 p.m., Saturday 12 - 6 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. Open by appointment July 5 - August 9. Contact Harue Shimomoto for details.
Harue Shimomoto manipulates glass into sculptural tapestries, examining the aesthetic possibilities in fusing fiber and glass methods and concepts. This installation will create passages through a complex network of glass rods, transforming the gallery's space. An MFA candidate through the Department of Art, Shimomoto's faculty advisor is Professor Diane Sheehan of the Department of Design Studies. She received her BFA from Tokyo's Mushashino Art University in 1995, and has also studied at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Shimomoto's work is supported in part by Habatat Gallery, Boca Raton, Florida. Past Exhibitions "Biggest Slice of the Cake:" An MFA exhibition by Kate TroyerMay 7 - 18, 2008
In this ambitious installation, Kate Troyer combined the techniques of digital animation and hand silk-screening on felt to create a strange dreamlike narrative. The viewer embarks on a fantastical journey of metamorphosis, multiplicity, and manipulated scale through a storybook world inhabited by very large, whimsical animal-hybrid creatures. Troyer’s intent is that engagement with the work will encourage awareness of one’s own body, sense of space, and conception of time. Her work is also a celebration of the imagination through visual delight, unexpected yet strangely appealing imagery, and nostalgia for childhood memories and dreams. Troyer’s work brings up notions of compromise and awareness of self, as well as our search for the sincere and authentic. Kate Troyer is an MFA candidate in Textile Studies and Design through the Design Studies Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Human Ecology. She received her B.A. in Fine Art and Art History from Lawrence University (Appleton, Wisconsin) in 2002. Trailer Parks and Moon Pies: An MFA exhibition by Brooke Godfrey April 16 - 27, 2008
An over-sized tale of acerbic reality, presented graphically through Brooke Godfrey's engaging drawings and digital prints. Godfrey’s exceptional draftsmanship and technical abilities support rich, comprehensive narratives in the unexpected context of architectural illustration. In architectural drawing, the expressions of proposed designs are generally polished and pristine, giving the viewer a perfect snapshot of what the space is intended to become. In reality, however, this is rarely the case. The buildings and spaces that eventually materialize are subject to time and human interaction, creating very different environments than the designers and architects envisioned. It is these differences, these less than perfect experiences, that Godfrey is interested in exploring. Brooke Godfrey is an MFA candidate in Design Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Human Ecology. She received her B.S. in Interior Design from UW-Madison in 2003. Design 2008: Annual Student Juried ExhibitionFebruary 13 – April 6, 2008 Showcasing the best of class and research projects by students in textile, apparel, and interior design, “Design 2008” is an annual exhibition juried by professionals in the field. Throughout the academic year, students in Design Studies studio classes reserve their best projects for this exhibition, which typically includes a broad range of work from weaving samples, garments, color studies, sculpture, and architectural models to computer-aided-design images and digital projections. A department tradition since 1992, this show provides many students with their first opportunity to exhibit in a professionally managed gallery. This year’s jurors were Megan Petraszak of Madison, an interior designer and AutoCAD director for Snaidero Studio-Wisconsin, and crochet- and knitwear designer, author, and editor Judith Swartz of Spring Green. Both jurors are alumni of the Environment, Textile, and Design Department (now known as Design Studies).
Crafting KimonoOctober 31, 2007 - February 3, 2008 (closed December 17 - January 22 for winter break)
Young Woman’s Kimono (Oburisode),1920s. Silk, gauze weave (Ro). Hand painted, paste resist (Yuzen), embroidery So much of dress is tied to identity. Even in today’s “global market” the simple (or not) decision about which outfit to wear says a great deal about you.The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection has many garments that reflect the identity of the wearer and the maker. Kimono, the national dress of Japan, offers clear clues as to the wearer and more subtle ones from the maker. It would be easy to assume that a kimono is a kimono, with its straightforward construction, simple t-shape, and one size-fits-all nature. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The color, sleeves, design, and weaves of kimono may indicate the gender, marital status, and age of the wearer, as well as the occasion or season in which it is worn. Crafting Kimono revealed these varied nuances and explored the materials and techniques that go into creating a kimono through examples of wedding, formal, and everyday kimono featuring a variety of weaving and dyeing methods. Selected from the extensive holdings of the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection by its curator, Rebecca Kasemeyer, this exhibition was one of a series of biennial exhibitions showcasing the HLATC collections in the Design Gallery. Deceptively Simple: The Art of Camouflage September 5 - October 21, 2007
As graphic design, the art of camouflage has become so ubiquitous that it is literally hidden in plain sight. We see it on the news every night and on the street every day. The history of camouflage patterns is fascinating and complex, and its influences range from animal markings, modern painting and 19th century textile design to the rise of military r&d and the field experience of ordinary soldiers and hunters. “Deceptively Simple: The Art of Camouflage” explored the streams of influence that have led to the astonishing diversity of camouflage worldwide—and also, paradoxically, to the global dominance of the U.S. “woodland” pattern introduced in the 1980s. This exhibition examined the history of camouflage through a selection of international uniforms, hunting apparel, and streetwear dating from WWI through the present-day, with a particular focus on the U.S. Co-curated by Jody Clowes of the Design Gallery with William Brewster, curator for the Wisconsin Veterans’ Museum, the majority of the objects in this exhibition were from the Veterans’ Museum’s extensive collection, accompanied by private loans. Design 2007: Annual Student Juried ExhibitionApril 11 – May 13, 2007 Our annual showcase for the best work by current students in the areas of Textile and Apparel Design and Interior Design. Jurors for 2007 were Robert Lewcock of Zimmerman Architectural Studios, Milwaukee, and Kim W. Donovan, an interior designer from Madison whose business is called "The Last Homecoming Queen." Disposable Dresses: Throw-away Design from the1960s January 24 – March 11, 2007
Packaging insert for a “Waste Basket Boutique” child’s dress, 1966-69, cardboard. Sold by Mars Mfg. Co, Asheville, NC (“The Pioneers in Disposable Fashion”). Lent by the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, University of Wisconsin-Madison. While planned obsolescence and disposable products are anathema to environmentally conscious consumers today, in the 1960s they were more often seen as expressions of a freewheeling modern sensibility. During that decade, paper companies like Kimberly Clark, Scott, and Hallmark exploited a rich source of new markets and the marketing cachet of Pop-inspired chic with an array of stylish, disposable paper clothing. The ultimate in easy care, these novel garments were inexpensive, fashionable conversation pieces, and were often sold in conjunction with matching paper party goods. By 1967, over 60 companies offered paper clothing of one kind or another, and paper clothes were being sold in groceries and drugstores as well as more traditional department stores and boutiques. A few high-end designers followed the trend as well, offering disposable clothing for the couture market. The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection has an excellent collection of paper garments from the 1960s, along with a great deal of supporting documentation, original packaging, and related items such as crepe paper party goods and paper dolls. Through a selection of pieces from the Textile Collection, curator Jody Clowes explored the rise and fall of paper garments in the market as well as the larger issue of planned obsolescence and the changing public perception of disposable goods. Although the fashion for paper garments faded rapidly in the late 1960s, paper manufacturers have continued to make disposable garments for hospitals and clinics, and several contemporary designers have created limited production and art garments from paper and nonwoven “fabrics” such as Tyvek. As a coda to the dresses from the 1960s, a small selection of hospital gowns and contemporary designs were exhibited as well. New School Knitting: The Influence of Elizabeth Zimmermann and Schoolhouse PressOctober 27 - December 17, 2006
Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen, ca. 1947. Photo courtesy of Schoolhouse Press. A virtual exhibition catalog is available at www.newschoolknittingexhibition.org Knitwear designers Elizabeth Zimmermann (1910-1999) and Meg Swansen (b. 1942), a mother and daughter team from Wisconsin, have devoted their careers to promoting Zimmermann’s “percentage system” of knitwear design. This system, which emphasizes seamless construction and allows individuals to design their own garments without a pattern, has had a tremendous impact on contemporary American knitting. Zimmermann and Swansen have influenced many individual knitters as well as a significant group of knitwear designers through their PBS television series,workshops, classes, and summer “knitting camps,” newsletter and magazine articles, as well as their own books, videos, and reprints published through The Schoolhouse Press, which was founded in 1959 by Zimmermann and continues today under Swansen's leadership. This exhibition focused on key works by Zimmermann and Swansen and nine knitwear designers who have adopted their construction methods and design philosophy: Carol A. Anderson, Amy Detjen, Teva Durham, Wendy Easton, Kaffe Fassett, Norah Gaughan, Therese Inverso, Cheryl Oberle, and Joyce Williams. Through knitted garments, books, graphic diagrams, and video, the exhibition demonstrated the way in which these designers have not only adopted the Zimmermann/Swansen approach, but elaborated on it both technically and aesthetically to create a distinct style. Curated by Molly Greenfield, a graduate student in the Department of Environment, Textiles, and Design, the exhibition featured over 65 garments, a range of archival patterns and images, and videos produced by Schoolhouse Press that feature both Zimmermann and Swansen and document their techniques and educational methods.
(left) Elizabeth Zimmermann, Baby Surprise Jacket, designed in 1968. Knitted by Lloie Schwartz in 2001. (right) Elizabeth Zimmermann, Ski Sweater in Color Patterns, designed and knitted in 1957. Photos courtesy of Schoolhouse Press.
|
