On the surface the seemingly mundane world of fabric may be far removed from that of fine art, but throughout the centuries artists have often turned to fabric in order to express themselves. Simply think of how many precious paintings have reached us on canvas, a plain and unheralded fabric. But the question remains: can fabric be more than functional?
A brief look at art over the past century reveals that many artists have used fabric as an integral part of their aesthetic language. For instance, the collaboration of Christo and Jean-Claude has seen the artists create massive projects using fabric and nature as their primary media. Among the couples’ celebrated works are:
Wrapped Coast: Created in 1969, Christo and Jean-Claude used thousands of yards of synthetic fabric to wrap Little Bay in Sydney, Australia.
Valley Curtain: In 1970 the artists draped a cloth over 400 yards long across a valley in the Rocky Mountains near Rifle, Colorado.
Small Dot Black by Charles and Ray Eames
Perhaps creating a work of art isn’t your ambition or you don’t have the means to indulge in thousands of yards of fabric. Nevertheless, working with fabric can afford you a medium for expressing yourself in a personal way while at the same time providing an outlet for your creative impulses.
