Host: Hangzhou Triennial of Fibre Art, Varbanov Wall Hanging Institute
Time: 22nd, Nov. 2016 18：30 - 20：30
Place: Building 6 beside the pond, Varbanov Wall Hanging Institute
Address: China Academy of Art, No.218, Nanshan Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou
Translator: Cui Yi
The lecture will take the exhibition of “Social Fabric” launched by the Institute of International Arts in 2012 (then spread to Sweden, India and Germany) as an entry point so as to change the links established by textile trade between the United Kingdom and India into optical lens to scrutinise textile art and fibre art. The lecture will deepen the works of artists and other literature materials with such things as fabric simples, old patterns, legal documents, political terms, manuscripts, newspaper clipping, photos, audio frequency and films, and thus talk about several questions haunting this field.
In recent years, textiles have not only become the main theme of many exhibitions but appeared in the works of many artists. Reasons behind those artists’ choice of textile are the characteristics of materials and, meanwhile, textile’s function as an interface to create a dialogue between the exhibition and the living world.
Attentions paid to textiles and other related arts reflect several research facets: 1) the focus on abstract or soft sculptures; 2) the focus on the process of weaving; 3) feminism including women’s work on craft; 4) the hierarchy mechanism between art and craft; 5) the cooperation between art and architectural design; 6) trade, industry and globalization.
The exhibition of “Social Fabric” is derived from the project of “Fabric Arts and Social Fabric” launched by Antwerp Contemporary Art Museum, which will also be discussed in this lecture. This project, composed of a series of materials and practices, tries to intervene in social process through the use of textiles. Therefore, the exhibition covers not only case studies of some constructivists like Oiticica and Stepinova from Brazil but also the monumental banner hanging over sports centres and parades created by John Dugger. Works that John Dugger entrusted to other artists are also included.
Finally, the lecture will also mention the exhibition of “Textiles: Open Letter” in Museum Abteiberg, Monchengladbach, Germany, in which many fibre arts created from 1960s to 1970s are exhibited. In addition, the lecture will attach great importance to the history of fibre art exhibition in order to comb the fibre art exhibition history in the international landscape in recent years.
About the lecturer
©Grant Watson
Grant Watson is a tutor in the School of Humanities, Royal College of Art, Britain and mainly focuses on curation theories and the curation of contemporary art. His recent projects include How We Behave if I Can Dance (Amsterdam), Practice International (London) and Keywords at Tate Liverpool.
Watson launched a series of major projects concerning textiles and its history, and research and exhibition of contemporary art, such as “Social Fabric” (2012, London, Lund in Sweden and Bombay) and “Fabric Arts and Social Fabric” (2009, Antwerp). Since 1990s, Grant Watson has started to conduct comprehensive cooperation with the art community in India.
