Manipulating fabric & colour

Whilst some artists manipulate fabric to turn it into something completely new (e.g. Emily Miller, Lin Tianmiao), others simply "rearrange" it in order to create implicit works. This is seen in Robert Morris's series of felt sculptures entitled "Vettii":

Despite the fact that they are simply pieces of coloured fabric hung up against a wall, there is something obviously sexual about the works. They work similarly to some of Georgia O'Keeffe's "flower paintings", which could be seen as literal flowers, or the metaphorical "flower" of the female body:

Morris's work is similar to other textile artists' work, in that the use of fabric rather than paint or pencil can convey more meaning and symbolism. Like the large pink fur sculptures of Emily Miller, Morris's hanging felt forms give a feeling of softness and femininity to the space. The colours used are also important - pink and brown are very "human" flesh like colours, as opposed to O'Keeffe's brightly coloured "flowers" which have a less obvious symbolic connotation.

Own work - textile/fabric pieces

My first piece of work for this project is largely inspired by the use of fabric seen in the work of Emily Miller, and also by Méret Oppenheim's "Object", which was nicknamed "Le Déjeuner en fourrure" by André Breton and is known in English as known in English as "Fur Breakfast" or "Breakfast in Fur". 

With an underlying theme of femininity and an obvious sexual pun, the use of fur in the work carries the same connotations as Miller's "X Chromosomes" sculpture.

Oppenheim's "Object" ("Le Déjeuner en fourrure").


I chose to use similarly tactile fabric for my own work, as it carries connotations of femininity and softness, but decided to combine it with functionality and practicality (again, something seen as typically "male").

I chose to use fleece fur for its softness, and chose these colours because they are highly contrasting, and whilst pink is often associated with femininity, black is often seen as a more "masculine" colour. 

I made two large cushions, one pink with a red zip, and the other black with a pink zip. Textiles and fabrics are often seen as a craft and therefore a "woman's art", but these are also practical and can be used, rather than just being "something pretty" to look at. However the fact that they can be unzipped and used is also a subtle comment on how women can be treated in much the same way - as an object, something to be used by men.

Emily Miller - fabric work

Feminist art works are often made from particularly tactile materials (often contrasting ones ~ e.g. silk and pins) which highlight the contrast between men and women, or show that despite women's bodies are soft, they can be strong too.

Emily Miller, "X Chromosomes"

Emily Miller created this work from baby pink faux fur and steel, two contrasting materials - one stereotypically seen as "feminine" and the other "masculine". Named after the the two gender-determining chromosomes that decide whether a baby is a girl, the work is visually striking in terms of size, shape and materials used. The colour and tactile fur fabric suggests softness and delicacy, traits that are stereotypically associated with women, but the size and bold shapes of the piece imply strength and power: stereotypical male traits.