Whole Cloth

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Summary: An inspiring history of cloth, art and civilization
Review: If you've heard the buzz about this book, it's true. If you are at all concerned with cloth, fabric or fibers in association with art, especially art with a capital A, you need to see this book. And read it. Devour it, might be a better phrasing. Authors Constantine and Reuter can give you a better recommendation:"When we conceived this book over a decade ago we predicted that cloth would bind artists from the Art Fabric movement to those working in the more traditional fine arts. By publication time the book has become a historic record of the breaking down of all categories in art as mixed media and installation have invaded every aspect of contemporary art. Indeed, the use of cloth in works of art is not a movement but an all-pervasive trend adopted by artists of every cut and color. Sometimes cloth is the entire work of art, sometimes a component or a fragment. However, just as thread is assumed into material, cloth has been assumed into the fabric of twentieth-century art."Both authors have impressive credentials in contemporary art. Constantine served as curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) for over 20 years and has organized exhibitions at MOMA and the Smithsonian. She has authored many publications for MOMA as well as the books Tina Modotti: A Fragile Life; Beyond Craft: The Art Fabric (with Jack Lenor Larsen) and The Art Fabric: Mainstream (with Larsen). She also has credentials as an art historian and educator. Reuter founded the North Dakota Museum of Art (that state's first art museum) and serves as its director. Also, she has curated over 100 exhibitions of and published extensively on contemporary art.First, they give a history of cloth as it relates to civilization. Then they discuss cloth and the industrial revolution and the arts in the early 20th century. On page 32, they launch into their discussion of cloth and contemporary art ­ painting, installation, fashion, performance, photography ­ they touch it all, including even some art quilts. Inspiration abounds in the wide array of art pictured, and the text reads like a popular novel for anyone remotely interested in either cloth or art, but especially to those wrapped up in both. This review orginally appeared in Art/Quilt Magazine issue #10 and appears here with permission of the author and publisher.

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Summary: Whole Cloth
Review: Laurel Reuter is the co-author of this book, not a contributor as you assert.