Appropriation, Transformation and Contemporary Fiber Art: An Artist’s Perspective

Although founded on European assumptions of fine art, fiber art is equally grounded in textile traditions from around the globe. Issues of appropriation have evolved since fiber’s critical formative years in the 1960s and 70s, when an explosion in awareness of diverse cultures was reflected in the curriculum of California universities. The desire to mainstream into the fine art establishment gave rise to a trend in the 1980s and 90s, for some fiber artists to distance themselves from these traditions. It is this artist’s contention that the most appropriate of appropriations is a renewed appreciation of cultural values evident in textile traditions, once again reinvigorating our understanding of fine art