Talking Textiles: Communicating Through Cloth

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• Talking Textiles: Communicating Through Cloth

Queer Fashion & Style: Stories from the Heartland

September 11, 2017 – November 10, 2017 / MARY ALICE GALLERY

Curators Janet Fitzpatrick and Olivia Smith

Labels, images, icons. Colors, symbols, styles. Our apparel and the decorative textiles around us often serve as non-verbal forms of communication. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, textiles communicate who we are, what we think, and what we do. Sometimes the message is clearly stated through the written word and other times the meaning is conveyed in more subtle ways using symbolic and graphic images.

This exhibition includes examples of dress and textile art forms that express something about our histories, cultures, preferences, and beliefs. Grouped into the categories of branding, identity, and storytelling, any of these objects can be interpreted from multiple viewpoints. These perceptions are informed by personal experiences and individual perspectives. Feel free to formulate your own narratives within the exhibition; and then consider what your clothes and textiles say about you.