‘Flora and Fiber’ Now on View at Florida Tech’s Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts
Exhibition Highlights Pieces
from Permanent Collection
MELBOURNE, FLA. — A new exhibition highlighting the depiction of flowers and foliage in fiber art opened May 20, at Florida Institute of Technology’s Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts.
Curated exclusively from the Center’s permanent collection, Flora and Fiber explores how plants, from their ability to visually inspire iconography to their use as raw material for hand-weaving and dyeing, have a unique relationship with the creation and adornment of textiles.
The specific focus of this exhibition highlights various regions of the Asian continent and its influence on the fashion and material culture of Europe and America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
As society advanced toward the modern age, art and design in the Americas and Europe was overwhelmingly influenced by goods, materials and aesthetics from Central, East and South Asia. Lands to the east of Europe served as a source of significant inspiration. Artistic use of floral motifs and materials and weaving techniques and traditions practiced back then are still used by artisans today.
Featuring over 60 textiles and related objects, Flora and Fiber presents the botanical sources, application and iconography in textiles from three continents, showcasing Asian textiles’ profound and enduring influence on the development of modern fashion and design. Highlights include an 18th century handwoven bamboo undervest from China, hand-dyed indigo textiles, Art Deco-era kimono, and a cape by acclaimed fashion designer Mariano Fortuny.
Starting May 20, regular hours for the center will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. The center is located next to Evans Library on the Florida Tech campus, 150 W. University Blvd. in Melbourne. Admission is free. More information at http://textiles.fit.edu/.
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