Things that characterize America in the 1950s: Elvis Presley, Suburbia, the Beat generation, and fashion becoming art. In the decade immediately after World War II, in a new twist fabric and textiles began being more incorporated into actual art instead of merely being used for clothing. With so many different types of fabric, from macramé to wool, with varied fibers and textures, this new medium provided a way of introducing more uniqueness and creativity to art instead of using different paint colors. By the 1960s, this genre – called fiber art – was being done worldwide and became a lynchpin of the modern art movement.
Luckily, you can now get your fashion fix in a cultural way by going to a new exhibition, Contemporary Fiber Art, at the Art Institute of Chicago – featuring over 52 artists, the show is a collection of works made out of fabric and textiles. For those who love both clothing and art, it’s the perfect hybrid.
One of the greatest opportunities available to us as Northwestern students is that great cultural center of Chicago – and with a few weeks left before finals, you still have some free time to head into the city and explore the rest of the world outside of the college bubble.
—Sara Chernus
