The Artificial Divide between Fine Art and Textiles is a Gendered Issue

Thank you to Dianne, who sent along this link to an article from Frieze, a contemporary art magazine published eight times a year from London.

Bayeux tapestry

The article was published as a response to the recent Anni Albers exhibition at Tate Modern, which ended in January.

Written by Amber Butchart, it notes the resurgence of interest in textile art, and explores the artificial divide between fine art and textiles. Medieval embroidery was prized around the world, but it was during the Renaissance that "fine art", with its masculine associations, became more valued, and this separation was accelerated by the academies.

Well worth reading, the article explores the marginalization of needlework while referencing the Bayeux tapestry, the non-European tradition of stitching, and Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party.