Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting

By David Revere McFadden
Published by The Antique Collectors Club
ISBN: 978-1-85149-568-9
Price: £18.95
Reviewed by Carole Kokinis

Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting is ostensibly a catalogue of the exhibition of the same name, at the museum of arts and design in New York.

It turned out to be much more interesting than that, with artists’ statements, essays and installations, all textile related. The 42 works are from artists in Australia, Brazil, France, Iceland, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and USA. The construction of the book is unusual, as befits an art and design museum. The pages are inverted, so every one has a folded edge, with the openings in the spine, apart from the last section.

The introductions are good and the essay by chief curator David McFadden is excellent. He tackles the art versus craft debate sensibly and has some thought provoking things to say. The remainder of the book is devoted to the artists and their work, working practices and inspiration. There are full colour photos of the works with detail shots, many created specially for the exhibition. The final section shows the exhibition galleries, with the works in situ.

This is a book which will appeal to anyone with a serious interest in textile art, new materials and thought provoking themes about humanity, community and cloth.