Curated by Carole Frances Lung, Professor of Fashion, Fiber and Materials at Cal State University, Los Angeles, and archivist and biographer of the Institute 4 Labor Generosity Workers & Uniforms Frau Fiber’s experimental factory and working archive located in Los Angeles, CA.
Closed Loop is a term used in the circular economy, describing practices in which materials are reused rather than discarded as waste. Closed Loop, the exhibition, features the work of artists, community members, and businesses that deploy systems of sustainability and social justice, and promote the reuse of fiber, textile, and apparel materials.
The exhibition is designed as a series of loops. The outer loop holds Pattern Pieces, collages and drawings by Catherine Esmond Mulligan (Boulder, CO). In this series of studies, Catherine reflects on women’s apparel sewing patterns. The artist places material from her personal collectionof vintage patterns, in the context of the history of modernist art and architecture.
The middle loop, on the columns of the gallery, features the Quechquemitl Geschichte Kleidungsstück (Little Chest Story Garments) made by Susana Rodriguez, Ariana Garcia and Blanca Patricia of the Mama Leonas (Boulder, CO), and Adriana Paola Palacios Luna of Luna Cultura (Boulder, CO) and workshop participants.
Special thanks to Jaime Kopie and the Boulder LIbrary for supporting this exhibition, Eli West for hosting the Sewing Rebellion workshop and wool donation, and Jerónimo B. Palacios Luna for the video and still documentation.
A fully illustrated history of modern and contemporary art in California from the early twentieth century to the present day.
Description
This introduction to the art of California focuses on the distinctive role the state played in the history of American art, from early twentieth-century photography and Chicanx mural painting to the fiber art movement and beyond. Shaped by a compelling network of geopolitical influences—including waves of migration and exchange from the Pacific Rim and Mexico, the influx of African Americans immediately after World War II, and global immigration after quotas were lifted in the 1960s—California is a center of artistic activity whose influence extends far beyond its physical boundaries. Including work by artists Yun Gee, Helen Lundeberg, Henry Taylor, Richard Diebenkorn, Albert Bierstadt, Chiura Obata, and Judith Baca, among many others, art historian Jenni Sorkin tells California’s story as a place at the forefront of radical developments in artistic culture.
Organized chronologically and thematically with full-color illustrations throughout, this attractive study stands as an important chronicle of California’s contribution to modern and contemporary art in the United States and globally. In one stunning volume, Art in California addresses the vast appetite for knowledge on contemporary art in California.
Contributors
Jenni Sorkin
Author
Jenni Sorkin is an associate professor of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She writes on the intersections between gender, material culture, and contemporary art, working primarily on women artists and underrepresented media. Her publications include Live Form: Women, Ceramics, and Community; Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947–2016; and numerous essays in journals and exhibition catalogs. She was educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College, and received her PhD from Yale University. She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Modern Craft.
2020 was a year of great uncertainties. Amid the anxieties, the tears and the rage, many of us have also discovered a surprising calm and determination. Flux asked artists about the ways in which they’ve navigated the challenges and the ways in which they’ve discovered inner strength. Spring and summer shows will reflect some of the responses. Frau Fiber, the alter-ego of artist Carole Frances Lung, has sewn masks every day since the lockdown began inMarch of 2020. They have become like journal entries– marking time, referencing current events, noting moments of hope and moments of challenge. Betsy Lohrer-Hall, Director/ Curator of Flux Art Space.
Join Frau Fiber in Solidarity at a Distance March 18th – April 17th, 2021 @ Flux Art Space, Long Beach
OPENING-AT-A-DISTANCE WITH FRAU FIBER mask up and walk up or drive by SATURDAY MARCH 20TH, 1-3 PM
Kaffee und Kuchen (Coffee and Cake) with Frau (onlive via zoom): Saturday April 3, 11:30 am (PST)
Long Beach, CA – Join Frau Fiber, the alter-ego of visual artist Carole Frances Lung, for Solidarity at a Distance at Flux Art Space, March 18 – April 17, 2021. The exhibition can be viewed from the sidewalk 24/7 at 410 Termino Avenue in Long Beach. We’ll have two opportunities to meet Frau – one in person and one over Zoom. First, you can mask up and drive by or walk up to the opening-at-a- distance on Saturday, March 20, 1-3pm at Flux. Then, you can join us for Kaffee und Kuchen (Coffee and Cake) on Zoom, Saturday April 3, 11:30am (PST). See below for more details!
About Solidarity at a Distance On March 18, 2020, Frau Fiber went into lockdown at the Institute 4 Labor Generosity Workers & Uniforms (formerly at 322 Elm Ave LB, now at The LOFT, 401 S Mesa Street, San Pedro). In response to the lock down, the supply chain’s inability to provide face coverings, and in solidarity to combat COVID, Frau Fiber generated a face mask a day for herself and for Carole Frances Lung, her biographer and archivist of the ILGWU. To bolster the supply chain Frau Fiber produced over 300 masks that were donated to homeless shelters and the Long Beach VA. The face coverings were made with a dust cloth liner and textiles from the waste stream. From the waste stream supply, Frau Fiber chose to make her face coverings from solids, texture and woven textiles, while Carole selected novelty prints. The making of the masks is the only production Frau has been able to accomplish and it has become a way of settling into this long winter of isolation.
Both Frau and Carole have received their first COVID vaccines recently without incident. Face mask production will conclude on March 21, 2021, after their second vaccination.
Flux Art Space is currently open for window-viewing only. The exhibition can be enjoyed 24/7 from the sidewalk. We also have two opportunities to meet Frau – one in person and one over Zoom.
If you’re in Southern California, mask up and join Frau (from a safe distance) in celebrating the opening of the show by driving by or walking up to the window on Saturday, March 20th, between 1- 3 pm. And, from wherever you are in the world, join Frau Fiber virtually on Saturday, April 3, at 11:30am (Pacific Time) for Kaffee und Kuchen (Coffee and Cake) on Zoom. Email for the link
Kaffee und Kuchen is one of Frau Fiber’s most beloved traditions. In Apoloda Germany, Frau Fiber’s hometown, she would stroll to Backerei Doepel on Wihelm Strasse with a friend for a leisurely cup of coffee, a slice of cake, and lively conversation. Frau Fiber invites you to join her virtually from the Institute 4 Labor Generosity Workers & Uniforms south of the 110 freeway, for a slice of cake, cup of coffee, and conversation.
Frau Fiber will be baking a Covered Apple Pie from her favorite East German Cooking website https://www.erichserbe.de/075 You are invited to try this recipe, bake one of your favorites, or purchase from your favorite bakery.
About the Artist:
Carole Frances Lung is an artist, soft power guerilla activist, and Associate Professor of Fashion Fiber and Materials, at California State University Los Angeles. Through her alter ego Frau Fiber, Carole activates a vocabulary of fashion and textile production and consumption, crafting of one-of-a-kind garments, installations, performances, and social sculpture, paying homage to labor, textile and apparel manufacturing histories and contemporary production systems. Her slow durational practice of careful listening, problem solving, skill sharing and community building engages in hands-on experiences, which attempt to instigate change in the current Fast Fashion system. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious art awards and has exhibited and lectured widely. Carole maintains the Institute for Labor Generosity Workers and Uniforms, Frau Fiber’s headquarters and experimental factory in The Loft, a warehouse building in San Pedro, CA.
Founded in 2018, Flux Art Space connects emerging and mid-career artists with each other and with members of the vibrant community of Long Beach—and southern California—through exhibitions, workshops, and gatherings.
Flux Art Space encourages cross-cultural and cross-generational dialogue and celebrates creative expression as an integral part of life. We’re especially interested in presenting experimental and experiential works, small-scale events and workshops.
In an effort to do our part to keep members of our community safe and healthy during the current pandemic, Flux Art Space is currently open for window viewing only and online, via Instagram and Facebook (@fluxartspace).
Fashion-Conscious
Curated by Roman Stollenwerk
January 13 – March 14, 2020
Reception for the artists on January 14 from 6-8pm
Libby Black, Wherever You Go, There You Are, 2009, paper, hot glue and acrylic paint, 54 x 22 x 17 inches. Courtesy of the artist.
Chaffey College and the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art are pleased to present Fashion-Conscious. The artists and artworks included in Fashion-Conscious engage with issues and concerns surrounding our understanding of fashion. The exhibition considers the social, economic, and formal framework of fashion, including issues of labor, gender, race, power, luxury, branding, materials, and processes.
Fashion-Conscious will include work by Christy Roberts Berkowitz, Libby Black, Pilar Gallego, Bean Gilsdorf, Anthony Lepore, Manny Llanura, Dr. Fahamu Pecou, Rational Dress Society, and in the Project Space: The Institute 4 Labor Generosity Workers & Uniforms.
Admission is free.
Museum Public Hours
Monday-Thursday: 10am-4pm
Saturday: noon-4pm
Park in the Omnitrans Parking Lot (R5) and travel west along the promenade, just beyond the Theatre. Parking permits can be purchased from machines located in the lots. Parking is $4 for all day or $1 for one hour.
PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
Chaffey College and the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art are pleased to present a series of free public programs in conjunction with our exhibition Fashion-Conscious, on view January 13 – March 14, 2020. All programs will take place at the Wignall Museum, Rancho Campus unless otherwise noted. Events are free and open to the public, but space may be limited. Please call 909/652-6492 with any questions or visit us online at www.chaffey.edu/wignall for more information.
New Demands? ILGWU at ILGWU Guest Lecture: Lisa Vinebaum January 15 from 1230-150pm
Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art, Project Space
Lisa Vinebaum is a leading scholar of fiber and textiles mobilized for community building and grassroots struggles for social, economic, and racial justice. Her guest lecture will discuss struggles to improve working conditions for garment workers by the Institute 4 Labor Generosity Workers & Uniforms (ILGWU) and the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), historically one of the largest labor unions in the country.
PULSE Queering the Art: Walk-Through at the Wignall Museum
January 27 from 1230-150pm
Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art
Join us for a walk-through of the exhibition Fashion-Conscious. PULSE is a series of discussions and events that facilitates conversations related to the experiences of our LGBTQIA+ students! Presented by the Office of Special Populations & Equity Programs in collaboration with LGBTQ Advocates Committee and the Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art.
Shoe-making Demonstration with Giudici Handcrafted
Danielle Giudici Wallis
February 19 from 1230-2pm
Wignall Museum of Contemporary Art
Danielle Giudici Wallis is the sole proprietor of Giudici Handcrafted, a bespoke footwear company based in Redlands, California. She designs and makes custom, made-to-measure footwear, one shoe at a time. Trained as an artist, with a BA in Visual Arts from Antioch College and an MFA from Stanford University, she applies her knowledge and skills into creating hand-welted footwear. She believes in the importance of shifting our culture of consumerism toward slow fashion, which values the quality of construction, the durability of materials, and timeless designs.
Huntington Beach, CA – The Huntington Beach Art Center presents Frau Fiber’s Mission in America, a solo exhibition featuring artist Carole Frances Lung and her alter ego Frau Fiber. Carole Frances Lung is the archivist to Frau Fiber’s work as it pays homage to labor, textile, and apparel manufacturing histories and contemporary production systems. By crafting one-of-a-kind garments, installations, performances, and social sculptures, Frau Fiber addresses consumption through her durational works. The exhibition will be on view from June 15–July 6, 2019. The opening reception is on June 15th from 6:30–9 pm.
Frau’s mission is simple: stop shopping and start sewing. Her artistic career has been dedicated to relaying this message with a multitude of artistic and activist ventures. Most notable are the Sewing Rebellions, run by Frau Fiber and her Faux Fraus, a group of Frau Fiber followers who carry out campaigns and regularly run events where participants learn how to “Stop Shopping, Start Sewing.” It was in 2013 that Frau Fiber started training Faux Fraus to help infiltrate the fast fashion supply chain by exposing exploitative practices all too common in this industry.
Long Beach-based artist Carole Frances Lung’s alter ego Frau Fiber exposes the harsh realities of working conditions for garment workers and the textile industry by teaching communities about the devastating effects that apparel manufacturing has on workers and the environment. Kate Hoffman, Director of the Huntington Beach Art Center states that, “The Art Center is proud to present The Sewing Rebellion, a project and performance art piece that addresses manufacturing concerns of today: wages of the underpaid garment worker, the societal pressures of clothing trends, and the need to reuse and recycle clothing as one of our choices to respect our planet. Carole comes to us as a former Art Center employee and to bring her back to her hometown as a producing artist is a joy for all of us.”
The exhibition will showcase garments, installations, videos and photographs, and performances. In conjunction with the exhibition, Frau Fiber will be on-site for Tailor made pop-up shop in the galleries. Patrons drop off their clothes in need of tailoring paying a price of what garment workers are paid around the world by spinning the “Wheel of Wages” which determines the cost to have their garments tailored–which is usually a small sum, shedding light on unfair labor practices. The “Tailor Made Pop-Up Shop” will open on June 18th–20th, 25th–27th & July 2nd from 3–8 pm. Patrons will leave the exhibition with greater knowledge of the real cost of the garment industry as well as an appreciation for how their clothes are manufactured and the need to stop shopping and start sewing.
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Media Contact: Huntington Beach Art Center (714) 536-5258
or Carole Frances Lung fraufiber@gmail.com
Related Exhibition Events:
Public Opening Reception: Sat, June 15th | 6:30–9 pm
Join us for the opening reception for Frau Fiber’s Mission in America, a solo exhibition featuring artist Carole Frances Lung and her alter ego Frau Fiber. Frau Fiber explores fashion and textile production and consumption through garment production, installations, and performances.
Tailor Made Pop-Up Shop: June 18–20, 25–27 & July 2 | 3–8 pm
Patrons drop off their clothes in need of tailoring paying a price of what garment workers are paid around the world by spinning the “Wheel of Wages” which determines the cost to have their garments tailored–which is usually a small sum, shedding light on unfair labor practices.
Art for Lunch: Thurs, June 20th | 11:30am–1:30pm
Art for Lunch is a free event, open to the community, where patrons can enjoy their lunch in the galleries and view Frau Fiber’s Mission in America, a solo exhibition featuring artist Carole Frances Lung and her alter ego Frau Fiber. Complimentary desserts and refreshments are provided.
Film Screening: Iris: Thurs, June 27th | 6:30–8:30pm
Join the Huntington Beach Art Center for the film screening of Iris, a documentary about fashion icon Iris Apfel from legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles. Admission is by donation. Complimentary snacks and refreshments are provided.
The works at Human Resources and San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum in the summer of 2018 documented Frau Fiber’s on-going battle with contemporary apparel manufacturing. In video, photography and artifacts, the exhibition makes space to witness Frau Fiber’s attempt to spin yarn, knit a tube sock and knit a sweater as fast as a machine. This series of textile productions are inspired by the folk lore of the ultimate working-class hero: John Henry. Henry, who was immortalized in verse and myth in the 1800’s, fought and lost a valiant battle against the drill machine that took his life and ultimately replaced the jobs of tireless railroad workers.
The Huntington Beach Art Center Presents
Carole Frances Lung 