Surrounded by colorful textures and patterns, a student leans over to adjust some textiles with her hand.
Fiber & Material Studies

Graduate Overview

Fiber & Material Studies Graduate Overview

The Fiber and Material Studies department is research-based, concept-driven, and resolutely engaged with hands-on making. Born from textile traditions, the Fiber and Material Studies department encourages students to think both about and through materials, investigating technique and expanding the use of the medium. Led by an impressive and diverse group of faculty, Fiber and Material Studies is the largest program of its kind. It is the top producer of talent in the field considered in terms of teaching, leadership, tenure and tenure-track positions at almost every other US fiber and textile program. FMS alumni also go on to successful careers as artists, curators, and scholars, and several have founded and/or lead arts organizations, collective studios, and artist residencies.

The department emphasizes technical skills development together with deep engagements with textile processes, materials, techniques, histories, and politics. Graduate students work across a wide range of fiber techniques and materials, and they also work with painting, lens-based media, ceramics, sculpture, new media, drawing, archival research practices, installation, performance, scholarly and creative writing, collaborative projects, and community organizing. 

Hands-on making, Research-Based, Concept-Driven

Graduate students in Fiber and Material Studies take studio classes, seminars, and in-depth advising with faculty of their choosing. The FMS curriculum provides students with the foundation to engage with the history of the medium and understand current developments in the field. Graduate Seminars include in depth critiques and discussions of practice, research presentations, lectures, studio visits and discussions with visiting artists and scholars.

Some of the ideas and issues that are evident throughout the department's course offerings include: the politics of craft and hand making; relationships between analog and digital; sustainability; intersectionality; labor; affect, and identity. These themes are investigated from a variety of perspectives, with students drawing from frameworks including textile history, art theory and criticism, intersectional feminism, queer theory, decolonial and critical race studies, material culture studies, transgender studies, textile conservation and textile collections, and archival research.

Graduate students in the Fiber and Material Studies department have significant opportunities for teaching and research assistantships, studio visits with guest artists and curators, and presenting their work through lectures and social media takeovers.

Transdisciplinary Possibilities

In addition to a focus on fiber and textiles, the Fiber and Material Studies department embraces transdisciplinarity and the permeability of boundaries, beginning with the varied expertise of our faculty who work in the discipline and in painting, sculpture, performance, creative writing, and scholarship. Graduate students are encouraged to take courses in other departments to explore and implement the techniques and particular rigors of various disciplines in order to enrich and deepen their practices. Students may work with fiber-based materials while at the same time advising with faculty in departments from across SAIC.

Graduate Studio Projects

A cornerstone of the SAIC graduate studio program is its focus on tutorial-guided studio practice. Each semester, you will select from more than 100 graduate faculty advisors representing myriad disciplines, approaches, and intellectual positions. As the main component of your studies, MFA 6009: Graduate Projects allows you to develop your work with faculty who guide you through an informed dialogue around content, form, theory, and professional practice.

Textile Resource Center

The Textile Resource Center (TRC) is a hands-on teaching/study collection and a curricular resource of over 450 textile objects and more than 2000 books. The TRC supports student learning about global textile histories and contemporary themes. The TRC offers two, year-long graduate research assistantships to FMS graduate students. 

Mitchell Lecture Series

The curriculum is augmented with onsite lectures by prominent national and international artists and scholars thanks to The William Bronson and Grayce Slovett Mitchell Lectureship in Fiber and Material Studies. Past lecturers include Angela Hennessy, Hong Hong, Jeffrey Gibson, Dr. Christine Checinska, Namita Gupta Wiggers, T'ai Smith, Tanya Aguiniga, and Diedrick Brackens.

Curriculum & Courses

  • The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program at SAIC is designed to offer maximum flexibility in addressing your individual needs as a student. Following admission through a department, you will design your two-year plan of study based on optimizing the offerings and opportunities available throughout SAIC. You are encouraged to seek out curricular advising as needed from a variety of available sources including the dean, graduate dean, graduate division chair, department heads, academic advising, the graduate admissions office, and your peers.

    Studio—MFA 6009 Graduate Projects, Seminars and/or maximum of 12 credits of 3000-level and above studios39  
    Art History12  
    • ARTHI 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design(3)
    • Art History Courses, 4000-level or above (9)
    		 
    Electives—any course in any area at 3000 level or above9  
    Participation in four graduate critiques 
    Participation in ONE of the following as appropriate to artistic practice:* Graduate Exhibition, AIADO or Fashion Exhibition, Graduate Performance Event, Graduate Screenings 
    Total Credit Hours60 

    *Students who wish to use an alternative venue or presentation outside of these options must receive permission from the Dean of Graduate Studies. The AIADO Department encourages students in their MFA design programs to participate in the AIADO and Fashion Graduate Exhibition.

    Degree Requirements and Specifications
    Completion schedule: You have a maximum of four years to complete your MFA in Studio degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence. Students will have access to studios for four semesters only.

    Transfer credits: You must complete a minimum of 45 credit hours in residence at SAIC. You can request up to 15 transfer credits at the time of application for admission, which are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credits are permitted after a student is admitted.

    Art History requirement: MFA students are required to take ARTHII 5002 Graduate Survey of Modern and Contemporary Art OR ARTHI 5120 Survey of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Design. Art History courses must be at the 4000-level and above.

    Undergraduate studio courses: Graduate students are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000-level and above) per semester without permission of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000-level are allowed only with permission.

    Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 12 credit hours

    MFA 6009 Graduate Projects
    MFA 6009 Graduate Projects advising, an ongoing individual dialogue with a wide range of full-time and part-time faculty advisors, is at the heart of the MFA program at SAIC, encouraging interdisciplinary study across the curriculum. You are required to register for one MFA 6009 Graduate Projects advisor each semester, and we highly recommend you register for two.

    In the registration process, you may elect to earn 3 or 6 hours of credit with each advisor. This option is designed to allow for maximum flexibility in designing your program. You can earn as few as 3 and as many as 6 credits with each advisor each semester, thus dedicating a maximum of 12 credit hours to your studio activity. The number of credits you earn has no correlation with the length or frequency of the advising sessions or to faculty assessment of student work.

    The remainder of credits required for the full-time 15 credit hour load may include graduate seminars and academic or studio electives. MFA students are urged to take graduate seminars, and an introductory seminar in their department of admission is highly recommended. In addition, the MFA student may choose from all the art history, studio, and academic offerings across the curriculum (including undergraduate offerings above 3000 level) in any given semester to customize their degree experience.

    Graduate Critiques
    As one of the principle means of assessment each semester, you will be required to participate in Critique Week, a week-long schedule of critiques during which classes are suspended.

    Fall semester critiques are organized by department with panels representing the discipline. This provides you with an opportunity to understand the department’s expectations, have your work reviewed from a disciplinary point of view, and to reiterate the expectations for graduate study.

    Spring semester critiques are interdisciplinary, with panel members and students from across SAIC disciplines. Interdisciplinary critiques allow for a broad range of responses to your work, and are intended to assess the success of your work for a more general, albeit highly informed audience. Critique panels include faculty, visiting artists, and fellow graduate students.

    Graduate Exhibition or Equivalent
    At the conclusion of your studies, you will present work in the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition, other end-of-year events at SAIC, or the Gene Siskel Film Center—or arrange with the graduate dean or division chair for an alternative thesis of equal professional quality. Each year more than 200 graduate students exhibit work, screen videos and films, and present time-based works, writings, and performance to a collective audience of 30,000 people.

    Students wishing to install work around prevalent themes, strategies or stylistic affinities can participate in a juried and curated section of the SAIC Graduate Thesis Exhibition. A faculty and staff committee conducts extensive studio visits and as a collaborative project with student participants, organizes and installs the show in designated space at the exhibition.

    Undergraduate Courses
    MFA students are advised to understand the expectations of their faculty when enrolled in undergraduate studio classes. Although graduate students are an asset to the group dynamic, faculty requirements for graduate students in undergraduate classes are variable. The student is responsible for understanding the faculty member's expectations about completion of assignments, attendance, and any other criteria for earning credit. To assure that graduate students are working at degree level, they are permitted no more than one undergraduate studio course (3000 level and above) per semester without permission of the dean of graduate studies. Courses at the 1000 and 2000 level are allowed only with permission.

Title Catalog Instructor Schedule

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1209

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1210

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1212

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1228

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1229

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This course introduces students to a diverse range of textile materials, processes, histories, politics, traditions, and cultures of fiber and their relationships to contemporary art practice. Historical and contemporary approaches to process and materials are explored as students are introduced to a variety of fiber techniques in construction and surface application. Taught technique can include printing, tapestry weaving, immersion and resist dyeing, knitting, crochet, felting, coiling, hand embroidery, machine sewing, piecework, and embellishment. Textiles have rich and complex histories in all cultures. Examples from across time and place will be explored and discussed through visual presentations, assigned readings, in-class discussions, visiting artist lectures, and field trips. By the end of this course, students will become familiar with the formal, conceptual, expressive, and political potential of fiber as an expressive medium with limitless possibilities. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of technical samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

2091

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

This course is an introduction to floor loom hand weaving through the study of basic weave structures, woven image techniques and fiber types. Traditional and experimental use of material and technique will be used to explore double weaves, painted warps and a variety of hand-manipulated techniques including tapestry, brocade and inlay. Students will study the global histories of woven cloth through a variety of readings, presentations, and class discussions. Works by artists such as Diedrick Brackens, Lenore Tawney, and Gunta Stolzl will be discussed as well as writings by thinkers such as Anni Albers, T'ai Smith, Dieter Hoffman-Axthelm as primary points of departure. Students will study basic weaving draft patterns and will complete independent research into artists and techniques of interest. The conceptual and material considerations of contemporary craft-based art will be a major component of this course. Students will produce 2-6 finished weavings over the course of the semester through their exploration and research of a variety of techniques on 4-harness floor looms.

Class Number

1213

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1011

Description

In this course, a wide range of processes for screenprinting onto fabric and alternative substrates are demonstrated, including the use of textile inks, fiber reactive dyes, resist and discharge, and heat transfers of foils and disperse dyes. Students will use hand drawn, computer generated, and photographic images to explore foundational screen print techniques and concepts such as monoprinting, multiples, color relationships, composition, and basic repeat patterns. Interdisciplinary and experimental uses of the printed surface are encouraged throughout the development of personal research and practice. The class is augmented by relevant lectures, readings and visits to AIC, artist studios and galleries. Students present finished and in-process works at three critiques throughout the semester.

Class Number

1227

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 905

Description

This course explores various approaches to altering, enriching, and transforming the surface of pliable materials and forms. Emphasis is on the surface treatment and its relationship to structure while using conventional and non-conventional materials. Students work with a broad range of hand and machine stitching techniques that can include embroidery, embellishment, piecing, quilting, applique, and working with treatments like paints, dyes, adhesives, and collage. Special attention is paid to the histories of these techniques and how they are being utilized in contemporary art. Technical demonstrations, assigned readings, group discussions, lectures and field trips will augment student learning. The course is structured to support students in the development of their studio arts practice by equipping them with a variety of technical skills and encouraging them to pursue projects driven by their own formal, material, and conceptual concerns. Individual and group critiques are integral to the course. Course work will vary but typically includes the creation of samples, critique projects, and reading responses.

Class Number

1214

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

This course will introduce hand papermaking as an art form using contemporary and traditional techniques. You will utilize and develop techniques and skills that are unique to this medium. We will focus on a range of fibers that have differing characteristics that can exemplify content investigation. We will be reviewing many artists work for their use of material in conjunction with concepts pursued. This will include flat works, sculptural, installation, etc. - some will be actual works brought in to the classroom for a close up examination of process and idea. Students will create a range of experimental works with the medium and produce a final body of self-directed work that will all be reviewed during 3 participatory group critiques.

Class Number

1220

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1014

Description

Students learn how to translate colors from the natural world into textiles, by using natural dyes foraged from plants, as well as dye concentrates and indigo, for immersion and direct dye applications. Complex surface design patterns are created through the Japanese resist process of shibori. Chemistry, color theory, material manipulations, and research provide a technical foundation for the creation of projects within the expanded field of textiles.

Class Number

2218

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 904

Description

This intensive studio course will focus on weaving and its relation to the evolving landscapes of contemporary art, cultural production, and identity. Working with multi-harness floor looms, students will engage rigorous conceptual questions in abstraction, figuration, sculptural form, spatial intervention, performative action, technology, and language to develop a mature body of woven work. Vocabulary will be expanded through the study of complex woven constructions, digital drafting, and dye processes. Feminist, queer, and decolonial approaches to weaving will be introduced and encouraged. Designed for advanced students, this course engenders an interdisciplinary weaving practice by blurring the boundaries between fiber, critical craft, painting, material culture, sculpture, textile history, architecture, and technology studies. Students will consider the history and the future of the field through a varying roster of artists including significant figures such as Sheila Hicks, Lenore Tawney, Magdalena Abakanowicz, and Olga de Amaral alongside contemporary generations such as Sonya Clark, Miguel Arzabe, Diedrick Brackens, Erin M. Riley, Josh Faught, Samantha Bittman, and Cecilia Vicu�a. This work will be supported by texts that typically include Anni Albers, Legacy Russel, T'ai Smith, Julia Bryan-Wilson, and C�sar Paternosto. Critical discussion of core texts and individualized research will occur in tandem with weekly studio activity. Students will produce a series of studies and 2 - 4 fully realized woven works that will be developed through in-process discussions and presented in major critique settings.

Prerequisites

Open to Juniors/Seniors & Grad Students

Class Number

2220

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1011

Description

Working in studio. classroom. and collections. students explore traditional material manipulations and contemporary textile practices and theory with a focus on their study and crafting of tapestry and embroidery. Historical textiles in the hands-on Textile Resource Center in the Department of Fiber and Material Studies and the Textile Department of the Art lnstilute of Chicago will be examined through close-up looking, reading discussions, fiber processes. and short writings In the studio component of this course, students create fiber object(s), spinning. weaving and stitch work firmly placed in contemporary practices and theory inspired by their historical studies. Readings and discussion will vary but include contemporary craft theory, social and economic histories of labor, class and equality, cullural appropriation, gender, historic and current cultural interests in reclaiming the handmade. Through assignments students learn to connect and talk about contemporary practices and theory within the art historical context of materials, processes. and performance of historical objects. Some of the scholars/artists we will study in this course include Ani Albers. Carol Becker. Elissa Auther, Peter Collingwood and more. Students will produce a body of work consisting of crafted samples and 2-3 finished pieces as well as short writings on art historical context and contemporary theory.

Class Number

1223

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Economic Inequality & Class, Art/Design and Politics, Gender and Sexuality

Location

Sharp 902

Description

Working in studio. classroom. and collections. students explore traditional material manipulations and contemporary textile practices and theory with a focus on their study and crafting of tapestry and embroidery. Historical textiles in the hands-on Textile Resource Center in the Department of Fiber and Material Studies and the Textile Department of the Art lnstilute of Chicago will be examined through close-up looking, reading discussions, fiber processes. and short writings In the studio component of this course, students create fiber object(s), spinning. weaving and stitch work firmly placed in contemporary practices and theory inspired by their historical studies. Readings and discussion will vary but include contemporary craft theory, social and economic histories of labor, class and equality, cullural appropriation, gender, historic and current cultural interests in reclaiming the handmade. Through assignments students learn to connect and talk about contemporary practices and theory within the art historical context of materials, processes. and performance of historical objects. Some of the scholars/artists we will study in this course include Ani Albers. Carol Becker. Elissa Auther, Peter Collingwood and more. Students will produce a body of work consisting of crafted samples and 2-3 finished pieces as well as short writings on art historical context and contemporary theory.

Class Number

1223

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Economic Inequality & Class, Art/Design and Politics, Gender and Sexuality

Location

Sharp 902

Description

The computer driven Jacquard goes beyond the limitations of a floor loom by interfacing with a computer to allow for direct control of individual threads. This course explores the historical and conceptual interstices of digital technology and hand weaving through the use of this loom Utilizing Photoshop and Jacquard weaving software, students will realize projects that begin with digital source material and result in hand woven constructions. The strongly debated connection between the Jacquard loom?s use of punched cards and the history of computers will be central to the course, as will the contemporary use of the loom as a new media tool. Studio work will blend work at the computer, weaving on the loom, reading, research and critical discussion.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite: Sophomore-level or above.

Class Number

1218

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Digital Imaging

Location

Sharp 1005, Sharp 1011

Description

This class investigates the properties of the elemental act of twisting raw materials into pliable linear elements. Students learn to spin and ply--using drop spindles and wheels--and to extend elements through rope making and various splicing techniques. Building on this foundation, students manipulate these fibrous elements into 2- and 3-dimensional forms as well as exploring expressive possibilities, and the limits of materials and structures. Topics for reading and discussion include the development of spinning and textile production, the social and economic histories of labor, historic and contemporary art examples of spun and structured fiber, and current cultural interests in reclaiming the handmade. Course work includes reading responses, participation in discussions, assembling a set of samples, reporting on research and 3 studio projects.

Class Number

2219

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

This class will provide students with skills and knowledge to translate two dimensional printed cloth into three dimensional sculptural forms. Students will explore various strategies for creating three-dimensional works using screen printed fabrics, and they will also learn a range of screen printing techniques. Students will learn how to create a range of hanging and installation structures using wood, dowels, rope, string, found objects, and other materials. Tools like the plotter/cutter and heat press will also enable students to expand the scope of their 2D and 3D print explorations. The flexibility of fabric will be deployed in the creation and assembly of sculptural forms that can be portable and expandable. No prior print experience is required. Works by artists including Lara Schnitger, Sam Gilliam, Alan Shields, Joe Overstreet, Al Loving, Judy Pfaaf, Phyllida Barlow, Ree Morton, Robert Rauschenberg, Lygia Pape, Jessica Jackson Hutchins, Dorothea Rockburne, Carla Accardi, Lucy Orta, Lina Bo Bardi, Michelle Segre, Brian Eno, Helio Oiticica, and Do So Huh will be presented. Technical demonstrations, visual presentations, and discussions, will be augmented by assigned readings and experimental texts exploring space, place, spatial composition and design, charts, and architecture by authors including E.H. Gombrich, William Davenport, Marina Warner, Bernard Rudofsky, and Miwon Kwon. Students will complete three studio projects for critique organized around themes of spatial design, improvisation, and site-specificity. Other assignments can include reading responses, samples and in-class experiments, keeping a sketchbook / record of ideas, and/or material and technical research.

Class Number

1224

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 905

Description

Diverse aspects of material studies (personal, social, political, economic, visual and formal) will be considered in this course, working from forms and structures that are hand-constructed, as well as everyday found objects. The class will begin with a series of exercises exploring the visual possibilities of recording time and movement in repetitive everyday actions. Hand processes of netting, crochet and other intertwining techniques will be introduced through the language and systems of both textiles and the digital. Readings and visiting artists will present a range of ideas about art and the everyday, opening up dialogue about forms and formats of installation and documentation.

Class Number

1851

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 902

Description

A significant parallel exists between comics and fiber in that both stem from utilitarian imperatives: the basic communicative power of comics, and the functionality and tactility of textiles. This course explores the history, techniques, concepts, and dissemination of comics in relation to fiber and fine art. Ideas of abstraction, simplification, the icon, and universality, the relationship of image and text, and sequential imagery are explored. Discussing traditional gallery shows and publications in contrast with the implications of self-publishing, zines, graffiti, and public art is a very important part of this course. An enthusiastic approach to experimentation in form and materials is highly encouraged. The world of contemporary comics is surveyed, as well as many contemporary artists who make comic-based or inspired work. Some of the artists we will study include Lynda Barry, Scott McCloud, Faith Ringgold, Peter Blegvad, Megan Whitmarsh, Jessica Campbell, and many others. Studio instruction includes screen-printing, embroidery, heat press, collage and piecing, with a variety of materials including fabric and paper, as well as computer imaging. Students should expect to produce a body of work, both installation and publication, consisting of 3-5 finished pieces for critique during the semester, weekly reading responses, and independent research.

Class Number

1221

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Area of Study

Comics and Graphic Novels

Location

Sharp 905

Description

This class considers the 'social fabric' as a type of material that can be used by artists and activists to create connections and community. Through collaborative and individual explorations, we will examine the possibilities of fibers/textiles to foster and strengthen community, create social bonds, educate, raise awareness about social and political issues and advocate for change. We will explore banner making, piecework and quilting, using hand sewing techniques and a range of materials. The first half of the class will focus on banner, flag making, and quilting techniques, exploring their histories of collective making and their use in political organizing and activism. The second half of the term will focus on sewing, piecing, appliqu� and will consider the digital realm to further objectives of connectivity and communication. We will realize or propose projects that are accessible and can engage the public. Throughout the class, we'll look at historical and contemporary examples of fiber and textiles used to protest, unite, educate, and agitate for change in the USA and beyond. We'll pay particular attention to the ways in which people and communities came together to create these works, and explore connections between art making, community building, and social change. Students are encouraged to articulate and explore their individual interests and draw on their experiences and lives outside the art world and SAIC.

Class Number

2222

Credits

3

Department

Fiber and Material Studies

Location

Sharp 1014

Take the Next Step

Graduate Programs Application Deadline: January 10

Apply to SAIC's Graduate and Post-Bacc programs by 1/10 for Fall 2024 admission.  APPLY

MFA in Studio Admissions Information

Visit the graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 312.629.6100, 800.232.7242 or gradmiss@saic.edu.

Fiber student artwork installation hanging from ceiling

MFA Fiber & Material Studies Program Brochure

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