Workshops
Don’t miss expert textile conservator Chris Paulocik from the Royal Ontario Museum who will share her insights on caring for garments in the modern age. This is the third annual lecture as part of the Jean Druesedow Endowed Fund for Costume and Textile Conservation, sponsored by Christopher P. Sullivan, M.D.
The annual candlelight vigil will take place in the Prentice Hall parking lot where the students were killed on May 4, 1970. You may sign-up to stand silent vigil in one of the four spots for 30 minutes at a time. Vigil continues from midnight through noon on May 4, 2020. Sign-up will begin in April, 2020.
Join us for the historic 50th commemoration of the events of May 4, 1970. Our program begins at noon and will consist of a variety of nationally known speakers, musicians, and poets. We will look back at 50 years of commemorations and honor those who were killed and wounded in 1970. We will also look forward to inspiring future generations to carry on the legacy of May 4, 1970.
Please know that we are planning a weekend of meaningful, educational and commemorative events including panel discussions, films, speakers, music, art and photo exhibits, tours and more. Events will begin Friday afternoon (May 1) and continue through the end of the traditional noon commemoration on Monday, May 4, 2020 (including the annual candlelight walk and vigil). Please check this page frequently for updates and additional information.
Join us for an art, fashion and performance showcase. LGBTQ+ students and allies can submit art, garments, styled pieces and performances.
For more information view the flyer.
The history of quilts in Ohio is in many ways a reflection of the history of Ohio itself since the early nineteenth century. Just as early settlers boasted a variety of origins ranging from migrants from New England to Germans who arrived either directly from Europe or from earlier settlements in Pennsylvania, their quilt traditions reflected their diverse origins. Quilt making took off around the middle of the nineteenth century owing to improvements in textile and thread production which made materials accessible and increasingly affordable. Inventions such as the power loom then cylinder printing ultimately led to the production of large quantities of printed cottons. Changes in women’s fashion also favored a growth in the creation of decorative quilts. By the 1860s women’s clothing was increasingly shaped from pieces of cloth rather than utilizing the entire width of the fabric. This created fabric scraps which could be pieced into quilts. More affordable textiles mean that rather than completely wearing out clothing, new dresses could be purchased, thus freeing up the old clothes to be repurposed into quilts. The widespread adoption of sewing machines by the end of the century also made the creation of clothing less time consuming and freed up women’s time for making quilts.
With two layers of fabric and a layer of batting in between, quilts served a critical function of providing warmth. Quilts could be quite utilitarian with little decorative stitching or at the opposite extreme they could be highly ornamental, created out of lightweight silk with little batting. Difficult to clean with their delicate fabric and embroidery, crazy quilts represented a luxury that was widely embraced across the United States in the 1880s. They reflected their era not just in their embodiment of Victorian taste with an exuberant combination of colors and textures but in their very impracticality. At the other extreme Amish quilts reflected their makers’ adherence to strict rules and rejection of the whims of fashion.
One of the most extraordinary quilts in the KSU Museum’s collection is attributed to Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley. Born a slave, Keckley learned dressmaking then bought freedom for herself and her son. She lived many years in Washington, DC where she worked for the wives of many prominent politicians including Mary Todd Lincoln. The quilt is pieced together from pieces of dress fabric which appear to be from the 1860s. Keckley lived in Ohio when she served on the faculty of Wilberforce University.
This exhibition assembles quilts which reflect a variety of techniques including appliqué, piecework, crazy quilts, whitework, and embroidery. These different styles represent evolving taste. The quilts also reflect changes in technology, women’s lives, and forms of expression.
The exhibition Culture/Counterculture looks at fashions of the 1960s and early 1970s with a particular focus on the generation gap during that period. The exhibition is scheduled to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kent State’s shootings on May 4, 1970. Almost 50 years ago, the shootings of Kent State University students by the Ohio National Guard brought to a head the cultural divides that had split the nation. There was a sharp contrast between supporters of the establishment and those opposed – the culture and the counterculture. These cleavages in society saw their clear expression in the fashions of the time. The exhibition draws from the rich holdings of the university’s historic costume collection, private and institutional lenders including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as archival material from the May 4 collection.
This exhibition will show the divergence and sometime convergence of different influences from various social, economic and political mindsets. The exhibition juxtaposes high-end fashion of the establishment and pieces worn by celebrities including Dinah Shore and Miss America Bess Myerson against the variety of youth styles including DIY designs, globally inspired looks and pieces that push the traditional distinction between men and women’s wear. The late 60s were also a period of heightened race tensions in the United States. While entertainers such as Diana Ross and Jimi Hendrix became style icons, everyday African Americans continued to fight for their civil rights.
Couture out of Paris was out of reach to most Americans. The styles established by designers such as Coco Chanel and Cristobal Balenciaga, both of whom were at the end of their careers in the 1960s, largely appealed to a mature clientele. Younger designers both in France and in the United States developed starkly different styles that both catered to a younger buyer and looked to the youth for inspiration. Ultimately the disruption in fashion created by this generation of Baby Boomers called into question the dependence of styles on Parisian haute couture altogether. New sources of inspiration included musicians, experimental materials, and non-western clothing styles such as Nehru jackets, dashikis, and caftans. Clothing that was crafted at home using techniques such as patchwork and tie-dye also became popular.
Many styles we still wear today have their roots in the counterculture of the 1960s. College campuses in many ways led the push to more casual clothing including the growing move towards women wearing pants, the enduring popularity of message tees as political and social commentary, and the ubiquity of blue jeans. Many of the tensions of the period focused on questions of race, gender identity and military involvement – all of these are still very relevant today. Message tees and denim continue to communicate protest and resistance to authority. The exhibition will conclude with a coda that draws explicit links between 1960s fashion and contemporary dress. With this exhibition, we invite visitors to remember and perhaps gain new insights into this historic moment and to consider its legacies today.
Supporting Sponsors: Karen and Ken Conley
Christie and Jerry Payto
Friends Sponsors: Linda McDonald
Ken Robinson
Glass, like coats, dresses or shoes, is a time capsule of human invention, art, style and social change. More than 3500 years ago, our ancestors discovered that sand (which consists of silica, soda ash and lime) when heated to very high temperatures becomes molten. In this state it can be shaped and molded as it cools into a solid form. The KSU Museum collection includes excellent examples of glass objects thanks to the generosity of collectors Paul Miller and Jabe Tarter, Jerry Silverman and Shannon Rodgers, Jack W. and Shirley J. Berger, and Barry W. Bradley. In the exhibition, you will see highlights from ancient Roman glass, to art deco perfume bottles, to the beloved Carnival glass.
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Nami Yamamoto, juror of the Focus: Fiber 2019 exhibition presented in partnership with the Textile Arts Alliance, will present a talk on her practice as an artist. Yamamoto is an interdisciplinary artist working in Philadelphia, PA. She received an MFA from Maryland Institute, College of Art and BFA from Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts, Japan. Yamamoto is Director of Studio Operations at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia and is adjunct faculty in the graduate program in Textile Design at Jefferson University.
Free for Members and Students
Free with General Admission
Photo information:
Banner image: Nami Yamamoto, Fog Catcher, 2012, Waxed linen, Redwood gutter, metal pole, and hardware, each 10'x10'x3" Photo credit: Michael Friel
Square image: Photo from a research trip for the Fog Catcher Project in 2012, Photo credit: Tom Vance
As part of the 50th year commemoration of May 4, the Kent State University School of Fashion and Merchandising is presenting designs by faculty and students that use fashion to create a dialogue about war and peace, political discourse, conflict resolution and social justice today.
Banner image: Detail of Colin Isaacs, digitally printed shirt
Square image: Detail of Alexandra Reich, Brotherly Love
