School of Visual Arts
TextilesFashion archives
SVA’s Visual Arts Press handed out disposable cameras to undergraduate students to capture on- and o -campus lifestyle. Featured student photographers are, above, Lourdes (Lsie) Velasco (BFA Interior Design: Built Environments) and, on the cover, Lsie with Lissette Martinez (BFA Interior Design: Built Environments).
Special thanks
to the Visual Arts Press summer 2024 intern team for their dedication to this issue of Style!
Shout out to SVA Head of Archives Beth Kleber! The SVA Archives provide students with an invaluable resource for research, and the archival materials our student investi- gators discovered was put to the most rigorous academic and historical uses in the “Textile Issue.” The team analyzed the evolution of the art school sweater, compared current disposable camera student photography to the fashionable photos from days of yore, and found inspiration for their own patterns in those of the past.
THE ARTIST’S HISTORY OF DIY FASHION
by smilia gaulkin
Georgia O’Kee e
DIDyou know that famous painter Georgia O’Kee e sewed her own clothing? A peek inside her closet reveals designs she created and wore that express the fashion equivalent of her artwork. Flowing shapes, drapery and andro nous silhouettes—all evoke the organic swoop of O’Kee e’s brushstrokes.
Cultivating a fashion sense is not just for show––it can be a medium that re ects and is essential to an artist’s practice and persona, too.
Take a look at former SVA Galleries Director Shirley Glaser. Glaser graduated from Cooper Union in 1956 before marrying Milton Glaser, designer of the iconic I Heart NY logo. As Head of SVA Archives Beth
Kleber writes in and on the SVA Archives blog post “The Big Apple,” Shirley Glaser “operated at a stunning pace, producing a new exhibition every few weeks, calling up artists herself, and then ferrying the artworks to the SVA Gallery via subway or taxi." Some of her SVA exhibitions included “Working Drawings,” considered to be among the rst to exhibit conceptual art; “Inside the Big Apple: Paintings of New York Interiors;” and “65 Self-Portraits,” a show that recorded higher attendance than any previous Visual Arts Gallery exhibition, no doubt thanks to Glaser’s bold and tenacious spirit.
cut and sewed. Paired with her black French bob and hand-painted shoes, every out t was unique from head to toe, literally. This labor of love was the obvious choice for Glaser––asked why she handmade her dresses, she simply said, “It’s the shape I like.”
self-express––producing singular and de nable personas, honoring and elevating the history of clothing, and breaking down the concept of fashion itself, laying its threads bare.
Like O’Kee e, Glaser is “a born do-it-yourself type,” as fashion writer Eugenia Sheppard described her in a 1966 New York Herald Tribune pro le titled “Designing a Lifestyle.” Glaser crafted an iconic style that encapsulated her personality and her artistic practices: a turtleneck collar, sometimes on a sweater paired with jeans, but more often than not on dresses she herself chose the fabric for, designed, patterned,
Throughout history, the process of hand-making clothes has been relegated to “women’s work,” deemed a practice not worthy of being called an art, or even a craft. Embroidery, sewing, knitting and textile work were, sadly, often seen as requiring less creative skill, and typically regarded for their utility instead of their artistic merit. A recent exhibition at the New-York Historical Society showcased 45 crafted objects formerly degraded as such, from lace shirts to pinback buttons. But, according to The New York Times arts and culture journalist Julia Halperin, the rising feminist movement in the late 1960s reclaimed needlework, and the term “ ber arts” now acknowledges the artistic validity of this industry. Creatives like Glaser used fashion as a means to create and
Handmade clothing articles are not the only way artists have incorporated fashion into their practices. French American artist Louise Bourgeois was known for her evocative, gural and fabric sculptures, and for using her own garments in her artwork. Nick Cave is a sculptor, fashion designer and performance artist who created a series of “Soundsuits”: wearable sculptures of any material imaginable––sticks, sock monkeys, human hair––that are both stationary sculptures and movement-driven costumes. And textile artist Bisa Butler uses fabric as a tool rather than just her canvas, creating quilts that resemble portrait paintings to carry on traditions her mother and grandmother taught her.
The e ort to overcome dismissive and sexist attitudes about fashion and reclaim "women's work"
GlaserShirleyonMore
Louise Bourgeois’s Fabric
continues. Designer and SVA faculty member Jessica Walsh favors simple shapes and bright colors in her brand and advertising work, re ecting a personality as bold as her fashion and design aesthetic. When she launched her creative agency &Walsh in 2019, she de ed the odds, shrugging o the intimidating statistic, according to the 3% Movement, that only 11% of creative directors are non-male. With projects like her global nonpro t initiative “Ladies, Wine, & Design,” Walsh’s goal now is to keep fostering a community to quash the stigma around working women creatives.
A DIY attitude toward fashion begins with the freedom and con dence to explore our own relationship to clothes, without having it decided for us. And all artists––no matter if you create with ber arts, textiles, or want nothing to do with making your own garments––can feel encouraged by the fact that, like the artists who came before us, we are always designing a lifestyle. ♦
Work
Bisa Butler’s Paintings
Walsh’s
Style’s Guide to
The creative possibilities for wearable art are so extraordinary and varied. But it can seem overwhelming to beginners. So, to help all you DIYers, here are just some of the many spaces in or around SVA that can help you start on your path to handmade fashion or integrating textiles into your artistic practice:
The Fibers Lab is home to a wide range of high-end sewing and embroidery equipment perfect for experimentation with textile art, and it is available to students taking bers-related courses or during open lab time.
The Fiber Arts Club (@ beginner-friendlyberartssva)isaspace, hostingeventsabout crochetanythingfromtofriendship bracelets,anditprovides all materials needed.
The Printshop (@svaprintshop) o ers dedicated and enriching courses to take if you’re interested in repeatable textile designs.
For accessorizing, try your hand at making jewelry at the SVA Metalshop. And if you’re not into making clothes yourself, head over to the SVA Winter and Spring markets to grab some one-of-a-kind items and support your fellow students as you express your personal style.
No matter how or why you create, there’s a generous community of DIY ber artists ready to support you, on and beyond campus!
Here are some free fabric patterns designed by
Riley Hastings
Street Smarts
East 23rd Street between Second and Third avenues is “SVA Way.” The east side of SVA’s campus can now stake a claim on the map of New York City. But East 23rd is far from being the only street in NYC with a rich history. Test your New York knowledge with this matching game to see if you can draw a line from the o cial street name to its honorary one. Then check your answers on the next page and read how each street got their name!
ON JUNE 28, 1969, police stormed the Stonewall Inn, a gay and lesbian bar on Christopher Street, and it was written into history as a groundbreaking moment for LGBTQ+ rights when protestors fought against police brutality. A year later, the rst Pride Parade took place, which was then known as the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. Today, there are countless pride parades across the globe–and an o cial NYC Pride March, which begins on 25th Street and 5th Avenue. The stretch of Christopher Street where Stonewall stands was given the honorary name Stonewall Place to commemorate the brave people who stood up for equal rights.
ed Sixth Avenue had its name o cially changed to the larger-than-life sounding Avenue of the Americas in 1945. The City Council and mayor at the time hoped the name change would encourage Central and South American countries to build consulates along the street and possibly promote more intercontinental trade. While these aspirations didn’t fully develop, one aspect of the name has persisted: the round signs attached to streetlights that pepper the avenue, honoring Central and South American countries with their national seals.
ideals and principles, the highly frequent-
IN ORDER TO HONOR Pan-American
Avenue was originally meant to be a temporary name as part of a campaign to raise New York City to global fashion status. Known as part of the Garment District and a hub for the transportation of fabrics and clothes, Seventh Avenue turned out to be the prime location for fashion-lovers, suppliers, designers and shoppers alike! Famous fashion designers Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren both had studios on Fashion Avenue, and the Garment District, sometimes called the Fashion District, still boasts many esteemed fabric and fashion supply stores.
multiple streets and multiple avenues, SVA moved to 209 East 23rd Street—where it still has its o cial address—in 1960. To celebrate the College’s long history on East 23rd, the SVA Way honorary street sign was put up with an unveiling celebration.
THOUGH TODAY SVA’S CAMPUS spans
Fashion
FROM 26TH TO 42ND STREETS,
York and Harlem railroad, right at ground level. This forced tra c to go around the tracks. The train was not powerful enough to go up an incline, so an open trench was dug through Murray Hill. But this hill was eventually covered after public complaints about safety, and was better landscaped in the 1850s, giving us the name Park Avenue for the area between 34th and 40th Streets. Park Avenue has only grown larger since (and become the o cial street name) and was even given its own house-numbering system separate from Fourth Avenue.
Fourth Avenue was the home of the New
Manhattan’s
IN THE EARLY ,1800S
Whimsical designs, silly mascots and koalas ‘shaped like hotdogs’ are just some of the many designs that make up Izzy Delore’s unique and charming body of work.
Merching to the Beat of Your Own Drum
“I really like cute and silly things, and I want to own cute silly things with a handmade touch,” he says. He focuses on hand-printed apparel and Risograph prints, and all his wearable merch is screenprinted with waterbased ink. You can nd him selling his work at Artist Alley events around the country.
To anyone interested in making merch, Izzy highly recommends taking as many print courses as can t in your schedule. “I didn’t realize how nicely set up and easy it is to print in SVA’s facilities until I left,” he says. “I miss it a lot.” But Izzy’s chief advice is to always ask yourself: “Would someone buy this?” In his experience, it’s best to start small before fully jumping into the makers-market scene. When not designing his next apron or printing in the studio, Izzy is a freelance animator, su using his love of handmade materials into mixed media and stop-motion animation techniques.
• oolongcreama.bigcartel.com
• @oolongcreama
Can you find SVA’s flower logo hidden in these images from the SVA Archives?