Untitled

Sculpture

-

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Untitled

Entry/Object ID

2020.03

Description

Large, braided hemp sculpture whose fibers are loose at the bottom.

Artwork Details

Medium

Hemp

Context

Claire Zeisler is a self-named “sculptress.” Melding her braiding skills from childhood with knotting and wrapping techniques she learned from artists in Haiti, Zeisler’s sculptures in fiber were some of the first to move the category of fiber arts off the loom and into three-dimensional space. Untitled is a beautiful example of the sculptor’s technique and material preferences. She often braided together natural fibers, like hemp, leaving open coils and strands at the bottom of her structures, while keeping the materials’ natural color as well. An avid collector, Zeisler found influence in her grand collection of Native American woven baskets, African sculptures, and Peruvian textiles. Zeisler’s combination of techniques, however, put her at the forefront of the modern fiber art movement, alongside the likes of Lenore Tawney, Shiela Hicks, and Magdalena Abakanowicz, all of whom have had a great impact on later fiber artists’ propulsion of the form and its limits. By turning her interest to making handcrafted sculptural forms (some of which weighed up to 1,500 pounds) rather than the more industrialized western loom weaving, the artist subversively rejects the idea that this type of craft is simply “feminine, domestic, and dainty.”

Acquisition

Accession

2020.03

Source or Donor

Donna Stone

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of Gonna and Howard Stone

Made/Created

Artist

Zeisler, Claire

Date made

1986

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Sculpture

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Hemp

Dimensions

Width

4-1/2 in

Depth

5-1/2 in

Length

178-1/2 in

Dimension Notes

Measurement taken from bottom braids fully elongated and top hanging loops fully extended. For display, this work hangs and the loose fibers "pool" at the bottom on the floor. The length is 135 inches from the top of the hanging loops to where the fibers unfurl.

Exhibition

Life Cycles

Interpretative Labels

Label

Claire Zeisler (1903–91) Untitled, 1986 Hemp Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of Donna and Howard Stone, 2020.03 Claire Zeisler played a key role in freeing fiber arts from the constraints of the traditional weaving loom in the early 1960s. She approached the assemblage of natural fibers as sculptural constructions, often with raw edges and loose ends. To develop her signature three-dimensional works, Zeisler followed the inherent logic of the materials to unfold freely, outside of traditional mounts and armatures. Zeisler’s braids reflect her long standing interest in Indigenous basket weaving, Haitian braided belts, and nautical knots. Claire Zeisler (1903–91) Sin título, 1986 Cáñamo Colección del Museo de Arte DePaul, donada por Donna y Howard Stone, 2020.03 Claire Zeisler desempeñó un papel fundamental en la liberación de las artes de la fibra de las restricciones del telar tradicional a principios de la década de 1960. Ella se aproximó al ensamblaje de fibras naturales como construcciones escultóricas que con frecuencia tenían bordes crudos e hilachos. Al desarrollar sus distintivas obras tridimensionales, Zeisler siguió la lógica inherente de los materiales para desplegarse de manera libre, fuera de las monturas y los armazones tradicionales. Los tejidos de Zeisler reflejan su interés perdurable en el tejido de cestos indígenas, los cinturones tejidos de Haití y los nudos náuticos.