Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This volume introduces 28 artists under the umbrella of surface design, itself a very broad term encompassing such techniques as silkscreen, painting on fabric, resist dyeing, stitchery, and appliqu'e. The term also refers to a medium of designing continuous patterns, usually on paper using gouache or dyes, for industrial production on fabric, wallpaper, wrapping paper, etc. The 28 artists selected here are surface designers who use these techniques directly on fabric as craftpersons or artists. Beginning with this art form's early years in the 1950s and '60s, Westphal, one of its pioneers, provides an informal account of its development. Each artist's work is featured in several color pictures (the book contains almost 200 full-color plates), along with a statement by the artist on his or her ideas and working processes. Unlike many exhibition catalogs containing artists' statements, this book is cohesively edited, and its larger-than-normal format is attractively designed. One drawback, however, is the unevenness in the quality of the work presented; also, one could wish that the selection were less narrow, for it concentrates on the Midwest, California, and North Carolina. The artists' biographies, a glossary, bibliography, and an index complement this visually informative volume. General; undergraduate. M. Tulokas; Rhode Island School of Design

Booklist Review

For centuries, textiles have been enhanced by endless combinations of prints, dyes, and embellishments. As recently as the 1950s and 1960s, the surface design movement erupted as artists reacted against mundane, functional textiles and sought to create one-of-a-kind artworks. Today, surface design has skyrocketed as new dyes and dazzling patterns and concepts complement age-old techniques. This focus, on 28 leading contemporary surface design artists, concentrates on the diverse composition of work this art form has generated. The artists discuss their creative processes and influences that envelop each work. Art mediums from applique and beads to wax resist and vinyl are transformed into objects ranging from clothing textiles to wall hangings. The introduction, penned by surface design pioneer Westphal, whose experimentations were influential in this field's development, records and expounds on the birth of the surface design explosion. Approximately 200 full-color plates embellish this trove of innovations that constitute the art of surface design. It will assuredly become part of all library textile and art collections. ~--Janet Lawrence