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A leading figure in the contemporary fiber arts movement from the mid-1960s, Ferne Jacobs uses knotting, wrapping, coiling, and twining to create sculptural basketry. Usually, weaving requires an inner armature to guide the shape of the object. Jacobs, however, does not use one, describing the labor-intensive process as “living out a mystery.” In this way, she does not predetermine what her work will be, and even once finished, she sees the end result as never totally defined: “It’s an incredibly intimate relationship [between myself and the material], and the piece grows out of the relationship.”
Red Figure Column illustrates a period of Jacobs’s work during which she coiled her bases to make them sturdy and structural, and then used the softer, more malleable technique of twining at the top.
Red Figure Column
Ferne Jacobs (American, born in 1942)
1986
Medium/Technique
Waxed linen
Dimensions
48.3 x 12.7 x 7.6 cm
Credit Line
The Daphne Farago Collection
Accession Number2012.1228
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsFiber arts
A leading figure in the contemporary fiber arts movement from the mid-1960s, Ferne Jacobs uses knotting, wrapping, coiling, and twining to create sculptural basketry. Usually, weaving requires an inner armature to guide the shape of the object. Jacobs, however, does not use one, describing the labor-intensive process as “living out a mystery.” In this way, she does not predetermine what her work will be, and even once finished, she sees the end result as never totally defined: “It’s an incredibly intimate relationship [between myself and the material], and the piece grows out of the relationship.”
Red Figure Column illustrates a period of Jacobs’s work during which she coiled her bases to make them sturdy and structural, and then used the softer, more malleable technique of twining at the top.
ProvenanceAugust 1992, sold by the Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA to Mrs. Farago, Little Compton, RI; 2012, year-end gift of the Daphne Farago Collection to the MFA. (Accession Date: February 27, 2013)
CopyrightReproduced with permission.