Extreme Textiles
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Ropes. Manufactured by Edelrid Germany, 2004. Braided and woven Kernmantel construction. Courtesy of Edelrid. Photo Matt Flynn.
A prosthetic foot. The world's strongest rope. A fragment of the 1903 Wright brothers' flyer.
They're all technical pieces, based in science. But as a Wexner Center exhibit opening this week proves, they're also art.
"Extreme Textiles" comes to Columbus from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, a branch of the Smithsonian.
Megan Cavanaugh Novak, a Wexner Center curatorial assistant, said the exhibit focuses on “the way textiles are used in technology, how they work in these extreme ways." The textiles are used in medicine, engineering, architecture, transportation, aeronautics, and sports.
One example: the Cheetah Flex-Foot, a hook-shaped prosthetic used by competitive runners.
“It’s this beautifully simple little piece but it’s actually made of textiles," Novak said. "It’s deceptively simple. It’s elegant in how simple it is.”
The installation was designed by Kivi Sotamaa, a professor at the Knowlton School of Architecture.
While you're at the Wexner Center this spring, you can check out two other exhibits on display: Diptych (paired images) and films by William Kentridge.
Hemashield Gold™ 4 woven double velour vascular graft.
Manufactured by Boston Scientific Company Inc.. U.S.A., 2004. Woven, crimped polyester with bovine collagen. Photo courtesy Boston Scientific Company Inc.
Related links:
Upcoming Wexner Center events.
The Wexner Center's renovation.
Knowlton School of Architecture.
How to see it:
- April 6: From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., an Opening Celebration features a tour by Smithsonian curator Matilda McQuaid.
- Beginning April 13: Walk-in tours of the current exhibits start at 6 p.m. Thursdays and 1 p.m. Sundays.
