‘Uncommon Threads’ Features Japanese Art

By  //  January 24, 2015

event has presented internationally

Helmet in dragonfly shape, 17th century, Japan. Iron, lacquer, wood, leather, gilt, pigments, silk, paper-mache. The James Ford Bell Foundation Endowment for Art Acquisition and gift of funds from Siri and Bob Marshall, 2012.31.1 a-c. (Image for SpaceCoastDaily.com)
Helmet in dragonfly shape, 17th century, Japan. Iron, lacquer, wood, leather, gilt, pigments, silk, paper-mache. The James Ford Bell Foundation Endowment for Art Acquisition and gift of funds from Siri and Bob Marshall, 2012.31.1 a-c. (Image for SpaceCoastDaily.com)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Institute of Technology and the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts present the annual textiles symposium, Uncommon Threads: Shaping Japanese Design, on Feb. 19-20.

Now celebrating its 10th year, Uncommon Threads is offered to the community as part of Florida Tech’s expanding focus on the textile arts and seeks to help expand arts patrons’ understanding of textile scholarship by bringing renowned speakers and industry insiders to Brevard County.

Since 2004, this singular event has presented internationally recognized curators, scholars and experts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology.

This year, Uncommon Threads will host Andreas Marks of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, where he serves as head of the Japanese and Korean Art Department and director of the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture.

Andreas Marks
Andreas Marks

Marks has curated and co-curated 14 exhibitions on various aspects of Japanese art including paintings, prints, ceramics, weaponry, as well as works of bamboo — most notably Modern Twist, which runs Jan. 31April 25.

As part of the symposium, which is being held in conjunction with the Ruth Funk Center’s upcoming exhibition, Modern Twist: Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art, Marks will present a free lecture, “Lethal Beauty: Design Elements in Samurai Suits of Armor,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Gleason Performing Arts Center on the Florida Tech campus.

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This illustrated lecture will focus on the design of suits of armor and will especially address helmet forms.

Reservations are not required for the Feb. 19 lecture. Free parking is available.

At 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 20, Marks will present, “Weaving a Way Forward: Developments in Japanese Bamboo Art,” followed by a champagne reception, three-course luncheon and an inaugural Artisan Showcase highlighting local artists featured in the Ruth Funk Center’s gift shop.

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This event is in the Hartley Room of the Denius Student Center on campus. Tickets, with limited availability, are $75 each. Valet parking will be available. The honorary chair of this event is Carolyn Baney.

For more information or to make luncheon reservations, contact the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at 321-674‐8313 or by http://411.fit.edu/threads.