#edrossbach

[yesstess]

i only have eyes,,, for youuu; #EdRossbach, Raffia Lace Basket (1973) (at MoMA The Museum of Modern Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7qfj2Jly6a/?igshid=5xowsw8g41f0

[mirabile---visu]

Ed Rossbach

[108contemporarygallery-blog]

Ed Rossbach Mickey Mouse Coil Basket, 1975 Synthetic raffia, seagrass Coiling with imbrication

Translating traditional harvesting methods to modern life, Rossback foraged readily available materials like plants and sticks as well as contemporary surplus such as foil, plastic bags, and newspapers for his work. He also engaged with fine art trends, appropriating pop culture iconography like his East Coast contemporary, Any Warhol. By combining traditional basketry techniques and modern art’s critique of the status quo, this basket elevates the famous Disney character to the realm of fine art and critiques the low status given to the craft media during this era. 

[108contemporarygallery-blog]

Ed Rossbach Lost Japan Splint, bark, rags, paint, heat transfer 5.75 x 8.5 x 5.75 inches Photo credit Bob Hawks

Ed Rossbach, an American fiber artist from Chicago, is thought to be one of the most influential artists during the crossover of textiles from functional to modern art. After receiving his third college degree, an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield, Michigan in ceramics and weaving, Rossback launched his career. In the early 1950s, he found his way to a teaching job at the Universtiy of California, Berkeley. It was here that he began to experiment with nontraditional methods and materials, including newspapers and plastics. For the next 20 years, this is where he molded fresh minds of generations of future artists. 

In 1950 Rossbach married fellow artist and textile designer Katherine Westphal. He showed his work in notable institutions such as the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. 

He died in 2002 in Berkeley at the age of 88 from a prolonged illness, but his legend lives on through the collections of his art and the artists he influenced. 

[this-is-anni-w]

Bobbin Lace with Openings, Ed Rossbach, plastic tubing, bobbin lace, 1970