Textiles: The Art of Women’s Work

The idea of textiles as an art medium and art form didn’t take hold until recently because of its gendered assignment and for the fact that weaving, knitting, and sewing were largely dismissed as "women's work."

The history of clothing and textiles dates as far back as 100,000 – 500,000 years ago. It’s difficult to arrive at a more precise time period, because textiles are notoriously fragile to the environment, as they naturally disintegrate over time. But we do know that weaving and later, knitting, sewing, and embroidery were all relegated to “women’s work” across cultures. This was so, in large part because childrearing was considered the main concern of a woman’s role in the family, and her additional contribution had to be work that she could perform while simultaneously taking care of children – in other words, work that was repetitive, that didn’t require too much focused attention, and that she could easily return to amidst constant interruption. Because of its gendered assignment, coupled with the fact that cloth-making was such a functional skill, the idea of textiles as an art medium and art form didn’t take hold until recently, despite its millennia of history. Anni Albers, one of the most influential textile artists of the twentieth century, was the first weaver to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art; the year was 1949.