Just as poetry is more than a few well-chosen words, fabrics are more than a gathering of threads. People have always understood the spiritual importance of our "second skin," from the early Peruvians who wrapped their departed in priceless tapestries to the ancient Greeks who believed that the Three Fates spun, wove and finally cut the thread of everyone's lives.
Yuh Okano's "Ripple" (2000), silk shrunk in calcium nitrate
"Cracked Mirror" (1992) by Junichi Arai, polyester and silverNational Museum of Modern Art photo
Luckily, visionaries are still at work with dye, thread and loom. With its superb heritage of textile arts and crafts, Japan is home to many artists still spinning webs of mystery and desire.
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