{"product_id":"reading-the-thread-cloth-and-communication-9781350320482","title":"Reading the Thread: Cloth and Communication","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eReading the Thread\u003c\/i\u003e brings together artists, theorists and designers to explore the nature and use of cloth as a means of record and communication.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCloth is constructed from threads and, in acknowledging its qualities of recording or communicating a story, we are reading the threads - the read thread. There is also, however, an East Asian myth that when you are born you are linked by an invisible red thread to your soul mate; no matter what you do, this red thread connects you to your fate and, although the thread may become tangled or infinitely long, it will never break. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eExploring histories of making and cultural practices, a multidisciplinary team of international scholars use the metaphorical thread to link the experiences of cloth production, lineage practices, contemporary challenges and sustainable futures, and to explore, through imagery and ideas, the agency of cloth to shape and communicate the sensations and emotions connected with human experience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDivided into four sections on reading cloth, challenging the stories it tells, following the thread of its narrative and finally anticipating its future, \u003ci\u003eThe Read Thread\u003c\/i\u003e allows a variety of viewpoints and a diversity of voices, without favouring theory or specific cultural approaches, to interrogate cloth as a record of experience within its social, historical, psychological and cultural context; the authors explore our encounters with cloth and its role in the exploration of identity and biography, representative of passage, exchange, life and death. Provocative and timely, and beautifully illustrated with over 50 color images, it is vital reading for students and scholars of textiles, fashion, material culture, art and anthropology.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLesley Millar\u003c\/b\u003e is Emerita Professor of Textile Culture at the University for the Creative Arts, UK. She has been responsible for many international touring textile exhibitions. She has contributed to many publications most recently editing, with Alice Kettle, \u003ci\u003eThe Erotic Cloth\u003c\/i\u003e (Bloomsbury, 2018) and \u003ci\u003eSpaces and Places\u003c\/i\u003e (2021). In 2008 she received the Japan Society Award for significant contribution to Anglo-Japanese relationships and in 2011 was appointed MBE for her contribution to Higher Education. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlice Kettle\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Textile Arts at Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. She is co-author of \u003ci\u003eMachine Stitch Perspectives\u003c\/i\u003e with Jane McKeating (2010) \u003ci\u003eHand Stitch Perspectives\u003c\/i\u003e (Bloomsbury, 2012) and \u003ci\u003eCollaboration Through Craft\u003c\/i\u003e (Bloomsbury, 2013) with Dr Amanda Ravetz and Helen Felcey. She has most recently edited, with Lesley Millar, \u003ci\u003eThe Erotic Cloth\u003c\/i\u003e (Bloomsbury, 2018). She is a practising artist with work in international collections including the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, The Crafts Council of Great Britain, Museums in Riga, MAIO in Turin, and the Belger Collection Kansas City USA.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Visual Arts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51199359123730,"sku":"9781350320482","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3ca64238-cd24-4a76-bcad-5a81e778d9c4.jpg?v=1744875819","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/reading-the-thread-cloth-and-communication-9781350320482","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}