Fashioned by Faculty: Creative Scholarship
This exhibition featured the exquisite creative scholarship of four faculty members of the Department of Design and Merchandising – Carol Engel-Enright, Ph.D., Kevin Kissell, M.A./M.F.A., Anna Perry, Ph.D., and Diane Sparks, Ed.D. Their individual creative work is inspired by a range of influences: Asian textiles, pop culture superheroes, embroidery, wearable art, hand weaving, and digital printing, and each faculty member has a unique aesthetic approach that results in eclectic and extravagant display of color, texture, and surface embellishment on fabric.
Needles and thread, fibers and fabric… digital software and lasers? Welcome to this exploration of faculty research in design!
Colorado State University’s Department of Design and Merchandising in the College of Health and Human Sciences is the modern iteration of just one field of study that formerly existed under the broad academic umbrella of “Home Economics” at many land-grant universities. Since CSU’s founding in 1870, faculty members in Design and Merchandising have taught their students how to sew.
And so much more.
Today’s majors in the department’s Apparel and Merchandising concentration study apparel and textile design and development, as well as the sourcing and production, marketing, and retailing of consumer goods. Their coursework includes examination of the global cultural, historical, economic, and scientific aspects of the textile and apparel industry, and fosters an understanding of consumer behavior and socially responsible business practices.
Ongoing faculty research and expertise informs this course of study, and demonstrates both execution of technique and mastery of the design canon. The Avenir Museum is excited to present selections of the academic scholarship and nuanced creative work of the Department of Design and Merchandising’s award-winning design faculty – Carol Engel-Enright, Kevin Kissell, Anna Perry, and Diane Sparks.
You will see an integration of current digital design technologies with traditional manual techniques for creating and manipulating textiles, and subsequently, garments. In some pieces, the three-dimensional form serves as a metaphor for a garment and is not intended to be worn. Each faculty member has a unique aesthetic approach that results in creative eclecticism and an extravagant display of color, texture, and surface embellishment on fabric.
The information accompanying each piece differs in presentation according to the designer’s preference and the requirements of the professional conference or gallery where the design was first presented.
Please enjoy this exhibition illustrating how Colorado State University’s design faculty contribute to this unique realm of academic research.
