EDITOR: Color and black-and-white images of Michael James may be downloaded from the Media Library on the UNL World Wide Web site (http://www.unl.edu/pr/medialib/mediahome.htm).
Lincoln (Neb.) - Sept. 21, 1999 - Michael James, internationally known for his pieced and quilted fabric constructions, will join the department of textiles, clothing and design at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a senior lecturer in the fall of 2000.
He will teach introductory and advanced courses in the area of textile design, where his more than 25 years of experience as a studio quilt artist will inform his new role as academic instructor. It will also provide students an extraordinary opportunity to study and work with a highly renowned fabric artist.
Having James at Nebraska creates a unique center of learning for those interested in studying the pieced quilt as a medium of expression, said Patricia Crews, professor of textiles, clothing and design and director of the International Quilt Study Center at NU.
"We are thrilled to have him join us," Crews said. "His presence will provide extraordinary opportunities for students and for NU. Students yearning to explore this centuries-old art form as a medium for contemporary expression will be drawn to NU to study with James."
James is among a group of formally trained artists who turned in the 1970s from mainstream media to the tactile and sensual appeal that fabric and quilts offer. James' approach to quilt making has been influenced as much by his training as a painter as by his study of the history and development of American quilt making. He earned his bachelor of fine arts degree from Dartmouth (1971), and his master of fine arts degree from the Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology (1973). Both degrees were in painting and printmaking.
James' dual orientation is reflected in the content of his first two books, "The Quiltmaker's Handbook" and "The Second Quiltmaker's Handbook," published originally by Prentice-Hall Inc. in 1978 and 1981, and republished in 1993. All editions are considered classic guidebooks for the novice quiltmaker.
James is not new to the classroom. In addition to his studio activities, he frequently lectures and leads workshops on color and design not only in North America but throughout Europe and in Japan. He led a workshop at NU last summer titled "Color Dynamics and Expression" which was exceptionally well received by students, Crews said.
Works by James have been included in invitational shows at the American Craft Museum in New York City; Musee des Arts Decoratifs du Louvre in Paris; Kunstindustrie Museum in Copenhagen; and Galerie Jonas in Switzerland, to name a few. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, the American Craft Museum, the Museum of the American Quilter's Society, the Newark Museum and others.
He was one of five American textile artists invited to participate in the Eighth International Trienniale of Tapestry held in 1995 at the Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz, Poland. His quilt, "The Metaphysics of Action: Entropic Forms," received a jury citation.
His background and expertise will complement existing faculty strengths in the area of textile and apparel design, said Rita Kean, professor and chair of textiles, clothing and design. "The addition of an artist and scholar such as Michael James to our department strengthens an already excellent faculty and program."
Karen Craig, dean of the College of Human Resources and
Family Sciences, said James brings idealism and pragmatism to the
art of quilt making. "As an artist/scholar, James will create new
synergism among faculty, students and the public."
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