The 1960s saw a revolution in fibre art. Where once the focus was on knotting, twining, and coiling thread into works that were immediately recognizable, and therefore connected to utilitarian crafts, fibre artists of the later 20th century began to experiment with abstract forms that were closer to sculpture than craft. Influenced by postmodernist ideas, these works are the product of experimentation with materials and technique while at the same time confronting important cultural issues. This book traces that development from the mid-twentieth-century to the present. In the words of Bauhaus weaver Anni Albers, the expressive quality of fibre is essentially a "language of thread." That language is beautifully displayed in full-colour spreads and individual illustrations in this book. Scholarly essays address the feminist movement of the 1970s; the expanded use of materials in the '80s and '90s; and the more recent employment of fibre as one more material in the creation of freestanding works. In addition to a section of full-colour illustrations, this book also includes profiles of all of the genre's most influential artists.Published in association with the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.