Traces: Big Beach Baby

Lia Cook, Traces: Big Beach Baby, 2001, cotton, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995--2003), 2004.2, © 2001, Lia Cook
Lia Cook, Traces: Big Beach Baby, 2001, cotton, 160 x 56 in. (406.4 x 142.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995−−2003), 2004.2, © 2001, Lia Cook

Artwork Details

Title
Traces: Big Beach Baby
Artist
Date
2001
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
160 x 56 in. (406.4 x 142.2 cm)
Copyright
© 2001, Lia Cook
Credit Line
Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, curator-in-charge of the Renwick Gallery (1995−−2003)
Mediums Description
cotton
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure — child — bust
  • Landscape — beach
Object Number
2004.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2004.2

Artwork Description

To create her expressive "woven paintings," Lia Cook paints strips of fabric and weaves them together with a computer-aided handloom. Despite the use of high-tech tools, her figures appear lifelike, emphasizing the connection between the sensuousness of cloth and lived experience. In Traces: Big Beach Baby, Cook also uses fabric to suggest humankind's vulnerability and fragility: as the viewer moves closer to the work, an intimate family portrait dissolves into a dense field of threads.

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery, 2019


Works by this artist (8 items)

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Lia Cook, Sample for Spatial Ikat III, woven sample for tapestry, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1977.47.6
Sample for Spatial Ikat III
Artist
woven sample for tapestry
Not on view
Lia Cook, Study for Tapestry, drawing, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1977.47.46
Study for Tapestry
Artist
drawing
Not on view
Lia Cook, Presence/Absence: Touches II, 1998, handwoven cotton and rayon, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Marc and Diane Grainer, 2021.77.2
Presence/​Absence: Touches II
Artist
Date1998
handwoven cotton and rayon
Not on view
Lia Cook, Study for a Tapestry (study for Spatial Ikat III), 1976, screenprint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.45
Study for a Tapestry (study for Spatial Ikat III)
Artist
Date1976
screenprint on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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Vicki Lee Soboleff, Yellow Cedar Face Mask, 2020, yellow cedar and sinew, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2020.29.2, © June 1, 2020, Vicki Soboleff
Yellow Cedar Face Mask
Artist
Date2020
yellow cedar and sinew
Not on view
Ruth H. Matthews, Table Basket, #458-321, ca. 2002, weeping willow, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Martha G. Ware and Steven R. Cole, 2011.47.43, © 2002, Ruth H. Matthews
Table Basket, #458 – 321
Artist
Dateca. 2002
weeping willow
Not on view
Irene Ames, Feather Basket, 2008, brown ash, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Martha G. Ware and Steven R. Cole, 2011.47.1
Feather Basket
Artist
Date2008
brown ash
Not on view
Katherine Lewis, Rope Coil, 2011, willow, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Martha G. Ware and Steven R. Cole, 2011.47.39
Rope Coil
Artist
Date2011
willow
Not on view