{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119015"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119015","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Stitches on Display: Embroidery Exhibited by the Museum of Modern Art","abstract":"Engaging with both the materiality and visuality of the embroidered artworks by Marguerite Zorach and Elaine Reichek, this thesis analyzes the material acknowledgement, or lack thereof, of the embroidery medium in both the artists' own motivations and how the Museum of Modern Art represents and displays modern embroideries. Often perceived as old-fashioned, in both cultural and artistic frameworks there is at a times tremulous acceptance of the embroidery medium. Both Zorach and Reichek's embroideries are undoubtedly rooted in modernist ideas surrounding form, subject, and aesthetics. Expressed in thread, the concepts behind these artworks are closely stitched to the medium itself, enhanced by the textural and methodological process of embroidery. Despite this, the modes of display used by the MoMA exhibits portray a reluctance to fully embrace and acknowledge the importance of materiality in in the history of embroidery. Examining the inclusion of Zorach's The Circus in the 1938 Three Centuries of American Art exhibition alongside Reichek's 1999 solo exhibition Projects 67: Elaine Reichek displaying her When This You See… embroidery series, this thesis evaluates each artist's use of the medium and how the respective exhibitions framed the embroidered artworks.","abstract_html":"Engaging with both the materiality and visuality of the embroidered artworks by Marguerite Zorach and Elaine Reichek, this thesis analyzes the material acknowledgement, or lack thereof, of the embroidery medium in both the artists' own motivations and how the Museum of Modern Art represents and displays modern embroideries. Often perceived as old-fashioned, in both cultural and artistic frameworks there is at a times tremulous acceptance of the embroidery medium. Both Zorach and Reichek's embroideries are undoubtedly rooted in modernist ideas surrounding form, subject, and aesthetics. Expressed in thread, the concepts behind these artworks are closely stitched to the medium itself, enhanced by the textural and methodological process of embroidery. Despite this, the modes of display used by the MoMA exhibits portray a reluctance to fully embrace and acknowledge the importance of materiality in in the history of embroidery. Examining the inclusion of Zorach's The Circus in the 1938 Three Centuries of American Art exhibition alongside Reichek's 1999 solo exhibition Projects 67: Elaine Reichek displaying her When This You See… embroidery series, this thesis evaluates each artist's use of the medium and how the respective exhibitions framed the embroidered artworks.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Atallah, Grace Elizabeth"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Material Culture and Public Humanities","degree_department":"Material Culture and Public Humanities","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Ronan, Anne Elizabeth"],"committee_members":["Moseley Christian, Michelle Yvonne","Smith-Glaviana, Dina C."],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-05-17","date_published":"2024-05-17","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:56Z","subjects":["Embroidery","exhibitions","fine art","modern art","Museum of Modern Art","Marguerite Zorach","Elaine Reichek"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:40354"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:40354","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119015","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Ronan, Anne Elizabeth"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Moseley Christian, Michelle Yvonne","Smith-Glaviana, Dina C."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Material Culture and Public Humanities"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Atallah, Grace Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-05-18T08:00:13Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-05-18T08:00:13Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-05-17"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Material Culture and Public Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Embroidery","exhibitions","fine art","modern art","Museum of Modern Art","Marguerite Zorach","Elaine Reichek"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:40354"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119015"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Engaging with both the materiality and visuality of the embroidered artworks by Marguerite Zorach and Elaine Reichek, this thesis analyzes the material acknowledgement, or lack thereof, of the embroidery medium in both the artists' own motivations and how the Museum of Modern Art represents and displays modern embroideries. Often perceived as old-fashioned, in both cultural and artistic frameworks there is at a times tremulous acceptance of the embroidery medium. Both Zorach and Reichek's embroideries are undoubtedly rooted in modernist ideas surrounding form, subject, and aesthetics. Expressed in thread, the concepts behind these artworks are closely stitched to the medium itself, enhanced by the textural and methodological process of embroidery. Despite this, the modes of display used by the MoMA exhibits portray a reluctance to fully embrace and acknowledge the importance of materiality in in the history of embroidery. Examining the inclusion of Zorach's The Circus in the 1938 Three Centuries of American Art exhibition alongside Reichek's 1999 solo exhibition Projects 67: Elaine Reichek displaying her When This You See… embroidery series, this thesis evaluates each artist's use of the medium and how the respective exhibitions framed the embroidered artworks."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Embroidery, often perceived as a domestic or craft practice, faces cultural and artistic reception challenges when being used as a medium for modern art. Using Marguerite Zorach and Elaine Reichek's embroidered modern artworks, this thesis analyzes how the artists' motivations are translated through the Museum of Modern Art's curatorial and conceptual framework. For these two artists, the materiality, physical processes, and cultural history of the embroidery medium provide grounding contexts for their individual artistic production. This emphasizes that artistic motivation for the use of embroidery is inherently tied to the physical and contextual qualities of the medium, rather than being a simply coincidental choice of medium. Despite this, the MoMA, while not wholly ignoring the material qualities of embroidery and the intimate connection between artist, materiality, and process, does not fully acknowledge and exhibit these closely stitched connections. Analyzing how the MoMA displayed Zorach's The Circus in the 1938 and Reichek's When This You See… embroidery series in 1999, this thesis delves into the cultural forces informing the MoMA's exhibition framing of embroidery alongside how each artist's use of the medium."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Stitches on Display: Embroidery Exhibited by the Museum of Modern Art"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Ronan, Anne Elizabeth"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Moseley Christian, Michelle Yvonne","Smith-Glaviana, Dina C."],"dc:contributor.department":["Material Culture and Public Humanities"],"dc:creator":["Atallah, Grace Elizabeth"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-05-18T08:00:13Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-05-18T08:00:13Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-05-17"],"dc:description.abstract":["Engaging with both the materiality and visuality of the embroidered artworks by Marguerite Zorach and Elaine Reichek, this thesis analyzes the material acknowledgement, or lack thereof, of the embroidery medium in both the artists' own motivations and how the Museum of Modern Art represents and displays modern embroideries. Often perceived as old-fashioned, in both cultural and artistic frameworks there is at a times tremulous acceptance of the embroidery medium. Both Zorach and Reichek's embroideries are undoubtedly rooted in modernist ideas surrounding form, subject, and aesthetics. Expressed in thread, the concepts behind these artworks are closely stitched to the medium itself, enhanced by the textural and methodological process of embroidery. Despite this, the modes of display used by the MoMA exhibits portray a reluctance to fully embrace and acknowledge the importance of materiality in in the history of embroidery. Examining the inclusion of Zorach's The Circus in the 1938 Three Centuries of American Art exhibition alongside Reichek's 1999 solo exhibition Projects 67: Elaine Reichek displaying her When This You See… embroidery series, this thesis evaluates each artist's use of the medium and how the respective exhibitions framed the embroidered artworks."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Embroidery, often perceived as a domestic or craft practice, faces cultural and artistic reception challenges when being used as a medium for modern art. Using Marguerite Zorach and Elaine Reichek's embroidered modern artworks, this thesis analyzes how the artists' motivations are translated through the Museum of Modern Art's curatorial and conceptual framework. For these two artists, the materiality, physical processes, and cultural history of the embroidery medium provide grounding contexts for their individual artistic production. This emphasizes that artistic motivation for the use of embroidery is inherently tied to the physical and contextual qualities of the medium, rather than being a simply coincidental choice of medium. Despite this, the MoMA, while not wholly ignoring the material qualities of embroidery and the intimate connection between artist, materiality, and process, does not fully acknowledge and exhibit these closely stitched connections. Analyzing how the MoMA displayed Zorach's The Circus in the 1938 and Reichek's When This You See… embroidery series in 1999, this thesis delves into the cultural forces informing the MoMA's exhibition framing of embroidery alongside how each artist's use of the medium."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Arts"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:40354"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119015"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Embroidery","exhibitions","fine art","modern art","Museum of Modern Art","Marguerite Zorach","Elaine Reichek"],"dc:title":["Stitches on Display: Embroidery Exhibited by the Museum of Modern Art"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Material Culture and Public Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:56Z"}