Carole Frances Lung (born 1966)[1] is an American artist and labor activist, known for her performance art which centers around subjects such as textile consumption, unfair labor practices, and production systems. Lung is an associate professor of Fashion Fiber and Materials at California State University, Los Angeles.[2][3] Her work concerns labor in the fashion industry and often comprises long-duration projects of performance art and collaborative art activism. She is based in Long Beach, California.[4]

Carole Frances Lung
Lung in her studio in 2015
Born1966
Education2007 MFA / 2005 BFA Fiber and Material Studies, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

2006 Semester Study Abroad, Public Art/ New Artistic Strategies, Bauhaus University, Weimar Germany

1988 Bachelor of Science, Textiles and Clothing, North Dakota State University, Fargo ND
Occupation(s)Artist, labor activist

Early life and education edit

Carole Frances Lung was born in 1966 in San Francisco, California.[3] She was raised in Huntington Beach.[5]

Lung received a Bachelor of Science degree in Textiles and Clothing from North Dakota State University in 1988.[citation needed] She moved to New York City to work in the fashion design industry.[citation needed] Lung studied Fiber and Material Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago,[6] receiving a BFA degree in 2005 and a MFA degree in 2007.[7] During a 2006 semester abroad in Weimar, Germany, she studied Public Art and New Artistic Strategies at the Bauhaus University.[citation needed] There she engaged in her performance piece "One Size Fits All," sewing out of a storefront.[7]

Career edit

Carole Frances Lung has almost fifteen years of experience working in the garment industry. She uses her art as a form of activism which makes statements on various topics, such as mass production and consumption, and the value of thoughtfully made clothing.

Lung's project Sewing Rebellion[1] has as its goal to break the mass-production cycle of consumer textiles, and involves teaching participants to make and repair clothing.[8] Her project, Made in Haiti (2009-2012) was a collaboration with Haitian tailors to create an alternative to the mass globalized textile market.[8]

Lung has also created performance art under the persona "Frau Fiber," an East German garment worker.[9] Frau Fiber was born in Apolda, Germany in 1966 and worked in garment and machine knitting factories until the fall of the Berlin Wall. Frau Fiber takes inspiration from the folk character John Henry; knitting or sewing by hand against faster technology, knowing that ultimately she will fail.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Looseleaf, Victoria (2017-07-27). "Sewing is an Act of Rebellion: Frau Fiber's Crusade". KCET. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  2. ^ "Carole Frances Lung". Cal State LA. 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  3. ^ a b "Carole Frances Lung". Arts Council for Long Beach. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-02-06. Carole Frances Lung (San Francisco CA, B. 1966) is an artist, soft power activist, and Associate Professor of Fashion Fiber and Materials, at California State University Los Angeles.
  4. ^ "IN PICTURES: 'Frau Fiber's Mission in America' at Huntington Beach Art Center • the Hi-lo". lbpost.com. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  5. ^ "Handwork. We Can Be Stewards, Frau Fiber, seamstress and artist". The Urban Forager. December 10, 2017. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  6. ^ a b Morris, Asia (May 12, 2019). "Artist Carole Frances Lung wants you to stop shopping and start sewing • the Hi-lo". lbpost.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-13. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  7. ^ a b Cheh, Carol (March 27, 2014). "The Quiet Revolution of the Institute 4 Labor Generosity Workers & Uniforms". KCET. Archived from the original on 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  8. ^ a b Myzelev, Alla (2017-06-14). Exhibiting Craft and Design: Transgressing the White Cube Paradigm, 1930–Present. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351724937.
  9. ^ "A Pop-Up Alterations Shop Run by an Artist Considers the Cost of Labor". Hyperallergic. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2019-03-01.