Evicting the Usurpers and Reclaiming the Warp and Weft

Abstract

This position paper critiques the contemporary fine art world’s commercial appropriation and systemic devaluation of traditional textile craft. Across major institutions and galleries, fabric is increasingly displayed not to honor the medium, but to monetize anonymous, highly skilled labor through the branding of elite conceptual artists. This phenomenon creates a fundamental category error, reducing centuries of inherited communal craftsmanship, technical precision, and physical mastery to mere raw material for superficial conceptual interventions. Furthermore, the sterile environment of the white cube gallery enforces sensory deprivation, stripping textiles of their essential utilitarian purpose, tactile intimacy, and spatial context. To resolve this friction, the paper proposes a new architecture of value—spaces run by master-makers rather than curators—and demands radical transparency through labor breakdowns on artwork labels. By distinguishing utilitarian handicraft from conceptual art, this work calls for an end to institutional exploitation and advocates for the sovereignty, integrity, and authentic recognition of textile artisans.