Robins, Freddie, Snyder, Stephanie, Cohen, Kris and Young, Linsey, 2026, Book Section, Softness is power: A feminist discussion and subversion of softness In: Snyder, Stephanie, (ed.) Freddie Robins, Apotropaic: Soft, Softer, Softest, Softish!:. Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Museum, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, USA, Portland, Oregon, USA. ISBN 978-0-9975192-9-7 (Submitted)
| Abstract or Description: | I am known as a radical knitter. Knitting is a process stereotypically linked to women and the domestic, although much of my work is produced using industrial machinery, which is usually associated with men and masculine labor. Whichever process I choose, the work that I produce always comes off the needles the same way: soft. I am researching, and writing, about softness while simultaneously hand knitting with the softest yarns that I can buy. These are both natural (silk, wool, mohair, cashmere, and alpaca) and man-made (nylon, acrylic, and polyester), plus mixes of the two. The research is underpinned by my ongoing questioning of notions of “normality” and by an embracing of the non-binary: the subtleties and differences that lie between two defined points. I write as I knit, with ideas linking together like stitches on a needle that grow to become a single work. But I am a much more experienced and skillful knitter than I am a writer. Speaking to an artist friend about my struggles to write about knitting, he asked, “Why don’t you knit it?” All of the ideas contained within this written text are also embodied within my textile work, but many people in Western society don’t know how to “read” material objects. As a society we have long privileged sight over all other senses, and generally we value and trust the written word above all else. |
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| Contributors: | Contribution Name RCA ID Photographer Atfield, Douglas Photographer Gallucci, Mario |
| Subjects: | Creative Arts and Design > W100 Fine Art Creative Arts and Design > W700 Crafts Other > Social studies > L200 Politics > L210 Political Theories > L216 Feminism |
| School or Centre: | School of Design |
| Funders: | Stephen E. Ostrow Distinguished Visitor in the Visual Arts, Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, USA |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Feminism, softness, knitting, subversion |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Jan 2026 15:04 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Jan 2026 00:03 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/id/eprint/6666 |
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