Book commissioned by Bloomsbury Publishing and co-edited by Lesley Millar and Alice Kettle who also contributed a joint introduction, introductions to each section and a chapter each.
The book takes a trans-disciplinary approach to the subject positing a variety of interpretations in which erotic is a multifaceted state, historically and culturally connected and materialised through our relationship with cloth. The contributions are written in a variety of tones, including those of practitioners and academics.
The introduction discusses the theme from a Western historical and contemporary context, drawing upon the editors specialism in textiles as artistic practice. It closes with an afterword which builds upon the Japanese focus in the final chapter, looking at the notion from an entirely non-Western perspective. By doing this, the editors signpost further research into how other cultures negotiate the relationship between cloth and the erotic.
The relationship between cloth and the body has been discussed in depth since the late twentieth century, mainly with a focus on the socio-political and narrative particularities of textiles. With the emergence of Haptic studies (Hara, Miller, Pallasmaa etc), the connection between the surface of the skin and the surface of cloth has been considered in the discussion of the sense of touch. However, the erotic nature of that relationship has tended to be the subtext of previous discourse, acknowledged but largely unspoken. This book specifically seeks to discover the ways in which the qualities of cloth that seduce, conceal and reveal have been explored and exploited in art, design, cinema, politics and dance. There will be a major exhibition based on the book, curated by the editors at Compton Verney in 2021.
The book includes contributions from: Savithri Barlett, Catherine Dormor, Malcolm Garrett, Catherine Harper, Ruth Hingston, Nigel Hurlstone, Yuko Ikeda, Claire Jones, Angela Maddock, Masako Matsushita, Liz Rideal, Debra Roberts, Mary Schoeser, Georgina Williams, and Caroline Wintersgill
