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Past Exhibitions


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Order and Border

Mar 6 2010 – Oct 21 2012

Seattle Art Museum

Stripes are a fundamental visual element, appearing naturally in vertical lines as trees and in manmade products of all kinds, from street dividers to ornate fabrics. The stripe is so basic it is rarely given isolated attention. This installation examines how stripes decorate and structure objects, bodies and spaces. It follows the many ways that stripes are formulated—swirling, rigid, ragged, skinny or bold—and shows how they appear in a wide range of media from a multitude of cultures. These objects help us recognize the range of meanings that a stripe holds, from a minor design feature to the sign of a significant mythic journey.

–Pam McClusky, Curator, Art of Africa and Oceania

Educational Resources
To explore this exhibition a little deeper, download our bibliography.

Underkimono, 19th century, Japanese, Meiji period, silk cloth, (katazome), 52 x 47 1/4 in., Gift of the Christensen Fund, 2001.528


Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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