Threads of Light: Chinese Embroidery from Suzhou and the Photography of Robert Glenn Ketchum (UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Textile Series) [Paperback]

Patrick Dowdey (Other Contributor)

Book Description

Series: UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Textile Series | Publication Date: January 1999

Intrigued with the possibility of integrating texture in his work, American landscape photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum has a long-standing collaboration with the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute (SERI) in China. This splendidly designed volume describes the history of SERI with illustrations of its traditional embroidery and then proceeds to pair Ketchum's photographic images with their exquisite embroidered counterparts. Essays locate the achievement of the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute within the context of traditional Chinese embroidery and trace the willingness to innovate that has long characterized this remarkable institution.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patrick Dowdy is curator for the Freeman East Asian Studies Center at Wesleyan University. Other contributors include Zhang Meifang, Robert Glenn Ketchum, and Jo Q. Hill.

Product Details

• Paperback: 171 pages
• Publisher: UCLA (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0930741714
• ISBN-13: 978-0930741716
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,170,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars breathtaking embroidery, May 27, 2000

By 

J. Krakow (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Threads of Light: Chinese Embroidery from Suzhou and the Photography of Robert Glenn Ketchum (UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Textile Series) (Paperback)

This book contains lavish photos of breathtaking embroidery from the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute, representing the pinnacle of Chinese embroidery. Many of the examples are photorealistic interpretations of landscape photographs - an amazing achievement. It makes one understand why embroidery has long been regarded as a fine art in China, often esteemed higher than painting. A must for anyone who loves embroidery or textiles.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, September 5, 2001

By 

W. H. Niehoff (Vestal, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Threads of Light: Chinese Embroidery from Suzhou and the Photography of Robert Glenn Ketchum (UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Textile Series) (Paperback)

This is, by far, the most beautiful embroidery book I've ever seen anywhere, at any time. It seems impossible that such impressive works of art could have been created. Robert Ketchum's photographs are beautiful, but the embroideries are, indeed, so breathtaking that it's hard to believe real human beings could have worked on them. This is the kind of embroidery I would love to be able to do, but it is so amazing that I know I'll never reach such a high level of expertise (at least not in this lifetime). My thanks to all the people involved in this project for sharing their special gifts with me and anyone else fortunate enough to have purchased this book or, better still, to have seen these works in person.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 is not even close to enough, July 8, 2003

By 

P. Arroyo (Long Beach, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Threads of Light: Chinese Embroidery from Suzhou and the Photography of Robert Glenn Ketchum (UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History Textile Series) (Paperback)

Words cannot even begin to describe the beauty of the works of art contained in this book. If you only ever buy one book in your life to just look at the pictures let it be this one. I could sit entranced by this embroidery for hours. I agree with another reviewer who stated that you can't conceive of this art being created by human hands. If you need proof simply look at the cover. That is not a photograph folks, it is embroidered.
The photographs are also quite beatiful. Consider as you look at them that the photo's are trying to capture texture...something very elusive in that medium. In many cases you can barely tell the photo from the embroidery and in others the embroidery is an interpretation of the photo.
I cannot state this enough... this book is truly, truly extraordinary and I don't think that there is anything else like it out there.