The Fountain of Word and Water

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The Fountain of Word and Water

1963

Lenore Tawney (American, 1907–2007)

The Fountain of Word and Water speaks to Leonore Tawney’s love of words and mystical writings fused with the inference of the natural element of water, a recurring motif in the artist’s oeuvre. Considered one of Tawney’s seminal totemic works, The Fountain of Word and Water was conceived at a pivotal moment in the artist’s career, when she employed new techniques for shaped weaving, changing her artistic practice and revolutionizing the field of fiber art. Breaking out of traditional rectangularity, she used the linear structure of warp and weft to explore solids and voids. The Fountain of Word and Water demonstrates her interpretation of Peruvian techniques of twining, knotting, and braiding. Like many Abstract Expressionists, Tawney explored the abstracted figure, and in so doing made her work anthropomorphic, conceptual, and more dynamic.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

The Fountain of Word and Water

Date:

1963

Artist:

Lenore Tawney (American, 1907–2007)

Medium:

Knotted linen

Dimensions:

13 feet 6 inches × 30 inches × 6 inches (411.5 × 76.2 × 15.2 cm)

Classification:

Fiber Art

Credit Line:

Purchased with funds contributed by The Women’s Committee and the Craft Show Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1994

Accession Number:

1994-23-1

Geography:

Made in United States, North and Central America

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