Ed Rossbach

Living Matter is Irritable

1970

Ed Rossbach (1914-2002) completed his graduate studies at Cranbrook in 1946. He, along with Marianne Strengell worked within the narrow parameters of Euro-Bauhaus-Scandinavian weaving traditions for industry. “In reaction to this tight definition of textiles,” Jo Ann C. Stabb wrote in Retro/Prospective: 25+ Years of Art Textiles and Sculpture (vol. 37), “Rossbach became fascinated by indigenous textile processes and the use of found materials as he studied artifacts in the anthropology collection at University of California, Berkeley, as a faculty member from 1950 to 1979. Noted for creating three-dimensional, structural forms from unexpected, humble materials including plastic, reeds, newspaper, stapled cardboard, twigs, Rossbach inspired a renaissance in basketry and vessel forms and influenced other artists, including his students Gyöngy Laky and Lia Cook.” Rossbach began making baskets out of tundra grasses while stationed in the Aleutians during World War II, and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy on the GI Bill. Like Pat Hickman and Lillian Elliott, he became part of the Bay Area fiber arts movement of the 1960s and 1970s, challenging traditional forms and media in basketmaking. He used plastic, metal, food cartons, and old newspapers to express his delight in American popular culture. A carefully crafted basket made out of trash was Rossbach's challenge to his audience to rediscover the joy of doing, of creating something of no value that was still beautiful.