People

Jennifer AngusKay Vaughan Innovation Fellow; Professor

I teach in the Textile and Apparel Design Program in the area of surface design. I am also an affiliate of the Art Department. My research is driven by my interest in pattern. Without a written word, pattern upon cloth can communicate much about its wearer whether it be sex, age, ethnic identity or status within a community. There is a cultural understanding of pattern. That understanding provides a framework or potential for a narrative. I encourage students to think of pattern as powerful tool that goes far beyond enhancing a surface.

My work has been exhibited internationally including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Spain. I am fortunate to have been the recipient of numerous awards including Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Wisconsin Arts Board grants. The Ontario Association of Art Galleries selected my exhibition “A Terrible Beauty” at the Textile Museum of Canada as “Exhibition of the Year” in 2006. In 2013, Albert Whitman and Company, Chicago, published my first novel, In Search of Goliathus Hercules.


Recent press

Twelve classic Halloween movies paired with boo-tiful artworksSmithsonian American Art Museum, October 27, 2020
Mattress Factory delves into the fantastic and macabre with two new exhibitionsPittsburgh City Paper, August 27, 2020
Moments of wonder—and thousands of insectsIsthmus, February 13, 2020
The Chazen Museum of Art at 50: Growing, changing and celebrating facultyWisconsin State Journal, January 26, 2020
First Forward Art Prizes awardedWisconsin State Journal, November 10, 2019
Making art with insectsWisconsin State Journal, November 10, 2019

Classes Taught

Portrait of Jennifer Angus, a person with long, blue/green hair wearing a dark gray top and red necklace.

Department

  • Design Studies

Degree Program

  • BS Textiles & Fashion Design
  • MFA Human Ecology: Design Studies
  • PhD Human Ecology: Design Studies

Contact

Office: 3210 Nancy Nicholas Hall

Phone: 608-263-3122

Email: jrangus@wisc.edu

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