Ita Aber ( Herschcovich; born 1932) is an American feminist multimedia

textile artist Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials u ...

, art conservator and curator.

Early life and career

Ita Aber was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada as Ita Herschcovich to Fannie ( Zabitsky) and Tudick Hershcovich. Her grandparents were of German, Polish, Russian, and Romanian Bukhara ancestry. Her first exposure to

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

was by her grandmother, an early

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

in Canada, and her mother, who founded the Milk Fund of Canada. She took courses in Jewish history, archaeology, art and textile conservation at Queen's College,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. She completed a bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies from

Empire State College Empire State College (SUNY Empire or ESC) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State College is a multi-site institution offering associate, ...

and carried out graduate-level studies at The Valentine Museum (Richmond, Virginia), and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, earning a master's degree equivalent in Jewish Art. In 1964, Aber became politically active, specifically in the Reform Democratic movement. Through her early political involvement, she sought to abolish laws in New York restricting

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. She helped found

Women Strike for Peace Women Strike for Peace (WSP, also known as Women for Peace) was a women's peace activist group in the United States. In 1961, nearing the height of the Cold War, around 50,000 women marched in 60 cities around the United States to demonstrate aga ...

, and also became active in the

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

, speaking out against the pollution in the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. At this time, she also became active in equal rights activism, minority and elder rights. Aber was a founding member of the

New York Feminist Art Institute New York Feminist Art Institute (NYFAI) was founded in 1979 (to 1990) by women artists, educators and professionals. NYFAI offered workshops and classes, held performances and exhibitions and special events that contributed to the political and cu ...

and the founder of the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework. Starting in 1972, she taught

needlework Needlework is decorative sewing and textile arts handicrafts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. Needlework may include related textile crafts such as crochet, worked with a hook, or tatting, worked with a ...

at the

Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. List of Jewish museums Notable Jewish museums include: *Albania ** Solomon Museum, Berat *Australia ** Jewish Muse ...

, the

Cooper-Hewitt Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum housed within the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 museums that fall under the wing of the Smithsonian Inst ...

and other venues throughout the eastern United States. Aber's artistic-related archives are held at the

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...

, with other archival collections being held by the

National Museum of Women in the Arts The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), located in Washington, D.C., is "the first museum in the world solely dedicated" to championing women through the arts. NMWA was incorporated in 1981 by Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. Since openin ...

. Her family's papers are held at Yeshiva University.

Exhibitions

*2001: "55 Year Retrospective Exhibition", Broome Street Gallery *2007: "Ita B'Ita: Ita Aber in Her Time: 60 Years of Creativity and Innovation by Ita Aber",

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universit ...

Museum

Bibliography

*''The art of Judaic needlework: traditional and contemporary designs'', Scribner, 1979, ; *''Art of Judaic Needlepoint'', Simon & Schuster, 1982, *Ita H. Aber, Frann S. Addison, Katya Apekina, Beverly Auerbach, ''Tradition today: modern Judaica and folk art'', Jewish Arts Foundation, 1990

References

External links

Exhibition HEROIC VISIONS & WORLD COSTUMES, FABRIC ART by ITA ABER and sculptures by LINDA STEIN
at the Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation: May 22 through July 9, 2006. *
Ita Aber collection items
at

Yeshiva University Museum The Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University. Along with the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, New York and the YIVO Institute for Jewish ...

Ita Aber collection
at the

Ita Aber archival collection
at th
Canadian Jewish ArchivesIta Aber object
at th
Museum of Arts and Design, NYC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aber, Ita 1932 births 20th-century American women artists 20th-century women textile artists 20th-century American textile artists 21st-century American women artists American textile artists Living people Canadian emigrants to the United States