Friday, November 30, 2012

Collecting, sharing at Amitiés Tissées

photo: St Tyl

Although Shukuko Voss-Tabe most often curates thematic or contemporary textiles in her Paris gallery, her most recent exhibit, Au coeur des collections textiles, was a little different.  This passionate supporter of textile arts found it fitting to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her association, Amitiés Tissées
by bringing together a sampling of treasures belonging to the many textile professionals and enthusiasts she has met over the years. Thus, "the textiles on display were not been chosen according to historical or cultural criteria. Each collector was invited to present works to which they are particularly attached and which we have chosen together." A very heartfelt idea for this association whose name means woven friendships. 


photo: St Tyl

One of my favorite pieces was this late Edo period hikeshi-banten (fireman's coat) with a gosho-guruma (imperial cart) design. The quilted layers were wet to protect the wearer at work. This is the inside of the coat; the outside was of simple design as seen on the collar. Once the fire was extiguished, the fire fighters would turn their coats inside out to show their rich tsutsugaki (freehand rice paste resist) decoration in joyful celebration of their accomplishment.

photo: St Tyl


Egasuri cloth: this technique uses paste resist on weft threads to produce patterns

Murakami Kasuri Orimoto studio, Yonago Japon
late 20th century


photo: St Tyl
A Syrian silk with slanting joined gold borders 

photo St Tyl
foreground: woman's kimono with view of the
crepe taffeta lining showing resist dye shade gradation typical of yuzen bokashi-zome

background: Royal Bushoong raffia weaving with applications of velvet raffia
Kuba-Zaire
early 20th century

photo: St Tyl

Collecting at its best is very far from mere acquisitiveness; it may become one of the most humanistic of occupations, seeking to illustrate by the assembling of significant reliques, the march of the human spirit in its quest for beauty...

Arthur Davison Ficke


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Big Carré: milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre


photo: milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre

A tandem of designers is behind the name milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre .
Amélie Charroin and Marie Colin Madan, both born in 1984, gave the year of their birth dates to their
silk scarf label. Nothing Orwellian here. Each carré de soie (silk square) tends toward individualism, an artwork with each one of its four corners treated differently.


photo: milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre


photo: milleneufcentquatrevingtquatre

Monday, November 19, 2012

Yi Felt Capes

photo St Tyl

These felt capes were made of yack wool, sheep wool and human hair in
 the beginning of the 20th century Yunnan, China. Several times a day Yi women would brush their thick hair an take what was left in the bristles to their master. The use of long silky hair served as a network for felting with the yack and sheep wool, creating here a particularly dense and almost waterproof felt.

photoSt Tyl

on display at
an exhibit about hair

at the Musée du quai Branly

for more information see:
the Soul of the Felt Cloak and The Nuosu Yi 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Transport textiles: Prague metro

photo St Tyl

photo St Tyl
Suggestions of a magical cityscape.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Emilie Palickova

photo St Tyl
-click on image to enlarge-
The Sun 1924-1925 flax yarn, needle lace
by Emilie Palickova 1892-1973 
permanent collection of the Decorative Arts Museum Prague

The Sun was created for the international Exhibition of decorative Arts Paris 1925.
 Lace-makers from Schönfeld State School Institute of  Domestic Industry in Prague
required 11 000 hours to complete this work.

Notice how the trees reach up to the eye-like sun.

photo St Tyl
detail

source Fédération des dentellières suisses

Emilie Palickova went on to work in other styles in her rich artistic and professorial career,

source Lace Museum Vamberk 
freeing Czech lace from its utilitarian context and creating monumental pieces.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

You need to know NeedKnot

photo St Tyl
Many textile enthusiasts today are carpet lovers and a rug, unlike cloth, benefits from a status of being immediately both a textile and an object. It can be fully appreciated and placed without transformation. From there, the move from object to art object is just a question of intention. NeedKnot, is a new label for finely crafted carpets that clearly tie together applied and fine arts.

Art historian, Mariannne Karabelnik, and design expert, Franziska Kessler, are the label’s instigators who brought together 9 contemporary artists and designers for the creation of 9 limited-edition rugs of the highest quality. The rugs were produced by the world renowned specialists of carpet making, Tai Ping and Manufacture Cogolin. A big bang of aesthetic impact was felt in Paris where they were recently on view at the Tai Ping showroom in the Hotel de Livry.


photo St Tyl

Karim Noureldin "Evo "
22 shades of wool


photo St Tyl

All the vigor, texture and saturated color of the best crayons in the box.

photo st Tyl


Erik Bulatov "O"
wool, flax, and  silk 

photo St Tyl
O, so sober. O, so material.

photo St Tyl

Christain Astuquevielle "Ecritures"
tufted berber wool
Manufacture Comoglio

photo St Tyl
Calligraphic tufting.

photo St Tyl
Torsten Neeland "Primary"
wool 
&
Ayse Erkmen "Twist "
wool, silk

photo St Tyl
This bas-relief takes carpet carving to the highest point of  the technique in precision and 3-dimensionality.

photo St Tyl

Alas, my close-up isn't close enough to do justice to the embroidered effect of "Twist!"

photo St Tyl
Alex Hanimann "Betty"
wool silk nylon

The text in textiles.

photo St Tyl

Nic Hess "Monumental Tour"
wool, flax, silk


photo St Tyl
'I'mmm lovin' it' the world over ? !


photo St Tyl

Melli Ink 
"Walking Over Broken Plates"
wool

photo St Tyl
A cathartic carpet without the crashing or the cuts.

photo St Tyl

Gioia Meller Marcovicz
"Palazzo"
 30 shades of silk

photo St Tyl

A sensuously textured dream of the Piazza San Marco, amorously rendered in the softest of silks.

For more information about the artists and Needknot, click!