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Winter 2009 Textile Society of America Newsletter 21:1 — Winter 2009 Textile Society of America

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This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Textile Society of America at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Textile Society of America Newsletters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Textile VOLUME 21 ■ NUMBER 1 ■ WINTER, 2009 Society of America

The Woven Word: Sasigyo Kathleen F. Johnson and Tsai Yushan Translations by Kotoh

CONTENTS ASIGYO IS A BURMESE through entering the monkhood, tablet-woven cord which weaving for religious purposes 1 The Woven Word: Three Sasigyo Sis used to bind Buddhist offered them an alternate way 2 Lillian Elliott Award scriptures. In Burmese the word to make merit.4 Some of the 3 From the President literally means “cord for tying sasigyo weavers were skilled pri- manuscript leaves into bundles.”1 vate craftswomen, but most were 4 TSA News These pieces have not been woven paid professionals who took on 6 TSA Member News in Burma for many years; very few commissions for weaving sasigyo 7 In Memoriam, Call for Papers written records exist about their for individuals. The weaving of sasigyo is a 8 The Woven Word, Continued history; most of what we know of them must be inferred from the highly skilled and time-consum- 10 Symposium 08 Reviews objects themselves. ing job. Apparently it took a full 12 Collections News The sasigyo are just one part three months to train a weaver. 5 13 Featured Collection: of an integrated and complex Even then the pay was poor. Philadelphia Museum of Art artistic craft tradition surround- Some, but not all, of the com- missioned sasigyo were inscribed 14 Exhibition Reviews ing the Burmese Buddhist scrip- Rare antique sasigyo for sale in the 2 tures called kammavaca. These Bangkok weekend market. Photo by with the name of the weaver 15 Book Reviews scriptures, which pertain to the Kathleen F. Johnson. and the donor, plus the place 16 Calendar-Exhibitions and date it was made. Noel regulation of Buddhist monastic were passed through holes in all Singer has done a landmark study 18 Calendar-Lectures, Workshops, life, were often commissioned the pages and the covers and of the Kammavaca manuscripts Tours, Conferences & Symposia; by devout lay persons and tied, thus preserving the proper Book Reviews, Continued and their binding ribbons. He presented to a monastery, thus succession of the leaves. The notes that the first dated sasigyo generating religious merit for the finished manuscript was wrapped lay person. In some cases they we have is from 1785 and the in a special mat called sa-pa-lwa, last from the early 1970s.6 were a memorial offering on made from thin bamboo ribs to p. 8 behalf of a departed loved one, wrapped or woven with colored and presumably the departed 3 THHEE TEEXTILEXTILE SOOCIETYCIETY OOFF AMMERICAERICA, cotton threads. was the recipient of the merit. INNCC. PPROVIDESROVIDES AANN IINTERNATIONALNTERNATIONAL The weavers of the sasigyo The volumes were often lav- FFORUMORUM FFOROR TTHEHE EEXCHANGEXCHANGE and the mats were women, ishly decorated with ornamental AANDND DDISSEMINATIONISSEMINATION OOFF whereas the manuscript makers medallions and patterns, and IINFORMATIONNFORMATION AABOUTBOUT were men. Although women were written in elegant script TTEXTILESEXTILES WWORLDWIDEORLDWIDE, were barred from making merit using lacquered letters. The fin- FFROMROM AARTISTICRTISTIC, CCULTURALULTURAL, ished pages were stacked and EECONOMICCONOMIC, HHISTORICISTORIC, Whole sa-pa-lwa of the wrapped sandwiched between two carved PPOLITICALOLITICAL, SSOCIALOCIAL, AANDND variety, collection of Kathleen wooden covers. Two strings Johnson, gift of Keosiri TTECHNICALECHNICAL PPERSPECTIVESERSPECTIVES. Everingham, Bangkok. TSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Stephen Beal Receives OFFICERS 2008 Lillian Elliott Award PRESIDENT Patricia Hickman at TSA Symposium TEL 845/947-8735 [email protected] HE LILLIAN ELLIOTT AWAR D, VICE PRESIDENT Testablished to recognize excel- Ruth Scheuing lence in fiber arts, was presented TEL 604/254-6322 this year to embroidery artist [email protected]

Stephen Beal. He was not able to TREASURER attend the ceremony, but sent the Mary Masilimani following message: TEL/FAX 973/538-2705 [email protected] “First, I would like to thank the members of the Lillian Elliott RECORDING SECRETARY Award committee for this signal Roxane Shaughnessy honor. I am very, very sorry not TEL 416/599-5321 ext. 2226 [email protected] to be able to be with you at the conference. A double disk fusion DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL RELATIONS Mary Anne Jordan in July has been painfully slow to tEL 785/749-0564 heal. If I were with you tonight, [email protected] I would speak of color, the prime DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS motivator in my art. The minute Janice Lessman-Moss I walked into a needlepoint shop TEL 330/672-2158 FAX 330/672-4729 in the 1970s and saw a whole [email protected] wall of Paternayan yarn I was “Vincent Tries on Rembrandt‘s Hats”, 21” x 23", by Stephen Beal, 2008 win- PAST PRESIDENT hooked. I could work with color, ner of the Lillian Elliot Award for outstanding work in contemporary textile Carol Bier hold color, create with color, art by an emerging artist. This work appeared in the exhibition, “Pricked!,” TEL 510/849-2478 have fun with color. Like Donald at the Museum of Art and Design, New York, 2007-2008. [email protected] Duck’s nephews with Uncle The piece “They were Young, pieces are exquisitely constructed, DIRECTORS AT-LARGE Scrooge’s millions, I could throw They were Rich, They were with rigorous attention to compo- Joanne B. Eicher color up in the air and let it fall on TEL 651/645-2914 Happy–Gertrude Stein’s Troop sition, animated by rich and full my head. I felt that I was home. [email protected] Presents Don Quixote” is visu- color mixing. I later switched to DMC Barbara Shapiro ally complex, rich in iconogra- Beal’s work has been includ- embroidery floss for ease of mix- TEL 415/882-7401 phy, and is both amusing and ed in several significant recent [email protected] ing colors, and those colors led to poignant. “Peaceful Day on the exhibitions, including “Men of my first collection of poetry, The Fran Dorsey Persian Gulf” has another kind the Cloth,” and, most recently, TEL 902/494-8113 FAX 902/425-2420 Very Stuff, in which each poem of poignancy. “Pricked: Extreme Embroidery” [email protected] is inspired by a shade of DMC The later work becomes at the Museum of Arts and Sumru Krody floss. For me color led to poetry, less literal and more metaphor- Design, New York, in 2007. TEL 202/667-0441 ext. 37 and now the written word often FAX 202/483-0994 ic, as in “The Periodic Table The next Lillian Elliott leads to a canvas. Gertrude Stein [email protected] of Artist’s Color.” Beal plays Award will be presented at the is a constant inspiration, and I’ve Matilda McQuaid with the art historical canon in 12th Biennial Symposium of the done a series of Flaubert-inspired TEL 212/849-8451 “Vincent Tries on Rembrandt’s Textile Society of America, to be [email protected] works.” Hats.” “Nature is Never Spent” held Oct. 7-9, 2010 in Lincoln, Stephen Beal’s website, www. Elena Phipps is inspired by Hopkins’ son- NE. The LEA Board welcomes TEL 212/650-2465 stephenbeal.com, reveals an intrigu- net “God’s Grandeur,” one of contributions in the name and [email protected] ing body of work, of both poetry Beal’s favorites. “Level Crossing” memory of Lillian Elliott or Joanne and stitched pieces. While working TASK REPRESENTATIVES explores space while joyfully Segal Brandford in support of as a teacher, writer, or editor for TSA WEBSITE abandoning good taste in color emerging artists working in Fiber. Susan Gunter, [email protected] Interweave Press, he published a choices. Beal’s most recent Please send donations to: volume of poetry as well as an TSA LISTSERVE piece, “The Dude Abides,” Barbara Goldberg, Laura Strand, [email protected] impressive body of small cross- presents a 17th-century por- 74 Sargent Beechwood stitched images. TSA NEWSLETTER trait of the Amsterdam Wine Brookline, MA 02445 The early work is engag- Karen Searle, [email protected] Merchants Guild, into which ing, funny, playing with human –Fran Dorsey Beal has inserted six male TSA SYMPOSIUM 2010 CO-CHAIRS foibles, but with a slight edge, and characters from the Coen Bros. Diane Vigna, [email protected] with elaborate titles that serve to film, The Big Lebowski. This is Wendy Weiss, [email protected] contextualize the observations. an Elliott-worthy canvas. The SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS EDITOR Ann Svenson Perlman, [email protected] 2 TSA NEWSLETTER rare and unique collections in Ann Svenson Perlman for gen- Board Concerns Honolulu, and to the exhibited erously offering (again, this time The 2008-2010 Board will meet work of the local contemporary as Designer and Senior Editor) to rom he in New York City Mar. 6-7 at F T fiber arts community. For me it guide this publication along. the Cooper-Hewitt Museum. was also a return visit to a place resident Our business will include a dis- P I love that was home to me for 2010 Symposium cussion of TSA Membership, 16 years, and to colleagues and Now we look ahead with antici- expansion and involvement, former students to whom I had pation. Co-chairs Diane Vigna and the upcoming Membership said goodbye when I retired and Wendy Weiss and Survey. I am asking each Board from the University of Hawaii's their committee are carefully HE WEATHER HAS TURNED member to bring in five new Art Department in 2006. planning the 12th Biennial Tcold in New York; however, Members to TSA, and I encour- Symposium to be held in I’m still feeling the warmth of Symposium Thanks age each member to bring one Lincoln, NE Oct. 6-9, 2010, our being together in Honolulu. new member into the organiza- Since the Symposium, immediate with the working title, “Textiles Thank you to all TSA Members tion. Presently we have nearly Past President Carol Bier and and Settlement: Plains Space who came to Hawaii, travel- 700 members, and would like to I have sent countless thank-you to Cyber Space.” The key- ing great or small distances. increase that number to stabilize letters to Hawaii expressing our note speaker, Sheila Kennedy, Your presence and attendance our base, both nationally and deep appreciation to the inspired Director of Design & Applied significantly contributed to the internationally. leadership of Co-Chairs of Research with KVA Kennedy & success of TSA’s 11th Biennial At this upcoming meeting Symposium 2008, Tom Klobe Violich Architecture in Boston, Symposium, Sep. 24-27, 2008. we will also address the TSA and Reiko Brandon, and to is known for her Portable Light Nearly 300 participants attended budget—how to keep it balanced the “cast of thousands” on the project. She has accepted our from 25 countries and 32 states. with our increased organizational Hawaii Organizing Committee invitation to present her innova- While a large percentage came activities and awards (which who worked so hard to present tive research that bridges scientif- from NY, CA, and HI, new and necessarily bring additional costs), Hawaii’s rich cultural heritage ic applications of materials, weav- old members also came from while at the same time we face and its creative involvement ing technology and illumination Canada, Australia, New Zealand unexpected losses in our long- today, as expressed through to the Huichol people of Mexico and from as far away as England, term investments during this cur- textiles. The participation and and beyond. Scotland, France, Belgium, Spain, rent financial crisis. I have asked contribution of more than 30 As an organization, TSA Netherlands, Italy, Chile, Taiwan, Board member Elena Phipps to arts and cultural organizations to selects Symposium venues Thailand, Uganda, Norway, chair a new subcommittee devot- the theme, “Textiles as Cultural which, through their unique Denmark, Greece, Israel, Turkey, ed to Financial Development. Expressions,” celebrated Hawaii’s India, Laos, Japan, Korea, China site-specific offerings, broaden diversity. The textile community and Qatar! Foreign attendance our understanding of diverse Study Tours in Honolulu came together as textile collections and institutions was far higher than at any previ- In the last Newsletter, TSA never before, and the city and in different geographic settings, ous Symposium. announced two exciting Study state responded with welcoming encouraging new and old mem- Holding our Symposium Tours for 2009: A TSA-spon- proclamations from the Mayor bers to discover what each loca- in the middle of the Pacific sored tour to Uzbekistan Sep. of Honolulu and the Governor tion offers of special interest to increased our audience and our 21-Oct. 6, with Board member of the State of Hawaii. textile specialists. Each gathering membership—especially from the Mary Anne Jordan, and a So many people, both locally has its own flavor and distinct Pacific Rim and Asia. For all who TSA-recommended tour to Peru, and internationally, contributed to sense of place where unexpected came, this was an unforgettable Oct. 30-Nov. 13 with Peruvian the success of this Symposium. It connections happen. In Lincoln experience—the culmination of textile specialists Mary Frame, will long be remembered for its we will have the opportunity to more than two years of planning. Christine Franquemont, Nilda generous and professional pro- visit the International Quilt Study For some, it was an introduc- Callañaupa, and Betty Doerr. gram of organized sessions, panels Center and Museum, the Robert tion to important Hawaiian fiber Please see the TSA website, and discussions; for the keynote Hillestad Textile Gallery at the knowledge and technologies, to www.textilesociety.org for details, address and plenary presentations; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, of these tours. One of my per- for its abundance of site seminars, and to see remarkable collections sonal goals as President is to tours, workshop, and arts demon- of Native American fiber knowl- TTSASA NATIONALNATIONAL OOFFICEFFICE encourage more international strations; and for its many excel- edge and technologies from the TSA-sponsored study tours, Charlotte Cosby, Manager lent exhibitions—not to mention Great Plains. We will also have PO Box 193 further expanding our interna- the beautiful setting, fragrant leis, another opportunity to meet and Middletown, DE 19709 tional network. A future trip is and gentle trade winds. communicate with colleagues, TEL 302/378-9636 being planned to Korea, with Even if you were not able establish new and renew friend- FAX 302/378-9637 details to be announced in 2010. to attend, we can all look for- ships, and experience our shared [email protected] Please send Matilda McQuaid, ward to the publication of the passion in a symposium context. Program Chair, your suggestions Visit the TSA website, Proceedings in 2009. A sincere Lincoln will offer us a very warm for other possible study tour des- www.textilesociety.org for thank you to Task Representative welcome in Fall 2010. Please tinations with names of potential membership forms, study tour plan on joining us there. information and latest news. leaders. to p. 4

WINTER 2009 3 from p. 3 finalist papers included in this her PhD. in the Department of The Next Two Years exceptional slate of nomi- Area Studies at the Graduate nees were: “Trade Cloth on School of Arts and Sciences at My presidency begins with a American Whaleships, 1820- the University of Tokyo. Her strong TSA that is growing in vis- TSA News 1870” by Susan Jermome; “A scholarly work focuses on textiles ibility and membership. I thank Poem is a Robe and a Caste: and quilts. Her graduate research Carol Bier for her professional Inscribing Verses on Textiles and will explore the subject from the leadership, for her organizational Architecture in the Alhambra” perspective of cultural studies, skills, for mentoring me, and for by Olga Bush; “Bristle: Haptic particularly the investigation of all of the important work she has Interfaces” by Ingrid Bachman; how different cultures develop done for TSA and continues to TSA Board Committees and “Suturing Old Wounds: their textile traditions in the age do as Past President. 2008-2010 The Act of Sewing in Works by of globalization. I am most grateful for those Contemporary American Nations Margarete Ann Ordon Programs Committee Chair: who have led TSA since its begin- Women Artists” by Cynthia (Madison, WI) received her M.S. Matilda McQuaid ning 20 years ago. Now we need Fowler. Selections were made in Design Studies with a focus Awards Committee Chair: Ruth the ongoing, generous support of by the Founding Presidents on the History of Clothing and Scheuing members to sustain our programs, Award Committee: Chair Pam Textiles. She plans to pursue a Publications Committee Chair: scholarships, and awards—the Parmal, with Pat Hickman, Material Culture Certificate and Sumru Krody Founding Presidents Awards, Vita Plume, Lotus Stack, and PhD. in Design Studies. Research Archives Committee Chair: the Student New Professional Susan Brandeis. for her Master’s thesis, “Making Carol Bier Scholarships, Travel Scholarships The next Founding Presidents Sense of Dress: Multi-Sensory Nominations & Elections for our Study Tours and TSA Award will be granted to a pre- and Embodied Elements in Committee Chair: 2009: Carol Workshops—all addressing the senter at the 12th Textile Society Fashion Exhibits,” was funded by Bier; 2010: Roxane Shaughnessy financial needs of a younger of America’s Biennial Symposium the 2007 Costume Society of Membership Committee generation. We are committed in Oct. 2010 in Lincoln, NE. America's Stella Blum Research Co-Chairs: Mary Anne Jordan, to offering more awards that Look for details and deadlines in Grant. She is committed to Janice Lessman-Moss recognize excellence in the field our newsletter or on our website, researching textiles, dress, and Finance Committee Chair: Mary and advance textile study and www.textilesociety.org related artifacts. As a future cura- Masilamani practice. Planned growth can only tor of textiles and clothing, she TSA Symposium 2010 Co-Chairs: – Janice Lessman-Moss be implemented and sustained wants to devote herself to sharing Diane Vigna, Wendy Weiss by seeking additional revenue the unique stories of objects. Ad Hoc Fund Raising and sources, including donations. Student/New Anne Peranteau Development Committee: Elena As we shape these next two (Wellington, New Zealand) is Phipps Professional Awardees years, I invite you, as TSA mem- currently working on contract at Parliamentarian: Carol Bier HE 2008 RECIPIENTS OF TSA'S bers, to communicate with me the Museum of New Zealand/Te Student/New Professional or with other Board members via T Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. Scholarships were recognized email or phone about how TSA First Founding Prior to that she served as at the11th Biennial Symposium might advance your personal and Presidents Awardee Textile Conservator at the North Awards Ceremony, Sep. 26, professional goals. Let us know Carolina Museum of History in HE FIRST FOUNDING 2008 in Honolulu. This year’s how you would like to contribute Raleigh. She received a Master’s Presidents Award, estab- awardees were selected from to our shared goals, envisioning T Degree in Fine Art Conservation lished to recognize excellence a diverse pool of exceptionally opportunities and ways to make from the Winterthur/University in the field of textile studies, qualified applicants by the TSA them happen. Please remind of Delaware Program in Art supports the presentation of out- Awards Committee chaired by us why you belong to TSA, as Conservation in 2004. As part standing research at the biennial Vita Plume, with Mary Ann it helps guide our work and to of her graduate and post-gradu- Symposium. The recipient of the Fitzgerald, Ruth Scheuing, and reflect the diversity of our mem- ate training, she worked with first FPA was Katia Johansen, Mary Dusenbury. The scholar- bership—our strongest asset. a broad range of collections in presenter of the selected paper, ships consist of a fee waiver for This is an exciting time for several museums, including the “Perfumed Textiles.” Katia is a the organization’s biennial event TSA. I look forward to seeing Museum of Fine Arts-Boston and textile conservator and costume and banquet. Each awardee is what we can accomplish by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, curator for the Royal Danish asked to write a review of a working together in the next two and completed research travel to Collections at Rosenborg Castle Symposium session or exhibit for years, as we advance the goals Japan, India, and Bangladesh to in Denmark. The award was the TSA Newsletter. Recipients are: and plans of this remarkable learn more about the textiles of presented at the Symposium’s Nao Namura (Tokyo, organization. these regions. gala Banquet and Awards Japan) holds a double major in – Pat Hickman, TSA President Lesli Robertson (Highland Ceremony on Sep. 26, 2008 in Textile History with an emphasis Village, TX) has been Adjunct Honolulu. in Quilt Studies and Museum Professor in Fibers at the All finalists received a mone- Studies from the University of University of North Texas-Denton tary travel grant and complimen- Nebraska-Lincoln (MA, May since 2006, where she teaches tary conference registration. The 2004). In April 2008, she began

4 TSA NEWSLETTER weaving, and a course on the Shep Award splendid architecture and muse- interviews with 43 publishers use of alternative fiber processes. ums. Enjoy the embroidery, weav- of books on textiles and related Since 2005 she has been actively Nominations Sought ing, natural dyeing, felt-making, topics; it sought quantitative working and doing research in OMINATIONS FOR THE BEST knitting, and papermaking of area and qualitative information on Uganda. What began as an oppor- Nbook on ethonographic tex- craftspeople, as well as costume current and future book lists, as tunity to train underprivileged girls tiles published in 2008 are now traditions and shopping in the well as editorial and production in weaving skills now involves being accepted. Please send the bazaars in Tashkent, Margilan, processes, especially with regard spreading awareness of Ugandan full bibliographic citation to the and Urgut. For further informa- to illustrations and electronic cultural arts. Currently she is cre- address listed below. When pos- tion, see: www.textilesociety.org/ publications. ating a body of work that focuses sible, three copies of the book events_tours.htm. The online survey reveals on her relationship as an artist to should accompany the nomina- that members of TSA and its –Mary Anne Jordan the cultural arts and artisans of tion. The award, endowed by sister organizations are passion- Uganda. She is also working on a R. L. Shep in 2000, encourages ate, knowledgeable, appreciative multi-media bark cloth exhibition the study and understanding Publications Initiative of publications of superior qual- in conjunction with the University of ethnic textile traditions by Summary ity in content and illustrations, of North Texas. recognizing and rewarding excep- and are generous in suggesting Sarah Scaturro (Brooklyn, tional scholarship in the field. A detailed survey report is available ideas for future book lists and NY) is the textile conservator The award also enhances the from the TSA office. The complete research endeavors. The publish- at the Cooper-Hewitt National position of The Textile Society Executive Summary text is posted on ers’ responses point up significant Design Museum. She is also of America as a thriving profes- the TSA website. differences between policies of completing her graduate thesis at sional organization serving many for-profit and university presses, HE PUBLICATIONS INITIATIVE, Fashion Institute of Technology disciplines. Nominations should especially in terms of production, funded in 2007 by the Coby on the subject of fashionable be sent to: T but show commonalities in edito- Foundation, Ltd., was launched camouflage, and gave a presenta- Mattiebelle Gittinger rial contexts and cautious experi- by TSA at a challenging time for tion on the cultural appropria- Research Associate mentation with new technologies. publishers, authors, and readers. tion of military camouflage at The Textile Museum Next Steps: These include Both for-profit and nonprofit sec- the Symposium. Sarah believes 2320 S Street NW disseminating the report to orga- tors of the publishing industry, in approaching each object she Washington, D. C. 20008 nizations and media in academic including university presses, are handles with a keen understand- [email protected] and textile-related fields. TSA’s ing–of how it was made, by experiencing declining reader continued role is vital in this whom, and for what purpose. rates and a transition to electronic process: These awards are presented TSA Study Tour 2009 formats for publishing, data stor- • Provide professional work- biennially to selected TSA mem- Uzbekistan age, and retrieval. These changes shops and seminars to facilitate have an impact on TSA members bers who are currently either Sep. 21- Oct. 6, 2009 interactions between authors/pro- students in a textile-related field, who depend upon publication spective authors and publishers. have graduated from a textile- RAVELERS TO THE BEAUTIFUL for tenure and visibility, and who • Refine and disseminate sur- related field within the past three TCentral Asian country of rely upon access to new research vey results to publishers. years or have been in their first Uzbekistan with Mary Anne in many fields. Two surveys–one • Establish inventories of spe- job in the textile field for less Jordan will visit the private for authors/readers, one for pub- cialists’ names to create speakers’ than three years. Deadline for studios and workshops of crafts- lishers–were designed to assess bureaus, curatorial pools, prospec- submission of applications is dur- people making traditional and current publication needs in the tive contributors for reference ing the summer prior to each contemporary textiles, ceram- fields of textile studies. volumes, peer reviewers, etc. Symposium. ics, and metals. Stops include The Surveys: The first • Assess new and innovative survey addressed authors and – Janice Lessman-Moss the ancient cities of Tashkent, media for publication and other Samarkand, and Bukhara, with readers; the online question- means of dissemination of infor- naire probed the reading habits, mation, data, and research. demographics, attitudes to elec- • Develop proposals and solic- tronic publications, and experi- it funding to support research and ences of authors among the TSA sustain publication in textile fields. membership and kindred orga- Task force: The online nizations, with a sample of 720 survey was designed in Spring, respondents. The second survey 2008 by consultants Kaye Kittle consisted of a series of telephone Boyer and Sara J. Kadolph with Désirée Koslin, aided Symposium Scholarship recipients l. by Advisory Committee mem- to r: Nao Nomura, Margarete Ordon, Anne Peranteau, Lesli Robertson, bers Ruth Barnes, Ann Lane Sarah Scaturro. On the daïs are Hedlund, Sumru Belger Board members Carol Bier, Mary Krody, Jane Pryzbysz, Mary Dusenbury, Pat Hickman, Roxane Schoeser, Madelyn Shaw, R. L. Shaughnessy, and Pam Parmal. to p. 6

WINTER 2009 5 from p. 5 can provide that view for travel- 50 two-dimensional artworks Shep, and Carol Bier. Kathryn ers to Andean weaving villages. that are displayed in the lobbies Earle and Anne Pollard Rowe Dr. Christine Franquemont, of public buildings. Regina cre- provided supplementary advice. anthropologist/ethnobotanist, ates dimensional textile art wall Pamela Long, Mary Pluckhahn and Mary Frame, Andean art pieces and sculptures incorporat- Masilamani and Melissa Scheld and textiles specialist, will share ing surface design techniques. assisted with telephone surveys. their knowledge of Incan textiles, www.reginabenson.com The project task force express- culture, and history. In a natural [email protected] es its gratitude to the Advisory dye workshop, Nilda will report Committee for its help in the proj- on CTTC’s newest initiative, Virginia Davis was the fea- ect design, and to Carol Bier, TSA the cultivation and processing tured artist on www.Fiberscene. President 2006-2008, for sustained of indigo by villagers. Through com, Nov. 15, 2008-Jan 15. and inspiring leadership during opportunities to try spinning, In Jan. 2009 she will teach the entire process. We extend our knitting, braiding, and weaving, a workshop on ikat weaving deep appreciation to The Coby participants will gain insight into in Guatemala,“Ikat and Jaspé: Foundation, Ltd. many steps in textile production. from Start to Finish,” at Centro Cultural La Azotea near Antigua, “Hard Rain,” by Regina Benson, 7 ft. –Désirée Koslin, Project Director Each village will share its own www.indigoartestextiles.com. She high, undulating in an 8-ft. curve, is traditional designs and color pat- constructed of three layers of rusted, terns. This unique tour directly will lecture on her work at El stitched and seared silk. It was pur- benefits the weavers’ associations Sito in Antigua on Jan. 21. In chased for the Aurora, CO Moveable visited. There will also be visits April, Virginia will lead a study Art Collection. Photo by John Bonath. TSA to major Incan archaeological tour in Oaxaca, Mexico with sites, including Machu Picchu, anthropologist Marta Turok: Thistle Threads, which special- Member Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and “The Mexican Rebozo: Jaspé izes in embroidery designs based Sacsayhuaman. Visits to museum (Ikat) Traditions, Heritage and on her research on materials News collections in Lima and Cusco Threats,“ April 17-26. and techniques used in early will round out this remarkable www.tiastephanietourscom embroidery. She is also a partner tour. For information, contact [email protected] in Redefined, Inc., manufacturers TM the Tour Coordinator, Elizabeth of Tokens and Trifles sewing Evelyn Kennedy offers a textile cards based on Victorian exam- Andean Textile Tour Doerr, [email protected]. TSA appraisal service. Her business, ples. She holds several patents in Oct. 30-Nov. 13, 2009 members are encouraged to regis- ter for this tour. Details are posted Sewtique, also provides restoration the field of electronic textiles. N INSIDER’S VIEW OF THE LIFE on www.textilesociety.org. and preservation services for tex- [email protected] of Quechua weavers and tiles and wedding and baptismal A – Betty Doerr the traditional techniques they gowns, as well as alterations ser- Barbara Shapiro‘s “La Femme” have revitalized is best offered vices. Her Directory information is: an indigo-dyed raffia coiled bas- Cecilia Anderson has taken a by someone who has led that Evelyn Kennedy ket will be exhibited in “Web teaching post in the Smithsonian life. Nilda Callañaupa, Founder Textile Specialist And Flow” at the Textile Center Institution’s Decorative Arts and Director of the Center for 391 Long Hill Road of Minnesota's Joan Mondale Graduate Program. She is pursu- Traditional Textiles of Cusco, Groton, CT 06340 Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, Mar. ing independent research and TEL 860-445-7320 6-Apr. 18. Several of Barbara’s spending time at home with her FAX 860-445-1448 shibori-dyed velvet “Mantles” new baby girls, Maggie and Ingrid. Conservation and Restoration are included in “Adorned Cloth: [email protected] JOIN THE [email protected] Contemporary Surface Designed www.sewtiqueonline.com Fiber Art” at the historic Mills Regina Benson’s unique and TSA LISTSERV Building, San Francisco, CA, environmentally friendly art- for lively discussions The Lisio Foundation, located through Mar. 10, curated by making process on the snows in Florence, Italy, offers a new Margot Blum Schevill. on textile topics. of Colorado is featured in the To subscribe, course, “Historical Techniques boneweavr@aolcom Nov./Dec. 2008 issue of Fiberarts and Technologies: from basic send an email message to Magazine, www.fiberarts.com/ weaves to brocade and other Nell Znamierowski lectured [email protected]. back_issues/Nov-Dec-2008/contents. weft effects,” with Instructors Eva on the tapestries of Mary Merrill Leave the subject asp. The City of Aurora, CO, Art Basile and Julie Holyoke. www. (1921-1999) in conjunction with line blank. in Public Places program recently fondazionelisio.org a reception and exhibition to In the body of the acquired Regina's environmental celebrate a new storage and con- message write: subscribe textile installation “Hard Rain.” Patricia Nguyen Wilson pre- servation home for the tapestries tsalist your email address. The work will be included in the sented a workshop on Tudor located in a renovated historic Within the day, you will city's “Moveable Art Collection,” Embroidery in December at textile mill in Harrisville, NH. a sub-collection of the public art begin receiving email. the Bard Center for Graduate Orignally woven at the Merrill program consisting of more than Studies. Patricia is owner of home in NH, the 17 tapestries

6 TSA NEWSLETTER have been touring the US for the Sumatra, Indonesia,” at Hood n past five years. Merril's forte was Museum of Art, Dartmouth I color in a lush, fauve-like palette, College. The exhibition combines emoriam which she used in impressionistic over 50 tapis from the Stephen M scenes based on sketches and A. Lister Collection with contex- photos of her travels; particularly tual archival and contemporary Fran Reed, 1943-2008 to Latin-America. The tapestries photographs. Dr. Totton’s text will soon be available for future of the same title will be pub- Alaska artist and teacher, Fran Reed, died Sepember 11, 2008 after a exhibitions. For information, con- lished by the Hood Museum of valiant struggle against cancer. She was known for a unique style of tact Amy Merrill, TEL 617/876- Art and available through the fi ne art basketry that used dried fi sh skins and other natural materials. 0108; [email protected]. University of Washington Press in Her work attracted national attention and was shown widely in Alaska Spring, 2009. and the lower 48. Over her career, she received fellowships from Member Publications the Western States Arts Federation and the Rasmuson Foundation. In Beverly Gordon has contracted Joanne Dolan Ingersoll dis- 1996 she received the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Artists at Giverny with Thames & Hudson to pub- cusses the nuances of curating fellowship in France, which allowed her to spend three months at the lish her book, The Fiber of Our the textile and costume col- home and gardens of impressionist master, Claude Monet. The follow- Lives: Why Textiles Matter. As the lection at the Museum of Art, ing year she was commissioned to create the prizes given to recipients title indicates, the work will be Rhode Island School of Design of the Alaska Governor's Arts Awards. Earlier in 2008, she received comprehensive, looking at the (RISD) in the Jan./Feb. 2009 the Anchorage Mayor's Award for Outstanding Individual Artist. Fran meanings of textiles in all aspects issue of FiberArts magazine. Also was born in LaJollla, CA, and moved to Fairbanks, AK, in 1969. There of human life, from basic survival in the latest FiberArts is a review she worked with quiviut (musk ox wool) and taught weaving at the to the mythic and spiritual realms of the exhibit, “Writing with University of Alaska-Fairbanks. She also spent 15 years as a lecturer (this also includes textiles and Thread: Traditional Textiles from on Alaska Native Arts for Alaska Pacifi c University and the Alaska social life, textiles and power, Southwest Chinese Minorities,” Marine Highway Elderhostel program. In the course of her art work, aesthetic meaning, textiles and curated by Tom Klobe for the she became an expert on fi sh skins and their traditional uses. Despite invention, etc.). The book will be University of Hawaii Art Gallery her illness, she spent four days at the Smithsonian Institute helping heavily illustrated. Beverly asks in Honolulu, and now traveling staff identify, understand, and restore Native Alaska skin garments in TSA members willing to share to mainland US venues. its collection. She is survivied by her husband, Dick, whom she met in their high-quality photographs 1961 when they were students at the University of Oregon-Eugene; of textiles in use--in ceremonies son, Collin, and daughter, Jocelyn Davis. Fran's TSA Symposium paper, or ritual contexts, for example, Feathers, Fibers and Fur: Embellishments for Gutskin Parkas, was read in her or used for practical purposes, honor by her friend, Audrey Armstrong. all for and art pieces as well. Textiles C – Adapted from an obituary by Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News of all kinds (both handmade, apers manufactured) and from all peri- P Peter Collingwood, 1922-2008 ods or areas of the world will be considered. Contact her at In October I received an email forwarded from Jason Collingwood [email protected]. that stated: “Sadly my father, Peter Collingwood, died unexpectedly yesterday afternoon, 9th October, 2008. He died in the place he The Lisio Foundation publishes Deadline Apr. 4: Costume in loved, his workshop.” Collingwood’s books have become ubiquitous a biennial review publication, The the American West: Historic sources of inspiration and technique in the libraries of weavers, design- News: Jacquard. The magazine, to Modern Times, Sep. 25- ers, engineers, and architects since 1968, when he first published in Italian and English, contains 26, 2009, Sacramento, CA. The The Techniques of Rug Weaving, followed by The Techniques of Sprang, information on art textiles and Western Region Symposium of 1974, The Technique of Tablet Weaving, 1982, and so on. This short historic textiles, as well as on the Costume Society of America bio is adapted from one of my favorite Collingwood books, The weaving. For subscription infor- offers an opportunity for mem- Maker’s Hand, in which his consuming interest in structure probes mation: [email protected]. bers to present research on a the intricacies of over 90 beautiful objects from around the world. variety of topics related to the Trained by some of the finest British weavers of the mid 20th cen- Lisio has also recently published theme “Costume in the American tury, Collingwood produced handmade rugs that sold at Liberty’s a book, Moda a Firenze 1540- West: Historic to Modern Times.” and Heal’s from 1952. He taught in art schools from 1954 and held 1580: Lo stile di Eleonora di Toledo A student stipend is available for annual workshops in the US starting in 1962. He was the first living e la sua influenza. To order: one student member of CSA to weaver to be given an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum [email protected]. and his awards are numerous. His iconic shaft-switching rugs and airy present an oral research paper at macro-gauzes are widely imitated. And his authority on the subjects of Mary Louise Totton, Assistant the Symposium. All submissions tablet weaving, sprang and ply-splitting is not disputed. I saw his huge, Professor of Art History, Frostic must relate to the conference architectural-scale woven stainless steel Macrogauze in Japan. He was School of Art, Western Michigan theme. See the complete Call for generous with his knowledge, and above all, loved what he did. He was University, served as guest cura- Papers on the TSA website. the consummate handweaver and an inspiration to us all. tor for the exhibition, “Wearing Information: Shelly Foote Wealth and Styling Identity: [email protected] – Barbara Shapiro Tapis from Lampung, South TEL 805/642-4466

WINTER 2009 7 from p. 1 the text of sasigyo is formulaic overlaid with lacquer layers to the interlacement. The weaver Sasigyo in Kathleen's and largely unremarkable. “Still, create the blank pages. Sylvia controls the pattern by bringing Collection: Sasigyo #1 the inscriptions reflect the beliefs Lu has affirmed this possibility the required pattern threads to and practices of the Burmese in a personal communication.7 the surface of the warp while From my collection of 45 Buddhist donors. The second part Cutting the pasoe into page-sized the rest of the tablets weave sasigyo, I have examined three of the inscription may contain a pieces and then stiffening them the background. The pattern which I consider to be excep- more personal expression of the with layers of lacquer composi- appears in the opposite color on tional. The first piece has a black pious hopes and wishes of the tion containing bone ash from the obverse side. This technique background rather than the individual donor. The dedica- the cremation of the deceased requires great skill and patience more usual indigo blue, red or tion on this black sasigyo tells us would create a powerful memo- in the weaver, plus a lively sense multicolored striped background. that the weaver was named Ma rial and create special merit for of design. Remarkably, the name of the Hpwa Mya, and that she was the donors and the departed. Sasigyo #2 weaver is woven into the piece weaving the band as an act of fil- My Burmese informant tells me in English! Perhaps there is some ial piety in order to bind a kam- that the practice is well known During a trip to Thailand in 2008, cultural ostentation here, since mavaca manuscript, made with among Burmans. Ralph Isaacs I was given several beautiful old the piece was probably woven the best silk hip wrapper (pasoe) recently presented a paper at sasigyo. One is in remarkably during the British colonial period. of her dead father.”6 the Burma Studies Conference pristine condition. It was woven The sasigyo can be read as text Subsequently, I received called, “Dammacedi: Manuscripts on a multicolor striped warp of starting from the loop and end- another communication from a and Other Objects Made with fine mill-made threads, placing it ing with the tail. (See translation translator in Yangon, Myanmar, Cremation Ashes,” in which he 8 within the British colonial period. below.) which puts another slant on details this practice. the inscription. He notes that All of the sasigyo examined Because of its color pattern, I Ralph Isaacs is a well-known ashes from the funeral pyre of for this article were woven call it “the rainbow sasigyo.” (See scholar of Burmese craft and has the departed might have been with the double-faced tablet Image p.1) I stopped in Taiwan contributed much to the knowl- included in the lacquer composi- weave technique. This allows on my way home and contacted edge about sasigyo. He kindly tion, called thayo, which is used for a nearly unlimited range of my friend, Tsai Yushan, who looked at the inscription on my to create lacquer objects, includ- weaver-controlled design, includ- teaches at the Fu Ren University black sasigyo, translated the dedi- ing manuscript pages. It is equally ing numerous unique decora- Graduate Department of Textile cation, and commented that, in possible that the silk pasoe was tive motifs, and yards-long texts and Fashion Design. I met her general, much of the first part of cut up and used as a foundation in ornate script within a single when we lived in Taiwan ten piece. The weaver uses a series years ago. She is an accom- of square tablets with holes plished tablet weaver and has in each corner which must be published a book on the subject FPO threaded with two light and two in Chinese. Detail of signature on “tail end” of sasigyo #1. Gift of Robert McCarthy, dark warp threads from front- When I showed her the Bangkok. to-back or back-to-front in a “rainbow sasigyo,” she was immediately intrigued and read- Translation of Sasigyo #1 (Translation by Kotoh) prescribed order. These threaded tablets are then rotated to create ily agreed to analyze it. Within May all beings be blessed! a shed opening through which a few months I had her very U Hpo Kyoo was a very pious Buddhist always practicing the Buddha’s a weft thread is passed to create thorough documentation of the teachings in life at Myin-Gun, a town where Buddhism glows brilliantly. U Hpo Kyoo was married to Ma Ka-lay, famed as a dutiful loving wife. They had seven children, namely Maung Ba Kyaw, Ma Hpwar Mya, Ma Hpwar Toke, Maung Ba Thet, Maung Soe Oo and Ma Choke in descend- ing order of ages. When U Hpo Kyoo passed away in due course, the family members with great enthusiasm gave their personal belongings to charity in the name of the deceased. Their generosity and faith in religion was so immense, like a flower being showered in heavy rain, that they transformed U Hpo Kyoo’s fine possessions such as pasoes, shawls and carpets into a volume of Nine- Chapter - Kamawar Scripture.* For the meritorious donation of this adorable holy scripture, by the miraculous fruition of paying homage to the Lord Buddha’s Teachings, We make our wish: May we attain Nirvanna straight and surely. May all beings, gods as well as humans, from our masters, parents and relatives To uncountable A sasigyo with a multi-colored striped warp, probably dating from the early numbers of beings in the countless number of universes, share our twentieth century, is shown with a full length weaving graph by Tsai Yushan. merit, and gladly say Sadhu! Sadhu! Well done! Well done!” With this graph, a competent tablet weaver could conceivably re-construct ”Manufacture by Ma Fwar Mya” the whole piece. Sasigyo in the collection of Kathleen Johnson, gift of Robert McCarthy. 8 TSA NEWSLETTER After analyzing and graphing Notes: Hendrickson, Linda. Double-Faced this long sasigyo, I was aston- Tablet Weaving: 50 Designs from 1. Ralph Isaacs, “Sasigyo: Textile ished at the person who created Around the World, Self-published Texts,” in the Oxford Asian Textile by Linda Hendrickson, Portland, it. I admire its rich and beautiful Group Newsletter, #34, June 2006, OR, 1996. ornamental motifs and content, p. 17. *Notes on tablet weaving tech- although I do not know the 2. Noel Singer, “Kamavaka niques used to make sasigyo, meaning of the text. I can imag- Texts, Their Covers and Binding private communication from ine that the weaver spent much Ribbons,” In Arts of Asia , May/ Linda Hendrickson. effort and time in designing the June, 1993, p. 97. ____. “Double-Faced Tablet 10 motif and text. The design 3. Sylvia Fraser-Lu, Burmese Crafts, Weaving,” teaching handout, shows considerable aesthetic Past and Present, pp 285-86,87. 1994. sensibility. The weaving of such 4. Suriya Smutkupt, Female ____. “Double-Faced Tablet a textile required admirable skill Lower Garment or Holy Manuscript Weaving,” Weaver’s Magazine, Wrapper? The Role of women in a and discernment.” Spring, 1997, pp.38-40. Buddhist Society, p.172. In working on this article I ____. Website: http://www.linda- 5. Noel Singer, “Kamavaka am a step closer to understand- hendrickson.com Texts, Their Covers and Binding Tsai Yushan at her sample loom ing these pieces; the mystery of Ribbons,” In Arts of Asia, May/June, Isaacs, Ralph, “Burmese Textile in Taipei. Tai reproduced the band their meaning, the manner of 1993, p. 104. shown below. Texts: Sazigyo,” pp103-113 in their production, use and the 6. Ralph Isaacs, personal commu- Textiles from Burma. Featuring the piece, including a hand-drawn beauty of their design. More nication by e-mail. James Henry Green Collection, graph for its entire six yards! cultural background in my article, 7. Sylvia Fraser-Lu, personal com- Edited by Elizabeth Dell and As a part of her study of this “Little Masterpieces,” and a com- munications by telephone and Sandra Dudly, Buppa Press in piece, she first graphed and then plete set of weaving drafts from e-mail. association with The James Green rewove a few sample motifs. Her Tsai Yushan are available on 8. Ralph Isaacs, Dammasedi: Centre for World Art, Brighton, Manuscripts, p. 1. skill, patience, and diligence are my web site: http://www.travlin- 2003. 9. Otfried Staudigel, Tablet Woven a good match for the sasigyo weaver.com/Sasigyofulllength.html. ____. “Sasigyo: Textile Texts,” Magic pp. 95-106 and 164-199. Oxford Asian Textile Group, weavers! Her comments are I hope my work will preserve 10. Tsai Yusan, personal commu- Newsletter No. 34, June 2006, pp. below. Graphs illustrating stages information which may be of nication by e-mail. 16-23. of her analysis are included in interest and value to other weav- ____. “Dammacedi: manuscripts the web version of this article. ers and scholars now and in the *All translations by Katoh, a trans- lator inf Yangon, Myanmar, who and other objects made with cre- She comments: future, perhaps one of them may works with foreign scholars. mation ashes:” unpublished paper “I think that long Burmese even be able to weave sasigyo delivered at the Burma Studies sasigyo is an incredible work! The again. Bibliography Conference, Dekalb, IL. Aug. 17, length of this band is very long 1998. (4.7 meters), width: 1.5~1.6cm, This article has been abridged for Collingwood, Peter. The Techniques ____. “Sazigyo from Burma warp density: 95~100 threads/ the newsletter. See the complete of Tablet Weaving, McMinnville, (Myanmar)”, with commentary by 1 cm, weft density: 22 threads/ article with detailed drafts for a third OR, Robin and Russ Handweavers, Ralph Isaacs: Linda Hendrickson’s 2002 1cm. It was woven with 38 cards band and an exciting update on the tablet weaving website, http:// _____. “Burmese Manuscript www.lindahendrickson.com/sazigyo. and the total of its warp threads is TSA website, www.textilesociety.org Bands,” TWIST, vol. XII, Issue 1, htm. 152 threads (38×4). Spring. 2005. Johnson, Kathleen, “Little Dell, Elizabeth & Sandra Dudley Masterpieces: the art of Sazigyo (Eds), Textiles from Burma, London, from the Collection of Herbert Philip Wilson, 2003, Chapter 5 by Haar”, in Sawaddi, Asian Arts Ralph Isaacs on sasigyo, pp.102-113. and Culture, by the American Goslee, Sarah, Tablet Weaving Women’s Club of Thailand, 2005, Structures: Theory and History, pp. 34-40. http://www.stringpage.com/tw/struc- tures.pdf Lu, Sylvia Fraser, Handwoven Textiles of South-East Asia, Haar, Herbert, “Burmese Sasigyo," Singapore, Oxford University unpublished paper, Bangkok, 1994. Press (1992). -----. Burmese Crafts Past and Present, Singapore, Oxford University Press (1994).

Left: Original band, Side A and Side B. Center: Color draft of design motif. Right: reproduction band by Tai Yushan. WINTER 2009 9 TEXTILE SOCIETY OF AMERICA introduced the stimulating and environmental crimes committed 11TH BIENNIAL SYMPOSIUM thought-provoking program against native groups. of the Symposium. Her work Chanel Clarke, Curator broadens the cultural significance Maori at the Auckland Museum, 2008 that textiles hold by elevating began her presentation with a and expanding their meanings mihi, or greeting and introduc- metaphysically. To Kimsooja, the tion, and in doing so made the needle and cloth allow one to vitality of the native language of TEXTILES AS CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS journey to all dimensions, across Aotearoa New Zealand imme- HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I time and space. diately clear. Her presentation on “Horiwear” discussed how 2008 SYMPOSIUM REVIEWS the metaphysicality of sewing–the – Sarah Scaturro, SNPS Awardee duality inherent in the back-and- language and subversive humor Keynote Address forth movements, the front and have been used by T-shirt design- “A Needle Woman,” Kimsooja Colonialism and First ers to undermine the derogatory back of the cloth, and the con- Nations People Thursday, Sep. 25, 2008 nective power of intertwining one label of Hori--Maori as meaning Friday, Sep. 26, 2008 to another. As she continued to 'uncivilized radical antagonists.' The 11th Biennial Symposium T-shirts sold under the label opened with a meditative, yet develop her voice, she expanded Many of us who have accessed the dual nature of the needle, the history of indigenous groups “Horiwear Aotearoa,” for exam- stimulating, keynote address by ple, have the phrase “Honor Our the Korean-born artist, Kimsooja. reflecting on its hermaphroditic through objects are keenly aware ability to both attack and heal of the links between events of Respective Iwi” placed under the Her work, best described as con- word Hori, showing that the term ceptual or performance-based, with its pointed, precise end, and the Colonial era and the col- its empty, voided eye. lecting of ethnographic artifacts has been appropriated in celebra- explores issues such as disem- tion and acknowledgement of bodiment, identification, and dis- Less metaphysical, but no now in institutions around the less symbolic, are Kimsooja’s world. The Symposium session, iwi, or tribal group solidarity. placement. Her role as the key- Other efforts to strengthen note speaker was poignant and fabric works. Earlier in her career “Colonialism and First Nations she used old clothes belonging People,” explored ways in which Maori culture have focused on expansive, as her work explores practice and teaching of tradi- the body’s ability to negotiate to family and friends, creating the experiences and reactions of works that were essentially por- Maori and First Nations people to tional arts. Christina Wirihana and connect natural and social and Kahutoi Te Kanawa are spaces through the metaphorical traits impregnated with the rem- their own history have given rise nants and memories of the bod- to renewed traditional practices weavers who work with harakeke actions of stitching, penetrating, (Phormium tenax, New Zealand and weaving. The title of her ies who once wore them, rep- and contemporary modes of resenting a network of invisible expression. flax), helping to maintain one address, “A Needle Woman,” of the most important technolo- refers to her videotaped perfor- existences. She soon after turned Cynthia Fowler’s presen- her attention to a three-dimen- tation “Bodily Presence and gies of the Maori people, and mances of the same name which promoting an understanding of took place from 1999-2001 in sional object, the bottari, a bundle Collective Experience: Examining wrapped in a cloth and tied with Sewing as Artistic Practice in the significance of historic arti- populous cities like Tokyo and facts. The discovery of a group New York, and again in 2005 in a single knot. Using bedcovers the Works of Marie Watt and made for newly married couples, Bonnie Devine,” nominated of archaeological textiles, and cities with a history of conflict, the subsequent reproduction of like Havana and Jerusalem. In all Kimsooja’s bundles of fabric for the Founding Presidents took on deeper dualistic mean- Award, focused on artists affili- one of them was the focus of Te performances, she stands solitary Kanawa’s paper. Working with and unmoving, while crowds ings, with the actions of wrap- ated with the Seneca Nation and ping and unwrapping serving the Serpent River First Nation. a conservator and curator, Te of people stream around her, Kanawa helped to correlate data alternately accepting or question- as metaphors of separation and These women connect to their delineation, inside and outside, history through the technique from microscopic examination ing the insertion of her presence of the artifacts with the work- into that space. In this and other birth and death (such as when a of sewing and the use of materi- woman leaves her home for mar- als that, like wool blankets and ing properties of the varieties video works, like “A Beggar of harakeke preferred for use Woman” and “A Homeless riage–i.e. becomes wrapped, or ribbonwork appliqué, simultane- the unwrapped, unfettered state ously recall textile techniques of in traditional weaving. Other Woman,” Kimsooja uses her fibers such as kiekie (screw pine, body as a needle, weaving it spa- of the fabric upon which a new their ancestors and the devasta- couple makes love). Her “Bottari tion brought upon them by trade Freycinetia banksii) and toi (cab- tially and temporally into nature bage tree, Cordyline indivisa) were and society. Truck” and “Cities on the Move” goods carrying the smallpox performances investigated the virus. The content and form of discussed as well. Kimsooja’s talk explored the Wirihana’s paper on chronological development of nomadic and transformative Watt’s intimate “Ledger: Ladder” meanings of the wrapped bundle (2004) references creation myth “Kakahu” described different her art with an emphasis on the types of cloaks made and worn importance to her of sewing and by playing with ideas of travers- and life cycles, while Devine’s ing space and time. transcendent “Canoe” (2003), according to the status of the fabric. She described the “thun- wearer and the occasion. Kahu derbolt” she felt the first time The choice of Kimsooja uses a traditional form rendered as the keynote speaker was in a non-traditional way to con- kuri, a cloak made only for she pierced fabric with a needle, men of high rank using strips when she instinctually realized an inspired selection that vey the severity of 20th-century

10 TSA NEWSLETTER of dog skin and dog fur applied confronting staff during the exhib- The seminar renewed my spirit Hawaiian quilts from the late to a twined fiber foundation, is it reconstruction. to create relevant exhibits that 19th and early 20th centuries. thought to perhaps pre-date the Panelist Noelle Kahanu’s communicate the depth and These included rare flag quilts Kahu huruhuru, or feather cloak. poignant discussion thought- beauty of textile practices. in red, blue, and white, as well Adoption of wool (“Berlin”) fully situated the restoration – Margarete Ordon, SNPS Awardee as the more familiar two-color yarns, cotton candlewick yarn within the museum’s mission to graphic appliqué quilts that con- and tapestry techniques indicate tinue to be popular among mod- be a part of a living culture by Exhibition: Beaten and that methodologies evolved ern quilt and textile enthusiasts. celebrating contemporary practi- Basted: A Collection of within the parameters of the tioners as well as acknowledging Draped over the grand piano, Rare Kapa and Quilts Kakahu as a result of trade with Hawaii’s complex history. Maile beds, and a chaise lounge, these Sep. 20–Oct. 30, 2008 the West. Drake’s exhibit critique asserted quilts represent changes in textile – Anne Peranteau, SNPS Awardee that museum professionals must A blend of the popular mid- production with Western influ- conduct thorough research into 19th century Greek Revival ences of the late 19th century. Native Hawaiians traditionally Site Seminar: objects and include indigenous style and Hawaiian architecture, perspectives from the beginning the Queen Emma Summer used bark cloth for textile prod- Presenting Culturally of a project, in order to ensure Palace reflects the multicultural ucts including clothing and bed- Sensitive Exhibitions accurate, sensitive representa- influences in Hawaiian culture ding. With the introduction of Friday, Sep. 26, 2008 tions. Keola Awong’s personal represented by the objects in its European culture, the indigenous experience bringing together collection. The Palace houses textile tradition was replaced The 2008 Symposium Site indigenous community members both indigenous artifacts—pieces by European-influenced textile Seminars offered opportunities to with Hawaii Volcanoes National of indigenous tapa or kapa (bark) products. become immersed in Honolulu’s Park staff, clearly illustrated the cloth, feather artifacts, and wood- Although the historic house cultural institutions. The Bishop feasibility and importance of inte- en dishes, all made of native had some limitations in its ability Museum seminar, moderated by grating communities with institu- materials—and European style to interpret the Hawaiian past Karen Kosasa, included a tour through its period rooms, and tional projects. furniture and sumptuous gifts of the historic restoration of to function as gallery space for Although the seminar was presented to Hawaiian royalty Hawaiian Hall currently in pro- objects such as quilts, the Queen not primarily focused on textiles, by countries including England, cess, followed by presenters inti- Emma Summer Palace offers an the presenters’ diverse back- France, India, and Japan. This mately involved in crafting public inspiring and engaging exhibition grounds enhanced the content. collection demonstrates the foun- perceptions of their heritage. that introduces the multicultural Textiles cannot be isolated from dation for Hawaii’s receptivity to With the museum transitioning influences of Hawaiian material their cultural circumstances or diverse ethnic cultures. to a new physical and conceptual culture to the visitor. from the people who make and Stepping into the palace’s spa- format, the presenters augment- use them. The presenters inti- cious entrance hall with its high – Nao Nomura, SNPS Awardee ed the call for change with their mately spoke about this concern, ceilings, visitors are welcomed by personal experiences and under- as they cogently argued for inclu- the portraits of Alexander ‘Iolani standings of the complex issues Exhibition: Tattered sive involvement of indigenous Liholiho, Kamehameha IV (1834- around exhibiting indigenous Cultures: Mended peoples and respect for objects. 1863), Emma Kalanikaumaka culture, artifacts, and art. Histories While the presentations Kaleleonalani (1836-1885), and Museum staff walked could easily stand independently Prince Albert Edward Kauikeaouli In the exhibition “Tattered seminar participants through the of the site, the immediate expe- Leiopapa a Kamehameha Cultures: Mended Histories” at museum. We stopped at the ’Ili rience of the Bishop Museum (1858-1862). Although not all the Academy Arts Center in Iho” exhibit which featured four complemented the papers. In the objects in the collection are Honolulu (Sep. 6-20, 2008), textiles from the museum’s col- Hawaiian Hall, I felt the exhibit original to the Palace, a com- the concept of mending has lection to which eight Native grow around us as we helped prehensive array of artifacts a physical presence expressed Hawaiian artists responded in a students bundle grass for a repli- offers a glimpse into the royal through the work of 20 art- variety of media. The staff pas- ca building. In the exhibition, “‘Ili family’s life as well as into more ists from varying countries and sionately described how Hawaiian Iho,” I reflected on contemporary general Hawaiian culture. The backgrounds. Artist and curator, Hall, then gutted of objects, will and historic Native Hawaiian large loa wood bed that Queen Mary Babcock, presents the be transformed into a physical textile arts curated by Native Emma slept on contrasts with idea of “mending” as a potent manifestation of the Hawaiian Hawaiians. An afternoon spent at the traditional bedding of layered metaphor for cultural enrich- worldview. Once completed, the a museum only allows a glimpse tapa cloth preferred by King ment and transformation,’ bring- display cases, paralleling lunar into complex realities, rich aes- Kamehamea. Multicultural influ- ing together artists who desire to cycles, will highlight the arts and thetic experiences, and essential ences were embodied in objects reconnect to the cultural narra- lives of Native Hawaiians. Visitors textile practices. Nevertheless, of everyday life, such as bedding tive of their life, addressing the will be able to open drawers to I appreciated the presenters’ and furniture in the period rooms. tattered ends of their histories. explore stories in the indigenous personal stories and sensitive In addition to the glorious Through numerous materi- language or dispute misconcep- opinions on how museums can objects that belonged to Queen als and techniques, each artist tions. Seeing the museum physi- best share and celebrate cultural Emma and her family, the Palace tackles this subject, inviting the cally in flux illuminated challenges beliefs, practices, and objects. exhibited nearly twenty dazzling viewers into an intimate and to p. 12 WINTER 2009 11 from p. 11 Textile Identification Workshop. Quilts of Bengal” (Fall, 2009); personal conversation. Lisa Désirée Koslin, adjunct Assistant The Adirondack Museum, Blue Solomon’s work, “3 Generations: Professor of Fashion and Textile ollections Mountain Lake, NY, for “Common Obasan, Ocasan, Grammy and Studies at the Fashion Institute of C Threads: 150 Years of Adirondack Me,” explores the intersection of Technology, headed the work- Quilts and Comforters.” Planning her two cultures through a series shop, assisted by Susan Brown, News Grants: Ukrainian Museum, of four stitched portraits. Each assistant curator at the Cooper- New York, for an exhibition of incorporates layers of translucent Hewitt National Design Museum, Ukrainian wedding-related textiles; silk stretched over an embroidery New York. Yeshiva University Museum, New hoop; visually and conceptually Susan began the workshop York, for an exhibition of Torah separating each figure from the by showing different printed Centre National du binders; Shelburne Museum, VT, for “In Context: Clothing and thin outline of the US or Japan. textiles and illustrating such Costume de Scene et Interiors, 1750-1950.” Additional Singular woven pieces of cloth print techniques as stencil and de la Senographie Support: projects based on mod- are pinned to the wall in Sharon silkscreen, block print, batik resist, The CNCS (National Centre ern and contemporary textiles and Marcus’s “Undocumented,” a and engraved print and roller tech- for Stage Costumes) opened in fashion include: Addison Gallery work inspired by the pieces of niques. Fabric samples represent- Moulins-sur-Allier, France in May, of American Art, Andover, MA, cloth left behind at border cross- ing a comprehensive overview of 2008, under the chairmanship of for a Sheila Hicks retrospective; ings between the US and Mexico. major historical and current tech- Christian LaCroix. The institution Japan Society, New York, for was founded by the French Ministry She engages the subject of immi- niques were distributed to the class. “Serizawa: Master of Japanese of the Arts and Communication in gration by creating intimate pieces As Désirée explained the unique Textile Design;” The Museum at partnership with the Moulins Town that reflect the individual who characteristics of each printing FIT, New York, for “Gothic: Dark Council, the Allier Departmant is leaving his culture behind. In technique and surface finish, we Glamour;” Erie Art Museum for Council, and the Auvergne Region “Part and Particle,” Denise Ava matched each sample according to “Kanga & Kitenge: Cloth and Council. The Centre is dedicated Robinson uses coralline algae, an the outlined specifications. Culture in East Africa;” Grey Art to the history of the performing ocean “fabric” native to the coastal The diagnostic approach to Gallery, NYU, for “The Poetics arts and theatrical professions, spe- regions of Tasmania, to investigate identifying standard printed fabrics of Cloth: African Textiles/Recent cializing in costumes and fashion, the journey of life, death, and involved a methodological inves- Art;” Cooper-Hewitt National and houses a prestigious collection transformation of the aboriginal tigation of the textile, beginning Design Museum for “Fashioning of 10,000 stage costumes from people of her native land. with the substrate and working up Felt.” Coby funds also supported the French National Library, the This by no means adequately to the surface design. Identifying “Wedded Bliss: The Marriage of Art Paris National Opera House, the addresses each of the narratives the textile substrate helps to and Ceremony,” at the Peabody Comedie-Francaise, and from present in this exhibition. The determine the printing technique. Essex Museum, Salem, MA, private threatrical companies. works mentioned are just a few Other identifying features, such and distribution of the film Blue It mounts a regular schedule of of the stories that unfold as these as colored backgrounds, can help Alchemy: Stories of Indigo, by inde- exhibitions and its archives are artists focus on “[the] concerns of distinguish between piece-dyed pendent filmmaker Mary Lance. available to researchers. CNCS has marginalization, colonialism and textiles and dyes applied directly The Foundation funds pro- published the following books since jects in the mid-Atlantic and the social justice as an essential dis- or through a stencil. A close 2006: Betes de Scene, Theodore Northeast that combine excellent course within textile arts.” These examination of the printed motifs de Banville et le Theatre, J'Aime scholarship and effective interpre- artists remind us that textiles are provides additional cues, accord- Les Militaires!, Christian Lacroix tation in the arts or humanities, strong communicators; they have ing to the registration of motifs, Costumier, Jean-Paul Gaultier/ contemporary or historical, and the ability to mend the often frag- stylistic features, texture effects, Regine Chopinot: le Defile, and with a public benefit. Direct pro- mented ends of our past, present, and colors used in the print. Costumes des 1001 Nuits. posals and inquiries to: and future. All of these techniques were – Vanessa Portut, Head Librarian Executive Director Ward L.E. Mintz applied in the afternoon practi- [email protected] Quotes by Mary Babcock, from the The Coby Foundation, Ltd. cum, as groups of students exam- exhibition catalog. 511 Ave. of the Americas #387 ined historic textiles for identifi- Coby Foundation New York, NY 10011. – Lesli Robertson, SNPS Awardee cation. In addition to hands-on Grants activities, participants were treat- In 2008, The Coby Foundation, Tapestry Collection Pre-Symposium ed to a behind-the-scenes tour Ltd. supported projects in the Seeks Curator of the Bishop Museum‘s storage textile and needle arts field Workshop: Identifying Family-owned tapestry collection area to view printed barkcloth with grants totaling $525,000 Textiles: Surface Finishes based in southern New Hampshire textiles (kapa), and kapa-mak- to 14 organizations. Exhibition and Techniques seeks a part-time curator to pre- Grants: Connecticut Historical ing tools. As the bus returned to pare a brochure and research Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2008 Society, Hartford, for “Arts and the hotel, Susan passed around exhibition opportunities. If inter- modern textiles from Japan with Accomplishments: Early American For over twenty attendees, the ested, please contact Amy Merrill, unique textures, ending the work- Needlework in Connecticut, 2008 Symposium kicked off on [email protected]. shop by tying in contemporary 1740-1840,” (fall 2010); a beautiful Wednesday morning surface finishes. Philadelphia Museum of Art for while heading to the Bishop “Nakshi Kantha: The Embroidered Museum to participate in the – Elizabeth Nunan

12 TSA NEWSLETTER and scholars with access to the H. Hamilton Center for Costume PMA’s renowned collection. One and Textiles, including a Study of the largest in the US, it counts Room inaugurated in Sep. 2008. Featured some 30,000 pieces of western Finished with light wood flooring high-fashion textiles, as well as and dark cabinetry, it provides Collection costumes from around the world. bright and spacious quarters for Ample room for the project to scholars, students and specialists spread its wings—-and its wares— to examine pieces by appoint- was assured with the PMA’s ment. With Philadelphia’s numer- purchase in 2000 of an adjacent ous university fashion, textile New Costume and art deco-style building. Gluckman and design courses, the Study Textiles Facilities Mayner Architects, NY, was hired Room is already in high demand. to transform the historic edifice Connected via a corridor with At Philadelphia into contemporary office and departmental offices are the Museum of Art gallery space, and this it accom- state-of-the-art Conservation Lab plished admirably by adding a and 7,600 sq. ft. new Collection SA MEMBERS WILL WANT TO new wing and converting the Storage Area. Curators and con- Tinclude Philadelphia in any interior of the existing building. servators were closely involved in Art handlers move the costume and future travel plans. Between the A covered atrium bridges the two designing these facilities, including textiles collections to the new storage autumns of 2007 and 2008 structures and infuses the entire the lab’s expanded capacities for space at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photo by Andrea Nuñez. the Philadelphia Museum of space with warm natural light. wet and chemical cleaning, and Art opened two new galleries Renamed the Ruth and Raymond easy access to exhibit staging Stories: the Ella King Torrey and a study room for costumes G. Perelman Building, it opened to areas. Collection of African American and textiles and moved into the public in the fall of 2007. In addition, the Costume and Quilts and Other Recent spacious, state-of-the-art con- Within this new structure, tex- Textiles Department has retained Acquisitions.” servation and storage facilities. tiles are given a choice placement. its original Gallery 271 on the The Costume and Textiles Nine years in the making, these One of three first-floor exhibit gal- second floor of the main building. Study Gallery opened in Nov. spaces advantageously showcase leries is the Joan Spain Gallery for Located within the wing hous- 2007 with “Costumes and Textiles: the collection, as well as the Costume and Textiles. Measuring ing European Art from 1500 to Recent Acquisitions from A to scholarship, creativity and dedi- 2,000 square feet, the Spain 1850, it will display American and Z,” followed by “Hello! Fashion: cation which the museum and Gallery hosts feature exhibitions, European objects before 1900. Kansai Yamamoto, 1970-1973.” its staff bring to it. both traveling shows and those While infrastructure is vital, At the time of the author’s visit in In the early 1980s, the Phila- drawn from the museum’s hold- so, too, are the creative minds Sep. 2008, on view in Gallery 271 delphia Museum of Art (PMA) ings. The open room and versatile that give it life. And thus far was an informative display on closed its popular, long-running lighting can be adapted to radical- Senior Curator Dilys Blum, and Chinoiserie featuring 18th- and fashion galleries, and during this ly different installation modes. On Kristina Haugland, Associate 19th-century European fabrics. interim the textile department the second floor of the Perelman Curator and Supervising Curator In 2009, the public can look mounted a special exhibition Building is the intimate 1,200 sq. for the Study Room, have dem- forward to similar variety, with every few years. In the early ft. Textiles Study Gallery, opened onstrated admirable vision and a late spring exhibition on Paris 1990s, one tiny 400 sq. ft. gal- in Fall, 2007. With two walls of range, producing appealing dis- fashion from the PMA collections lery was allocated for the display deep cases and another wall of plays supported by serious schol- dating from the mid-19th cen- of costumes and textiles. Since smaller cubicle-like vitrines, it arship. Building on strong Indian tury to the First World War, and that time, curators, donors and aims to highlight the collection and Asian collections, the depart- a fall installation of Bangladeshi the museum administration col- and allow for the easy rotation ment has in recent years striven kantha embroideries from the lectively imagined new ways of objects. Located as well on to add African pieces, and to date PMA’s extensive holdings. During to provide the public, students the second floor is the Dorance their exhibitions have covered a that same time the Study Gallery variety of times, places, and the will display modern fashion. For meetings of East and West. more information, see www. The Spain Gallery has thus philadelphiamuseum.org/exhibitions far hosted three exhibits, includ- and www.philamuseum.org/collec- ing “A Passion for Perfection: tions/22-398-552-440.html James Galanos, Gustave Tassell, Ralph Rucci” (Fall 2007-Spring Note: The author thanks Kristina Haugland for providing a guided 2008), “Fashioning Kimono: Art tour and supplementary informa- Deco and Modernism in Japan” tion. All photos are used with (Summer, 2008), and “Quilt permission. “Recent Acquisitions A-Z” in the new –Sarah Fee Joan Spain Gallery for Costume and Postdoctoral Fellow, Textiles, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Photo by Andrea Nuñez. Musée du Quai Branly, Paris

WINTER 2009 13 the communities represented. For with a one-day international Ruth Braunstein has exhibited example, the collection contains Symposium, “The Future of West “sculptural clay, fiber art, art furni- xhibition a heavily embroidered skirt, likely Indian Embroidery: Handwork, ture, and glass, alongside paintings, E stitched by the Mutwa commu- Globalization, and NGOs,” held drawings, and sculpture, in a fine nity of northern Kutch, the likes Nov. 3, 2008. The Symposium arts environment” for 47 years. Reviews of which have not been made provided an opportunity to reflect Seven chosen artists were or worn since the ‘60’s. Some on changes that have occurred to given free rein to explore per- of the most outstanding pieces embroidered textiles in Western sonal interpretations of transpar- in the collection are featured in India, the role of NGOs in ency. Their responses provide the exhibition, “Sparkling Indian facilitating those changes, and both cohesion and tension, for THE FUTURE OF WEST INDIAN Embroidery: The World of Indian future directions for craftsper- among many works created of EMBROIDERY: HANDWORK, Handicraft.” The Mutwa skirt, sons working with textiles. The sheer cloth, there are also works GLOBALIZATION, AND NGOS for example, is prominently dis- Symposium included presenta- of a surprising physical solidity, in played and graces the cover of tions by Katsuhiko Kano, Michele paraticular the works of Charissa SYMPOSIUM NOV. 3, 2008 the exhibition catalogue. Hardy, Laila Tyabji, with com- Brock and of installation/perfor- THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF Other examples include a ments and discussion by Miwa mance artist Adam (the late Paul ETHNOLOGY, OSAKA, JAPAN Sodha Rajput blouse yoke, heavily Kanetani, Minoru Mio, and B.B. Cotton). In Adam's “Random stitched and encrusted with carda- Bhasin. Presenters highlighted the House Converter/Trance-Former SPARKLING INDIAN mom pods and cloves. Whether lived experiences of craftspeople, #5.” One peers through a series EMBROIDERY: THE WORLD OF the spices are meant to scent the many challenges they face in of open doorways expecting a the wearer, ward off malignant production, and their negotiations mirrored reflection of oneself, INDIAN HANDCRAFT forces, or prevent insect damage, between local and global con- and sees instead a blank wall or, OCT. 9, 2008- MAR. 31, 2009 is unclear but evocative. Another texts. While the future of West occasionally, another gallery visi- THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF fine example is a woollen, tie- Indian embroidery lies in the resil- tor. The successive framed open- ETHNOLOGY, OSAKA, JAPAN dyed and embroidered veil, made ient, creative hands of embroider- ings function as portals where, and worn by Bopa Rabari women ers, the dialogues surrounding according to Adam, the viewer LTHOUGH NOT WELL KNOWN in Saurashtra, Gujarat. The exhi- them and interpreting them to becomes both subject and object. Aoutside of Japan, there is bition includes contemporary wider audiences/markets, have Charissa Brock's solid, sculp- considerable Japanese scholarly photographs of craftspeople, inter- never been more impassioned or tural work is an intriguing choice interest in India, particularly in active videos on various cultural sparkling. for the concept of transparencies. Indian textiles. There are signifi- and technical topics, and embroi- – Michele A. Hardy In the past 10 years, she has cant private and public collec- dery samples, thoughtfully placed Calgary, Canada made innovative and master- tions of Indian cloths in Japan, throughout the gallery. The – Miwa Kanetani-Funakawa ful use of bamboo as an artistic notably Hiroko Iwate’s collec- exhibition catalog, Sparkling Indian Osaka, Japan medium. “Speaking from Below” tion (partially featured in her Embroidery: The World of Indian and “Dwelling” are fabricated books Textiles: The Soul of India, Handicrafts based on B.B. Bhasin’s from bits of bamboo which fill 2007, and Desert Village: Life and Collection,” published in Japanese TRANSPARENCIES a gracefully shaped framework. Crafts, 1984), as well as close by Showado, Kyoto, Japan, 2008, The viewer peers through holes associations between Indian and (ISBN978-4-8122-0846-5), exam- BRAUNSTEIN QUAY GALLERY created from cross-sections of Japanese craftspeople, designers, ines the ethnography of Western SAN FRANISCO, CA bamboo culms, as if looking and NGOs, and numerous publi- India and technical features of JUL. 3 -AUG. 30, 2008 through an exotic, oversized cations in Japanese. embroidery, as well as the his- mask into another time and In 2007 the textile collec- tory of NGO and governmental HEN CURATOR MYRA BLOCK place. This new work of Brock’s tion of Mr. B.B. Bhasin joined involvement in handicrafts devel- Wis involved in an exhibit, is self-assured and graceful in her the permanent holdings of The opment since 1947. we are treated to exquisite use of Persian boteh-like shapes National Museum of Ethnology Symposium. The exhibi- examples of fiber art. Block is reminiscent of Indian or Islamic (MINPAKU) in Osaka, Japan. tion was further enhanced known for giving exposure to decorative art, strange musical The collection, made by Bhasin emerging artists in the fiber field, instruments, or tribal masks. during his tenure with various and she follows the careers of Other artists in the collec- state and federal crafts devel- established artists through her tion use sheer materials such opment organizations, 1984- online art gallery, Fiberscene.com. as organza or screening that fit 1995, numbers 360 pieces and She is a frequent guest cura- comfortably into the theme. enhances MINPAKU’s holdings of tor at the esteemed Braunstein Connie Utterback's colorful, dyed Indian artifacts. The Bhasin collec- Quay Gallery in San Francisco, a nylon screening elements are tion—coupled with the insights of “crossover gallery,” where hung with their overlapping layers the venerable collector—contains close to the wall to take on the important examples of mid-20th Woolen tied, dyed and embroidered veil, made and worn by Bopa Rabari appearance of an ethereal quilt. century folk embroideries from women in Saurashtra, Gujarat, Line is important in Utterback’s Western India, enhancing the his- collection of the National Museum toric and ethnographic record of of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan.

14 TSA NEWSLETTER work, and the colorful shapes in results from layering similar MINIMES: SMALL WOVEN received her MFA from Yale in transparent images. These works “Lorenz” resemble animals or ath- WORKS BY SHEILA HICKS 1959. She has been based in letes or other fluid forms. “Grain recall Katherine Westphal’s Paris since 1964. Her work–large of Sand” is more static, due to its delightful travel memory kimo- DAVIS AND LANGDALE CO. INC, NYC and small–is found in museums grid-like structure, and recalls tra- nos, but Avila’s work draws us OCT. 1-NOV. 8, 2008 and private collections in the US, ditional pieced quilts. into hazy layers of personal mem- Europe, Asia, and South America. F ONE WANTS TO SEE WHAT ART The five quiet white organza ory, where deeper issues abound. A major traveling exhibition of in fiber is all about, the Sheila objects by Linda Hutchins deal Occupying the back of the I 50 years of the artist‘s work will Hicks miniature exhibition last with issues of memory: holding gallery is a monumental work by open in 2010, curated by Susan fall was the place to spend some and letting go. Formed over com- Marie-Laure Ilie which addresses C. Faxon, Associate Director of time understanding how expres- mon articles such as her grand- the question of permanency. A the Addison Gallery of American sive yarn can be when it tran- mother’s goblet, an egg basket, dense forest of tall columns of Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, scends material emphasis, and or an old hammer head, these printed sheer fabric is inhabited MA; and Joan Simon, Curator- instead suggests abstract expres- now-empty ethereal forms evoke by headless sculptural forms in At-Large, Whitney Museum of sions of landscape, history, and hazy memories of their past lives. classic togas and robes, and also American Art, New York. A emotion. The medium was not Hutchins patiently hand stitches in the classic contemporary garb two-year touring schedule will be the message here, but the color, her organza forms and it is this of white T-shirts with male or available soon. shadows, shine, and textures touch of handwork that makes female attributes. Suspended in showed that only yarn can create – Nell Znamierowski her art so poignant. A sixth piece the middle of the installation is a such a complex, beautiful surface hung on a far wall and glowing in mysterious circle of white masks. for the message. the spotlight, is the most emotion- For Ilie, the generic faces repre- The show consisted of ally provocative work in the exhib- sent our ubiquitous human pres- 23 small (approx. 5.5" x 9.5") it. Constructed as a “slipcover” for ence and beg the question: “what mounted miniatuare weavings a live jade plant that is now shriv- is beauty?” The artist spoke of ook executed in 2008, accompanied B eled and broken, it speaks of the “populations on the march,” and by statements of the artist‘s inten- maternal struggle between nurtur- of constant change. Certainly eviews tions. These consisted of two or R ing and smothering. In her quiet the printed Greek and English three lines of Hicks‘ thoughts voice, Hutchins touches a chord words on the columns remind written while creating each of universal human truth. us that just as the Ancient Greek weaving. These poetic musings Of note is the work of recent language passed into oblivion, served to bring the viewer even CCA graduate, Ali Naschke- so could our English language One Needle, One Thread: deeper into each piece—a nice Messing, whose intriguing and T-shirt-wearing culture fade Miao (Hmong) Embroidery touch, but not really necessary, site-specific installation, “Two away. But for Illie, the essence and Fabric Piecework from for the beauty of each weaving Hundred and Twenty-Nine” con- of humanity will remain. It is Guizhou, China. was enough to stand on its own. sists of green threads suspended interesting to go behind the col- by Tomoko Torimaru A catalog is available for $4 from from the top of the gallery wall umns to see that they are only Translator: Yoshiko I. Wada Davis and Langdale, 231 E. 60th and glued into a fortuitous jag- half-tubes. The perception from University of Hawai’i Art Gallery St. New York, NY 10022; TEL ged crack in the concrete floor. the other side is no longer that ISBN 978-1-60702-173-5 $38.00 212/838-0333. Block's eye for emerging talent is of architectural strength, but the This was the second show NE NEEDLE, ONE THREAD evidenced by this work and the fragility of sheer cloth. of Hicks‘ small works in New by Tomoko Torimaru com- accompanying “What City Girl” “Everyone has a concept O York City. The first exhibition pletes the trilogy of books result- from the “Dirty Poem Series,” of transparency,” according to in 2006 at the Bard Center for ing from twenty-plus years of with its floating machine-stitched Block, “from the simplicity of Graduate Studies was a retro- research on Miao textiles by this fragments of text. thin fabric or the porous open- spective of her early miniatures. mother-and-daughter team of Drs. Susan Taber Avila’s two large ings in a sculptural work, to Although primarily noted for Sadae and Tomoko Torimaru. panels, “Streets of Saigon” and the concept that transparency large, commissioned installations Spiritual Fabric (2001/2006) and “Recuerdos de Guatemala” are implies the unknown or unseen.” in venues around the world, mini- Imprints on Cloth (2004) inves- created from pieced layers of These seven artists explore the atures have been an important tigate weaving of complex pat- digitally printed silk gauze over theme in their unique styles, and part of her terns and dyeing the shiny indigo printed cloth. She makes effec- we are the richer for looking at oeuvre fabric which is iconic to the Miao tive use of the moiré quality of the world through their eyes and since costume. This volume builds layered sheer fabrics and of her through their art. Hicks first on the earlier scholarship while signature technique of machine – Barbara Shapiro appeared delving into the gorgeous variety stitching on a dissolving substrate. on the of embellishment techniques The work evokes complexity of “Colza Reeve,” by Sheila Hicks, 2008. scene in still in use by the Miao to distin- memory along with references Woven cotton, silk, and linen, 9 3/16" x 5 3/8". “A violet granite quarry is the 1960s. guish among village groups. The to Avila’s travels to Vietnam and lodged in yellow fields of vigorously A native of Western mind longs for explana- Guatemala. The frenetic sense of growing Colza. It struggles to not Nebraska, tions of the symbolism in each Vietnamese motor scooter traffic be overtaken but next season it will to p. 18 surely disappear.” Hicks

WINTER 2009 15 FiberArt,” in partnership with the Perfect Fit: Shoes Tell Stories.” NEBRASKA Fiber Arts Institute of the Academy www.fullercraftmuseum.org International Quilt Study of the Arts and Design at Tsinghua Center & Museum, University University, Beijing. May 5-Jul. 26: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. xhibitions of Nebraska, Lincoln. To Apr. 5: E “Connections: Small Tapestry To Jun. 21: “’And so to Bed’: “Yikes! Stripes.” To May 17: “Chintz International,” American Tapestry Indian Bed Curtains from a Stately Appliqué: From Imitation to Icon.” Alliance juried exhibition. English Home.” www.mfa.org Apr. 10-Jun. 14: “Grace Snyder: www.sjquiltmuseum.org A Life in Extraordinary Stitches.” MINNESOTA May 23-Nov.: “American Quilts in CONNECTICUT American Swedish Institute, the Modern Age.” Jun. 19-Jul. 19: United States Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford. Minneapolis. Jan. 23-Mar. 29: “Quilt Japan: Selections from Ninth To Jan. 25: “Who Was Anna “Radiant Knits: The Bohus Tra- Annual Quilt Nihon Exhibition.” CALIFORNIA Tuels? Quilt Stories, 1750-1900.” dition,” history of the Swedish Jul. 24-Oct.: “Crazy Quilts.” Design Museum, University of www.wadsworthatheneum.org Bohus knitting style and industry www.quiltstudy.org California, Davis. May 7-Jul. 5: (1939-69). “Feet Forward: Footwear from the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA www.americanswedishinst.org Robert Hillestad Gallery, UC Davis Design Collection.” The Textile Museum. To Feb. 1: University of Nebraska, Lincoln. designmuseum.ucdavis.edu “The Finishing Touch: Accessories Textile Center of Minnesota, Feb. 9-Mar. 6: “Praha Fashion: from the Bolivian Highlands.” To Minneapolis. To Feb. 23: “A Two Designers and their Stories,” Asian Art Museum, San Mar. 8: “Timbuktu to Tibet: Rugs Common Thread,” member exhi- 15 years of Czech fashion. Mar. Francisco. To Mar. 1: “Arts of the and Textiles of the Hajji Babas,” bition. Mar. 6-apr. 18: “Web and 16-Apr. 10: “Lia Cook In Touch: Islamic World from Turkey to with over 70 North African, Flow,” juried basketry exhibition. Faces and Mazes,” woven works. Indonesia.” www.asianart.org Middle Eastern and Asian textiles www.textilecentermn.org Apr. 20-May 15: Mary Pattavina, and rugs. Mar. 6-Jan. 3, 2010: MFA exhibit. Minneapolis Institute of Arts. De Young Museum, San “Recent Acquisitions.” Apr. 4-Sep. www.nebraskahstory.org To Jan. 25: “Outside Influences: Francisco. To Apr. 5: “Yves Saint 6: “Constructed Color: Amish Laurent.” www.thinker.org/deyoung Jack Lenor Larsen and African Quilts.” TEL 202/667-0441. NEW HAMPSHIRE Aesthetics,” African textiles with www.textilemuseum.org Hood Museum of Art, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Larsen’s 1962 African Collection. Dartmouth College. Apr. 11-Aug. San Francisco. To Feb. 15: “The To Mar. 1: “Working with Nature: HAWAII 31: “Wearing Wealth and Styling Shape of Things: Paper Traditions Twentieth-Century Textile Art,” Identity: Tapis from Lampung, and Transformations” explores the Bishop Museum, Honolulu. nine textile artists use imagery South Sumatra, Indonesia.” Curated history of cut, folded, and molded To Apr. 5: “’Ili Iho: The Surface from the natural world to reflect by Mary Louise Totton. Catalog. paper, alongside artists who intro- Within,” selections from the Bishop on art and community. To May 31: http://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/ duce fresh perspectives on those Museum’s collection and works by “Sleeping in Style: Textiles for the traditional forms. www.mofca.org eight Hawaiian textile artists. Bedroom.” Feb. 7-Aug. 2: “Outside www.bishopmuseum.org Influences: Jack Lenor Larsen on NEW MEXICO Lacis Museum of Lace & the Silk Road.” Museum of International Folk Textiles, Berkeley. To Feb. 3: “Lace INDIANA www.artsmia.org Art, Santa Fe. To Feb. 15: “Needles Comes of Age: Tape Lace from Indianapolis Museum of Art. and Pins,”needlework tools and the 17th to the 21st Centuries.” To Apr. 5: “Shared Beauty: Eastern Goldstein Museum of Design, techniques. May 15-Aug. 16: www.lacismuseum.org Rugs and Western Beaded Purses” University of Minnesota, St. Paul. “Writing with Thread: Traditional looks at influences of Eastern art on Feb. 7-Jun. 14: “Expressions of Textiles of Southwest Chinese LA County Museum of Art. Western art and fashion through the Stability and Change: Ethnic Dress Minorities.” To Mar. 15: “Five Centuries of motifs on flapper-era beaded purs- and Folk Costume.” www.internationalfolkart.org Indonesian Textiles: Selections es. To Jun. 14: “Orly Genger,” instal- http://goldstein.che.umn.edu from the Mary Hunt Kahlenberg lation. Apr. 4-Oct. 25: “Fashion in NEW YORK Collection.” www.lacma.org Bloom.” TEL 317/923-1331. MISSOURI American Folk Art Museum, www.ima-art.org Belger Arts Center, Kansas City. New York. Apr. 21-Sep. 13: Mingei International Museum, May 29-Sep. 4: “Stitches in Time: “Kaleidoscope Quilts: The Art Escondido. To Mar. 22: “Nomadic KANSAS The Art of Ray Materson;” “Small of Paula Nadelstern.” Legacy: Tent and Textiles from Wichita Center for the Arts. Wonder, Secrets of a Collector,” www.folkartmuseum.org Central Asia and Iran.” Mar. 13-May 10: “Fiber Directions Jennifer Angus; “A Pause in the www.mingei.org 2009,” juried exhibition. Rhythm of Time,” Alice Kettle; and American Folk Art Museum, “Special Showing: Two Pieces by El Lincoln Sq. Branch, New York. Mingei International Museum, www.wcfta.com Anatsui.” www.belgerartcenter.org To Mar. 15: “Recycling and San Diego. To Jun. 28: “Shibui: Resourcefulness: Quilts of the The Subtle Beauty of Japanese MASSACHUSETTS Byron C. Cohen Gallery of 1930s.” Mar. 24-Aug. 23: “Textural Craft.” www.mingei.org Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton. Contemporary Art, Kansas City. Rhythms: Constructing the Jazz To Mar. 8: “Portions of the Re- May 1-Jul. 11: “On the Curve,” Tradition--Contemporary African San Jose Museum of Quilts & Possessed: Fiber Work by Xenobia installations by Regina V. Benson. American Quilts.” Textiles. Feb. 3-Apr. 26: “Changing Bailey.” Jun. 6-Jan. 3, 2010: “The Landsapes: Contemporary Chinese www.byroncohengallery.com www.folkartmuseum.org

16 TSA NEWSLETTER

Bard Graduate Center, New OREGON International “Woven Wisdom: Masterpieces York. To Apr. 12: “Twixt Art and from Studio Naenna Archives.” Coos Art Museum, Coos Nature,” English Embroidery from www.studio-naenna.com Bay. To Feb. 21: “New Focus: CANADA the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Quilts in Small Format” and 1580-1700. www.bgc.bard.edu Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto. “Stitch,” works by five Oregon Virtual To Feb. 15: “On Pointe: The Rise fiber artists. www.coosart.org Cooper-Hewitt National of the Ballet Shoe.” To Nov.: www.fiberscene.com To Mar. 1:

Design Museum, New York. To “Chronicles of Riches: Treasures “Ana Lisa Hedstrom.” Museum of Contemporary Mar. 1: “Curators Select: Recent from the Bata Shoe Museum.” Craft, Portland. To Apr. 5: fibreQUARTERLY volume 4, Acquisitions, 2003-2008. ”Mar. 6- To Nov.: “Beauty, Identity, Pride: “Mandy Greer: Dare alla Luce.” Issue 4/Fall, 2008 is now on line Sep. 7: “Fashioning Felt,” historic Native North American Footwear.” To May 31: “Darrel Morris: The at www.velvethighway.com examples and ccontemporaty art www.batashoemuseum.ca Large Works 1999-2008.” works. TEL 212/849-8400. www.contemporarycrafts.org www.cooperhewitt.org Textile Museum of Canada, Lectures Toronto. To Jul. 7: “The Cutting Bard Graduate Center, New PENNSYLVANIA Edge” examines the simplest meth- Metropolitan Museum of York. Feb. 26: “Dramatic Fabric: Allentown Art Museum. May ods for dressing the human form Art, New York. To Apr. 5: “The Textiles in the English Theater,” with 17-Aug. 9: “Fashion in Film: and traces the development of ever Essential Art of African Textiles: theater historian Victoria Abrash Costumes for the Screen.” more complex garments through Design without End,” works from and actress Barbara Feldon. Mar. www.allentownartmuseum.org the 21st century. Feb. 11-Sep. 7: 19th century to present, including 5: “The Needle’s Excellency: Tudor “When Women Rule the World: an installation by Yinka Shibonare. and Stuart Embroidery in British Philadelphia Museum of Art. Judy Chicago in Thread” and “She May 6-Aug. 9: “The Model as To Mar. 1: “Quilt Stories: The Ella and American Collections,” Nicola Will Always Be Younger Than Us,” Muse: Embodying Fashion.” King Torrey Collection of African Shilliam. Mar. 26: “Present Tense: work by artists influenced by Judy www.metmuseum.org American Quilts and Other Recent Embroidery in Contemporary Chicago. www.textilemuseum.ca Quilt Acquisitions.” To Apr. 19: Art,” artists Elaine Reichek and Museum at FIT, New York. To “Cultural Convergence: Recent Richard Saja and independent Feb. 21: “Gothic: Dark Glamour.” ENGLAND Acquisitions of Contemporary scholar Vicki Halper. Apr. 2: “The To Jun. 16: “Seduction.” Mar. 10- Craft.” To Spring 2009: “Hello! Victoria and Albert Great Refashioning of Europe: Apr. 4: “Muriel King: Artist of Fashion: Kansai Yamamoto, 1971- Museum, London. To Mar. 29: Global Trade, Needle-crafts, Fashion.” www.fitnyc.edu/museum 1973.” www.philamuseum.org “Magnificence of the Tsars.” Feb. and Gendered Material Culture,

24-May 31: “Hats: An Anthology 1500-1800,” Beverly Lemire. Museum of Arts and Design, RHODE ISLAND by Stephen Jones.” www.vam.ac.uk Reservations: Sarah Wilson, New York. To Apr. 19: Second Museum of Art, Rhode Island TEL: 212/501-3011 Lives: Remixing the Ordinary. School of Design, Providence. THAILAND [email protected]. www.madmuseum.org To Apr. 26: “Sartorial Sanctuary: Bank of Thailand Museum, De Young Museum, San Fran- Museum of the City of New Clothing and Tradition in the Chiang Mai. To Feb. 10: cisco, CA, Textile Arts Council York. To Feb. 22: “Paris/New Eastern Islamic World.” “Bhutanese Textiles: Weaving from Lectures. Jan. 24: “Fabric and York: Design Fashion Culture www.risdmuseum.org the Heart.” Form,” Robert Curry. Feb. 14: 1925-1940.” www.mcny.org www.bot.or.th/EnglishBOTMuseum TEXAS “Dragon Covers of the Li People, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester. The Women’s Museum, Dallas. The Patricia Cheesman Hianan Island, China,” Lee To Mar. 16: “Wild by Design” To Mar. 29: “Partisan Pieces: Collection Gallery, Studio Chinalai. Mar. 28: “On the Text in quilts. mag.rochester.edu Quilts of Political and Patriotic Naenna, Chiang Mai. To Feb. 28: Textiles; Cultural Stories, Unfolding Persuasion.” Fashions,” Susan B. Kaiser. OHIO www.thewomensmuseum.org TEL 415/750-3627; [email protected]

Canton Museum of Art. Feb. University of Wisconsin- 8-Apr. 26: “Kimono as Art: The WISCONSIN Madison, Chazen Museum of Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota.” Design Gallery, University of Art. The Helen Louise Allen www.cantonart.org Wisconsin-Madison. To Mar. 8: “A Textile Collelction's annual Ruth

Fairyland of Fabrics: The Victorian Ketterer Harris Lecture, Mar. 26: Kent State University Museum. Crazy Quilt.” Mar. 27-Apr. 26: “The Sun and the Mioon, Protec- To Feb. 8: “In Bloom: Patterned “Design 2009.” ive Motifs in Central and South Silk Design Innovations in www.designgallery.wisc.edu Asian Embroideries,” Victoria Eighteenth Century France.” To Rivers. TEL 608/262-1162. Mar. 1: “Galanos” and “Japanese

Obi Sashes.” To May 31: “Rudi Tapis (woman’s sarong) (detail), by International Quilt Study Gernreich: BOLD.” To Aug. 30: unknown artist, Lampung Province, Center, Lincoln, NE. Feb. 10: “The Art of the Embroiderer.” Sumatra, Indonesia, 19th cen- “Yikes! Stripes,” exhibition dis- TEL 330/672-3450. tury; cotton with silk embroidery cussion with curator Elizabeth www.kent.edu/museum and mica appliqué. Collection of Andrews. May 1: “Chintz: Indian Stephen A. Lister. Photo Courtesy of Hood Museum of Art. to p. 18

WINTER 2009 17 Textiles for the West,” Rosemary Measure with Alison Matthews from p. 13 Crill. www.quiltstudy.org David,” discussing tailoring changes aspect of folk costume, since we

from the 18th to the 19th centu- onferences dress by fashion or fad and have Minneapolis Institute of Arts, C ries. TEL 416/599-5321 x2221. a diminished sense of costume Textile Curatorial Council Lecture. www.textilemuseum.ca as identity. For the Miao it may Mar. 1: “Are All African Textiles ymposia & S be enough to simply wear what African?” Joanne B. Eicher. they wear as a statement of who www.artsmia.org Workshops they are. San Jose Museum of Quilts Textile Museum of Canada, With excellent photographs, and Textiles, San Jose, CA. Feb. Toronto. Mar. 21: “Free-form this book provides a thorough Feb. 13-14: SUBCULTURE AND 22: “Chinese Folk Art Tradition, Patternmaking with Lyn Carter.” view of the role of embroidery STYLE, The Museum at FIT, New Transition and Influence,” collec- Participants will create complex and piecework in the textiles York. In conjunction with the tor Sally Yu Leung on traditional three-dimensional forms from of this group from the remote, “Gothic: Dark Glamour” exhibi- Chinese textile art as a context cloth with artist Lyn Carter. tion, the museum’s Seventh mountainous Guizhou Province for the contemporary fiber art in TEL 416/599-5321 x2221 Annual Fashion Symposium will in southern China. the “Changing Landscapes” exhi- www.textilemuseum.ca feature noted scholars, authors, Chapter One illustrates the bition. Reservations: Fiber Arts Retreat. Bulgarian and curators from a range of dis- popular Miao saying, “100 Miao TEL 408/971-0323 x14 fiber artist Silvia Haralambova has ciplines, who will discuss themes 100 costumes.” The Miao have

opened an artist retreat center related to fashion and subcul- “long used textile making as the The Textile Museum, in the village Patalenitza in the tural style. Reservations required: visual language in which to record Washington, DC. Mar. 5: Rhodopa Mountains, Bulgaria. For [email protected]. their history and beliefs.” Various “Interwoven: Business, Artisanal invormation see TEL 212/217-4585 costumes, shoes, hats, and baby- Design and Social Responsibility,” http://silviaretreat.googlepages.com/ carrying slings are pictured. Stephanie Odegard. Registration Apr. 2-4: THE GLOBAL QUILT: Chapter Two, “Bridging Skill required. TEL 202/667-0441 x64 Professional Internship CULTURAL CONTEXTS, International to Skill: Language of Materials,“ www.textilemuseum.org Program Quilt Study Center and Museum, deals with the self-sufficiency of University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto. The PATHWAYS INTO PROFESSIONAL the Miao in all aspects of textile Participants will explore the ways Apr. 13: “Moccasins and Music.” NEEDLEARTS (PiPN) internship pro- creation, from growing plants for in which quilts communicate cul- batashoemuseum.ca gram is an academically acclaimed thread and auxiliary substances tural values, reflect cross-cultural partnership between The National like sizing, to spinning, weaving, transmission of style or techniques, Textile Museum of Canada, Needle Arts Association (TNNA), dyeing, finishing and embellish- serve as a medium for social con- Toronto, Lectures. Feb. 12: “Judy based in Zanesville, OH, and ing. “Every choice is purposeful nection, or reflect and express the Chicago Today: Art, Feminism the University of Akron, Akron, and logical,” from cotton cultiva- influences of the society in which and Activism in the 21st Century,” OH. Designed for college juniors, tion and raising silk worms for they were made. Keynote speakers panel discussion with Judy Chicago, seniors and graduate students flat cocoons, to glossy indigo Maura Reilly, and Jenny Sorkin. are Jacqueline Atkins, Allentown from throughout the US, the 2009 dyeing, making special threads Mar. 20: “Artist Talk: Lyn Carter.” Art Museum, and Jennifer Harris, program has two distinct phases: of ramie, silk and metallic foil, Apr. 8: “Textile Seminar: Garments Whitworth Art Gallery, University Phase I, starting Jun. 1 at UA’s and finally, to the creation of from Around the World,” Natalia of Manchester. Registration: campus, is a hands-on workshop decorative wrapped threads and Nekrassova and Roxane http://www.quiltstudy.org/educa- on the fine points of crochet, knit- braided yarns. Shaughnessy. May 30: “Made to tion_research/symposium.html ting, counted cross-stitch, embroi- We need to understand dery and needlepoint, from cre- Oct. 15-17: BUILDING BRIDGES: these processes before moving ative and business points of view. TSA NEWSLETTER CREATING A NEW CRAFT CULTURE, on to Chapter Three, which After being guests at TNNA’s June DEADLINES American Craft Council presents 23 embroidery stitches, trade show in Columbus, OH, stu- Conference, Radisson Plaza Hotel, both counted and uncounted. March 30 dents begin Phase II on-site with Minneapolis, MN. For anyone There are clear “how to” instruc- July 30 a host company. The deadline interested and involved with craft, tions for the stitches and braids. November 30 for student applications is March new and emerging artists, collec- An explanation of alternate 1, 2009. For an application and tors, curators, editors, educators, means of creating some stitches Please send news, reviews, for more information, please visit gallerists, students and writers clarifies why contemporary listings, and articles to: www.tnna.org/Outreach/College/ from craft, art, design, architecture, embroiderers cannot imitate Karen Searle, Editor tabid/154/Default.aspx. 1742 Portland Ave. fashion and industry. Scholarship certain historic cloths. Torimaru’s St. Paul, MN 55104 support will be available. Speakers discovery of the “Ancient Chain include Helena Hernmarck TEL/FAX 651/642-9897 Tours Stitch” is particularly interest- and Gareth Clark. Information: [email protected] Textile Odyssey Tour to Southwest ing as it creates a narrower and Monica Hampton, Director of China with Mary Connors and more fluid line. She thus subtly Please send calendar Education, 212/274-0630 x272; Serena Lee Harrigan, Oct./Nov. 09. encourages us to avoid a con- listings to: [email protected] tEL 415/279-9426. temporary Western prejudice Rebecca Klassen, www.craftcouncil.org [email protected] when looking at old textiles. [email protected] 18 TSA NEWSLETTER Chapter Four broadens the Knitting Art: 150 Innovative well-organized, and consistently Katharine Cobey perhaps scope by covering piecework Works from 18 Contemporary informative text. Technical terms goes furthest in her installation techniques: patchwork, three Artists are well-defined and, for the work to create art that could variations of appliqué, folded- by Karen Searle uninitiated, a brief glossary is easily be constructed of non-knit- cloth piecework, couched braid Voyageur Press, 2008 included. Those seeking clear, ted, non-handmade materials. embroidery and flower-shaped ISBN 978-0-7603-3067-8 $35.00 technical information will not be Her 30-ft.-long “Boat with Four frog closures. disappointed, while readers more Figures,” is hauntingly evanescent. NITTING, A METHOD OF Chapter Five, “Folk Life,” tells interested in each artist’s creative “Ritual Against Homelessness” is constructing fabric by inter- of the role these textiles play in K processes, individual perspectives reminiscent of a native American locking a series of loops of one the lives of Miao villagers. We and statements will find plenty of ceremony. “Pillars,” a diapha- or more yarns, is the medium learn the dozens of steps neces- food for thought. nous installation work-in-process employed by the artists selected sary to produce a Lion baby The excellent color pho- consisting of twelve Greek-style by Searle to represent the broad cap, a pair of handmade shoes, tographs and clear, consistent knitted columns, is also an “hom- range of subjects, styles, formats, or a complex folk costume with graphic layout contribute to the age to ancient outdoor sites of and materials explored with this multiple techniques, including book’s visual appeal. Each artist is worship.” technique. metal gimp work. One wonders introduced with a full-page photo In contrast to the reverence In her introduction, an excel- how one woman can be so adept of a major work followed by a and references in Cobey’s work lent, if somewhat brief back- at producing the many articles so page of text that includes a small are the golden-hued, delicate, ground of the field of textile arts, important to village life. photo of the artist. Contextual complex textures of Carolyn Searle, a textile sculptor, revisits a Two other Chinese minorities and detailed photographs of the Halliday’s knitted copper wire and familiar academic controversy—art are discussed in this chapter. The artwork provide the reader with paper-pulp sculptures, “Perfect vs. craft. She provides a short his- Dong are a recognized minority a clear visual description of the Nest” and “Deconstructed Body tory of fiber art’s beginnings in the people in Guizhou, and although work and an excellent sense of Quilt.” “Sense Spin” by Janet context of American education some of their textile making pro- the materials and techniques each Morton is reminiscent of the instal- from the late 1950s through the cesses overlap those of the Miao, artist incorporates. lations by artist Carlos Amorales. 1970s by exploring the develop- Torimaru presents several unique Overall, the selection of The last artist presented is ment and works of four “path- ones “not seen in any other minor- artists and artwork represents Karen Searle. The section, writ- finders in art knitting” who most ity people.” The Gejia are not a broad technical and aesthetic ten by Kari Cornell, maintains influenced her: Mary Walker considered by the Chinese govern- perspective of knitted art. Kathryn the tone, format, and perspective Phillips, who Searle credits as ment to be a separate minority Alexander’s “energized yarn” that Searle applied throughout. the “first professional art knitter;” population, in spite of their distinc- entrelac knitting technique is clear- Searle’s abstract art, represented jewelry artist and educator Arline tive dress and separate ancestor/ ly explained and documented. by two mixed media pieces, Fisch, who incorporates textile creation story of descending from Her work, more clothing than “Vessel” and “Bark Quilt III,” techniques in her metalwork; and a legendary general of an ancient sculpture, reminds this reviewer leaves the question of art and two leaders of the wearable art kingdom. Torimaru gives them of Australian coogi sweaters. Anna craft behind. The rest of the movement: Painter-turned-knitting due respect, seeing this ancestor Maltz’s knitted suits, “Naked Suits,” works, all more figurative, are artist Janet Lipkin, and artist and story reflected in their “militaris- “Superman Suit,” and “Big Blue metaphoric. Of particular interest educator Robert Hillestad. tic, armor-like folk costumes” so Rabbit; and Mark Newport’s super- is the finger-knit and crocheted Following this historical distinct from Miao style. hero costumes, “Batman 2003,” steel wire dress with accessories background is a brief mention of The Appendices broaden our “Batmen,” and “SSSKOW,” follow entitled “Essence Part 5: Formal “recent innovations” in knitting art. vocabulary by explaining paral- in the “wearable art” tradition. Dress.” The open-work dress, Searle suggests the performance lels between embroidered and Lindsay Obermeyer’s ‘sweat- floating in space, casts its shadow and “community-oriented” knit- woven patterns and the symbol- ers’ and performances “offer on the blank wall behind to ting art projects by artists such ism found in some black-and- rich metaphorical possibilities for effectively redraw itself. as Anni Holm and her “Musical white Miao patterns. exploring the idea of identity... Knitting Art: 150 Innovative knitting Band” are natural exten- Finally, Torimaru touches on and make sense of the experi- Works will appeal to a large audi- sions of knitting’s historical place 21st-century changes in Miao ence of living,” and while the ence, especially to those with an as a “portable and community- life. Longing to visit these distant artist is certainly sincere, the interest in textiles, but will hold based craft” tradition. These con- villages, we finish her book with underlying humoristic perspective special significance for textile artists. siderations, coupled with questions a greater appreciation for the Obermeyer brings to the work about how “femininity, masculinity – Mona Berman distinctive Miao art, and a bet- does not go unnoticed. and domesticity” are associated Hampshire College ter understanding of the integral Both within and outside the with the making of textiles, pro- Director, Mona Berman Fine Arts role textile making plays in their wearable art tradition, politics is a vide the context in which Searle everyday lives. Like the author, popular knitted art subject. Barb investigates the work of 18 repre- we hope that these remarkable Hunt knits politically-charged, sentative North American artists. traditions and crafts are “handed antipersonnel devices, while Lisa The almost folksy tone the down to future generations in Ann Auerbach literally inscribes author develops in referring to Guizhou and beyond.” her sweaters and banners with artists by their first names sharply political statements and slogans. – Barbara Shapiro contrasts the carefully written, Textile Artist and Educator WINTER 2009 19 TSA 12th Biennial Symposium, Oct. 6-10, 2010, Lincoln, NE

The 2010 TSA Symposium, Textiles and Settlement: From Plains Space to Cyber Space, will be held in Lincoln, Nebraska, home of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum (shown above), Oct. 6-10 2010. Keynote Speaker will be architect Sheila Kennedy, whose Portable Light project creates new ways to provide renewable power in solar textiles that can be adapted to meet the needs of people in different cultures and global regions. The Portable Light uses a thin-film photovoltaic textile and LEDs to harvest electrical energy and provide a completely self-contained source of renewable power and light. The 2010 Symposium will be housed at the recently remodeled Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in downtown Lincoln. Mark your calendars today, and plan to join us in Lincoln! The Nebraska Organizing Committee hopes members will encourage students and recent grads to start thinking about topics for presentations, and to communicate with their peers and colleagues to formulate potential panels or sessions with overlapping ideas and research.

TSA Newsletter Nonprofit Org. P.O. Box 193 U.S. Postage Middletown, DE 19709 PAID New Wash. OH 44854 Permit No. 54

Textile Society of America

DATED MATERIAL

Photographic details courtesy of: Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University Estate of Lillian Elliott RISD Museum