I

J OVEN FORMS / I WOVEN FORMS: 22 MARCH-12 MAY 1963 MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFTS OF THE AMERICAN CRAFTSMEN'S COUNCIL 29 WEST 53rd STREET, N. Y. 19, N. Y.

AtC/LiBRARY MUSEUi't1 ARCHIVES THE PURPOSE OF THIS EXHIBITION IS TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON THE CURRENT WORK OF WEAVERS WHO CREATE WOVEN FORMS ON THE LOOM. IT FEATURES THE WORK OF FIVE INDIVIDUALS WHOSE DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AS WEAVERS AND ARTISTS HAVE LED THEM TO A RELATED BASIS OF EXPRESSION - THE CREATION OF SCULP­ TURAL SHAPES OF INTERLACED THREADS. IN THESE HANGINGS, NOT ONLY THE CREATED SURFACE BUT THE CREATED SHAPE BECOMES AN EXPRESSIVE FORMAL ELEMENT. THIS IS THE RESULT OF A RE-EVALUA­ TION OF THE PROCESS AS IMPLEMENTAL IN VARYING THE SHAPE OF THE FINISHED OBJECT. INSTEAD OF CUTTING OR COMBINING SEPARATE PIECES, THE FORM IS DETERMINED BY DISTORTION OF THE SET PATTERN OF THE WARP AND WEFT WHILE THE PIECE IS STILL ON THE LOOM. THUS, THE ARTIST'S SEARCH FOR FORM IS REFLECTED IN THE FINISHED HANGING. IN THE PAST, EXPRESSIVE FORMAL STATEMENTS IN WEAVING WERE GENERALLY DOMINATED BY RELIGIOUS MOTIFS AND TENDED TO FOLLOW "TRADITIONAL" CON­ CEPTIONS OF FORM. STRUCTURE-FORMING METHODS, TESTED BY GENERATIONS OF ARTISANS, BECAME THE CO VENTI ON AND WERE TAKE FOR GRANTED BY THE ARTIST WHOSE MESSAGE RESIDED EITHER IN THE MOTIF OR THE IMAGE, IN THE STORY OR THE USE. LACKING A COHERENT CONCEPTUAL BASIS OF THIS SORT, THE CONTEMPORARY ARTIST MUST FIND HIS MEANS OF EXPRESSION WITHIN HIMSELF. WHETHER CONSCIOUSLY OR UNCONSCIOUSLY, THE INITIAL TENDENCY OF THE SEARCH FOR A PERSO AL IDIOM IS ICONOCLASTIC AND RESULTS IN THE DESTRUC­ TION OF TRADITIONAL FORM. THIS DESTRUCTIVE PROCESS IS CAPTURED, HOWEVER, IN OBJECTS OF A RADICALLY NEW NATURE. AMONG THE ECHOES OF PAST STYLES A NEW CONTROL BECOMES EFFECTIVE, AND BY A SUBTLE PROCESS THE NEWLY CREATED FORMS DEVELOP INTO THE PERSONAL IDIOM SOUGHT ORIGINALLY. MANY WEAVERS HAVE FOUND MEA IS OF EXPRESSING THEMSELVES IN TAPES­ TRIES, FABRICS, OR RUGS THAT REMAIN TWO-DIMENSIONAL. OTHERS HAVE SOUGHT DIFFERENT MODES OF EXPRESSION, AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT OF WEAVING IN THREE DIMENSIONS HAS BEEN AN EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT ONE, FOR IN EXTENDING THE BOUNDS OF THE WOVEN PIECE BEYOND TWO DIMEN­ SIONS, IT WAS NECESSARY NOT ONLY TO BE D OR TWIST THE MATERIAL INTO VOLU- METRIC SHAPES, BUT TO CONCEIVE OF THE HANGING ITSELF AS ENCLOSED IN SPACE RATHER THAN DEFIl ING A PLANAR LIMIT. THERE ARE TWO I FLUENCES APPARENT IN THE WORK OF THESE ARTISTS: ONE, THE RESULT OF STUDY OF HISTORICAL WEA VI G TECHNIQUES; THE OTHER, A REFLECTION OF CURRENT USAGE IN OTHER ART FORMS. THE FIRST OF THESE IS THE TEXTILE TRADITION OF ANCIENT PERU, WHICH HAS BEE THE SUBJECT OF INTENSIVE STUDY IN RECENT YEARS. MANY TECHNIQUES USED ON THE LAP-LOOMS AND WAIST­ LOOMS OF THE INCAS HAVE BEEN REDISCOVERED AND ADAPTED TO MODERN LOOMS. THE USE OF WRAPPED-WARP IN THE PIECES BY REFLECTS THIS INFLU­ ENCE AS DOES THE ADAPTATION OF TWINING AND TWISTED-WARP TECHNIQUES BY A D CLAIRE ZEISLEH. THE SECOND INFLUENCE FOUND IN MANY OF THESE WORKS DERIVES FROM ASSEMBLAGE, THE INTEGHATION OF WHAT WOULD NORMALLY BE CONSIDERED EXTRANEOUS ELEMENTS I TO A WOHK OF AHT. THIS CAN BE SEEN IN DORIAN ZACHAI'S USE OF TREE LIMBS, BARK, ALUMI UM FOIL AND BAMBOO, IN ALICE ADAMS' USE OF WIRE, DOWELS AND A CLEANING BRUSH, AND IN THE FEATHERS AND PIECES OF BHASS WOVEN INTO LENORE TAWNEY'S HANGINGS. THE IMAGINATIVE ADAPTATION OF DEVICES AND TECHNIQUES FHOM OTHER MEDIA AND OTHER TIMES AND THEIR SUBOHDINATION TO THE FINISHED WORK IS IN KEEPING WITH THE OUTSTANDING QUALITY OF THESE AHTISTS, THEIR IMAGINATIVE FRESHNESS. NONE OF THEM ALLOWS THE TECHNICAL MEANS TO DOMINATE THE END. AS DORIAN ZACHAI PUTS IT: "NO TECHNIQUE OH MATERIAL IS A SOLUTIO OR END IN ITSELF. WHAT IS VITAL IS TO LIVE A CO CEPT, AND THIS CON­ CEPT MUST OVEHPOWER THE MATERIALS, THE TECHNIQUES, AND THE COMPOSER" THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORAHY CHAFTS IS INDEBTED TO THE FIVE AHTISTS NOT ONLY FOR LENDING THEIR WORK BUT FOR ADVICE, SUGGESTIONS AND THE COOPEHA­ TION THEY HAVE SHOWN. SPECIAL THANKS ARE DUE TO MHS. ANN WILSON AND TO ALICE ADAMS FOR HELP IN GATHERING CATALOG INFORMATION. OTHER LENDEHS TO THE EXHIBITION AHE: MUSEUM OF MODERN AHT, NEW YORK, NEW YORK; MHS. BEVERLY LUKS HAFNER, WEBSTEH, NEW YORK; AND MHS . ANN WILSON, NEW YORK NEW YORK.

PAUL J. SMITH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR 21 ACANTHUS b Lenore Tawne LENORE TAWNEY

DORIAN ZACHAI 32 COMPLACENT MAN by Dorian Zachai LIVES IN . STUDIED: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS; INSTITUTE OF DESIGN, CHICAGO; DRAWING AND SCULPTURE WITH ; TAPESTRY TECHNIQUES WITH MARTTA TAIPALE. EXHIBITED: SEATTLE WORLD'S FAIR, CHICAGO ART INSTITUTE, DALLAS MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, STATEN ISLAND MUSEUM OF ART.

LENORE TAW~Y'S HANGINGS OFTEN BEGIN WITH A GATHERING OF YARN AT THE TOP, PROGRESS 'THROUGH AN I TRICATE INCREASE, A DIVISION OF SHAPES IN KNOTS AND SMALL FORMS OVER THE SUSPENDING-ROD FORM INTO AN EVER-WIDENING PATTERN OF SOLID, UNCOMPLICATED REP WEAVE, PUNCTUATED BY SIMPLE, LARGE SLIT SHAPES. AT THE CENTER THEY BEGIN TO DIMINISH AGAIN, SOMETIMES REPEATING THE INTRICATE PATTERN OF THE TOP. THEN A DIMINISm G SIMPLE REP OR TRA SPOSED WEAVE NARROWS TO A KNOTTED FRINGE AT THE BASE OF THE WORK. MANY OF THESE SUGGEST THE FLOW OF WATER: RIVER, FOUNTAIN, CATARACT. MISS TAWNEY SAYS OF HER WORK: "ALL THE PIECES ARE CONSTRUarED AS EXPA DING, CONTRACfING, ASPIRING FORMS - SOMETIMES EXPAND­ ING AT THE EDGES WHILE CONTRACfING IN THE CENTER. THE WORK TAKES ITS FORM THROUGH ITS OWN INNER NECESSITY." MOST OF THE WEAVINGS ARE EXECUTED IN NATURAL OR BLACK LINEN. THE TWO COLORS BLEND AND SEPARATE TO CREATE VARYI TG TENSIONS WITHIN THE PIECE. THE TECHNIQUES INCLUDE REP OR BOUND WEAVE, pLAIN WEAVE, TRANSPOSED WEAVE, BRAIDING, KNOTTING, AND WRAPPING. -ANN WILSON-

ALICE ADAMS LIVES IN NEW YORK CITY. STUDIED: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, B.F.A., 1953; FRENCH GOVERNMENT FELLOWSHIP TO STUDY TAPESTRY DESIGN AND WEAVING IN AUBUSSON, FRANCE; FULBRIGHT TRAVEL GRANT. EXHIBITED: GROUP SHOWS AT MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFTS, BERTHA SCHAEFER GALLERY, AMERICA HOUSE, NEW YORK, AND VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON; ONE-MAN SHOW AT J. BLUMENFELD GALLERY, 1963.

THE HANGINGS IN THIS SHOW ARE A RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN MISS ADAMS' WORK. THE USE OF STIFF RAW SISAL CREATES A FIRM SHAPE FROM WHICH SPROUT BA~DS OF BRIGHTLY COLORED WOOL. THESE BAKD-LIKE PROJECTIOXS ARE THE~ FOLDED BACK I:-\TO SLITS IN THE CONSTRUCTION. MISS ADA~IS SAYS, " ~lY FREE-lIANGIl\G FIGURES WERE MADE MOSTLY FOR FUN AND BECAUSE I HAD REGU,' TO SEE THE POSSIBILITY OF WOVE:-\ FORMS OTHER THAN THOSE OF THE SQUARE OR RECTAXGULAR ~ruRAL. I WANTED SOMEHOW TO FIND A FORM WHICH WOULD PERSONIFY MY FEELINGS ABOUT POPULAR PATRIOTISM AND THE MILITARY."

SHEILA HICKS LIVES IN TAXCO, MEXICO. STUDIED: YALE UNIVERSITY, B.F.A., M.F.A.; FRIBOURG SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIP TO STUDY IN FRAN"CE; FULBRIGHT TRAVEL GHANT TO ANDES REGION. EXHIBITED: FABRICS INTERNATIONAL, MUSEUM OF CONTEM­ PORARY CRAFTS, 1961; ONE-~lAN SHOWS AT ANTONIO SOUZA GALLERY, MEXICO CITY; KNOLL INTERNATIONAL, MEXICO CITY; WOOL BY SHEILA HICKS, LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA.

SHEILA HICKS' ACTIVITIES CE:\TER IN TIlE TALLER, AN EXPERIME~TAL WORKSHOP IN WEAV­ ING WHICH SHE CO:-\DUCTS I,' TAXCO EL VIEJO, GUERRERO, ~1EXICO. HERE SHE AND HER CO-WORKERS INVESTIGATE PRE-I;-';CAIC WEAVI:\'G TECI-L 'IQUES IN SEARCH OF EXPRESSIVE MEANS TO CREATE THE WOVEi\' FORMS SHE SHOWS IlERE. TIlE WOOL YARN IS HAND-SPUN AND DYED IX SHADES OF BLUE, GREE'\;, ORA:\GE, A;\D EAHTHEN COLORS. THE TECHNIQUES INCLUDE Kl\OTTING, DOUBLE-\VEAVING, A. 'D \VRAPPED WARP. A SI~fPLE LAP-LOO\l IS USED FOR TIlE SMALL PANELS TO ALLOW THE ARTIST TIlE GREATEST FREEDOM IN MANIPULATI:-\G THE YARNS. SHE DESCRIBES HER APPROACH BY SAYING, "OF ALL MATERIALS I CHOOSE WOOL. OF ALL EQUIPMENT I CHOOSE THE SIMPLEST. FOR A PLACE TO WORK I CHOOSE THE SUN."

DORIAN ZACHAI LIVES NEAR PITTSFIELD, ~rASSACHUSETTS. STUDIED: COOPER UNION, ART STU­ DENTS LEAGUE, HAYSTACK ~10UNTAIN SCHOOL FOn CRAFTS, SCHOOL FOR AMERICAN CRAFTS\1E~, CALIFORI\'IA COLLEGE OF ARTS A'JD CRAFTS. EXHIB­ ITED: FINGER LAKES EXHIBITION, \IE~10RTAL ART GALLERY, ROCHESTER, 1960 & 1962; AMERICAN CRAFTS - NEW T ALE~T, U~IVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, 1961; YOUNG A\1ERICANS 1962, MUSEU:\I OF CONTE:\IPORARY CRAFTS; FIBER, i\IETAL & CLAY, 1862.

THE HANGI:\TGS OF DORIAN ZACHAI GAIN AN INTENSE IDENTITY FRO~! THE ARTIST'S BOLD AND STRENUOUS HANDLI:\'G OF ~IATERIALS. THE DOUBLE- A::\D TRIPLE-WEAVE AREAS ARE USED TO GIVE SPATIAL FORM TO TilE PIECE, WITH WIRE REI:-\FORCE~!E:\,T ACTING TO DEFL 'E THE DOMINANT t-.1OTIFS . FIBEHS OF ALL COLORS AND TEXTURES ARE USED - I1ANDSPU,\, WOOL, NATURAL FIBEHS, RAYOI\, COTTOX, NYLO:\T. ~!ETALLIC THREADS, STRAW - WITH A RESULTA[\;T LIVELI1\'ESS AND VARIETY OF TEXTURE AND TONE. EVE:-\ THE SUPPORTI:\G MEMBERS - LENGTHS OF BA\IBOO. BARK, TREE LL\IBS AI'D METAL RODS - ARE IXTEGRATED I[\;TO THE BODY OF THE WEAVI'\G. THE EXPRESSIVE FOHCE OF TJIIS \YORK CAN BE HELATED TO A STATEMEXT OF THE AHTIST CO;\'CEH:\'ING HER APPHOACH TO THE \\,EAVI;\,G PHOCESS : "THE LOOM FIGHTS A:\,D DE\!A,\DS ITS OWN EXPRESSIOX; BETWEE:-\ US THERE IS :\'0 PEACE. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO RELAX."

CLAIRE ZEISLER LIVES IN CHICAGO, ILLI~OIS. STUDIED: INSTITUTE OF DESIGN, CHICAGO; WEAV­ ING AND THEORY OF THE LOO\1 IN PRIVATE CLASSES; SCULPTURE WITH ALEXANDER ARCHIPE~KO. EXHIBITED: O"\E-\IAN SHOWS AT CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY AND THE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.

CLAIRE ZEISLER EXPERIMENTS WITn OLD TECHNIQUES, ADAPTING THEM IN SURPRISING WAYS TO HER OWN CO[\;CEPTIONS OF DESIGN AND COLOH. SIlE USES SILK WAHP ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY, OFTEN PAINTING AREAS BEFORE A;\'D DURI:\G TIlE WEAVING PROCESS. TAP­ ESTRY WEAVE IS THE BASIC TEClI:\,IQUE, WITH wmCIl ARE CO\!BI:\,ED LAID-IN PATTERNS AND POCKETS IN DOUBLE AXD THIPLE WEAVE. PERHAPS THE OUTSTANDL 'G FEATURE OF THIS WORK IS THE EXPLOITATIO:\, OF THHEAD E. 'DS, wmcn SHE BRAIDS, K:\OTS, AI\D CROCHETS TO CONTII\UE AKD TO El\HA:\'CE THE \\'OVE~ ELE\!Ei\TS. THE ARTIST SAYS, "EACH PIECE IN THE EXHIBITIO,' HEPRESE'\TS A PHOBLE\! I WA:\,TED TO SOLVE, Al\'D I HAVE TRIED TO KEEP ALL TIlE ELE\IENTS SPO:-\TA:\EOUS BY 'LETTIl\'G WHAT HAPPENS, HAPPEN' WITHIN TIlE FHAMEWORK OF TIlE PAHTICULAR PROBLE~!." CATALOG HEIGHT PRECEDES WIDTH

LENORE TAWNEY ALICE ADAMS 1 UNTAUGHT EQUATION, 27' x 54" 23 MAJOR GENERAL, 61" x 28" 24 YANKEE DOODLE, 63" x 34" 2 THE QUEEN, 13'8" x 28" 3 THE KING II, 12'1" x SO" SHEILA HICKS

4 DARK RIVER, 13'6" x 20" 25 BLUE SQUARE, 17" x 16Y2" LENT BY THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART LENT BY THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 5 THE BRIDE, 11'6" x 13" 26 ORANGE PANEL, 9" x 5112" LENT BY THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 6 THE INNOCE~T, 13'1" x 22" 27 WRAPPED-WARP PANEL, 17" x 10" 7 TIlE FOUNTAL~, 14'6" x 28" 28 BLUE HANGING, 29" x 27" 8 THE PATH, 7'3" x 24" 29 SULFERINO PINK STANDING FORM, 10" x 6"

9 THE WHISPER, 65" x 20" DORIAN ZACHAI 10 LEKYTI-IOS, 36" x 27" SO DOG, 49" x 70" 11 TRIBUTE OFFERING, 29" x 16" Sl WOMAN EMANCIPATED, 92" x 40" 12 INSECT, 22" x 10" 32 COMPLACENT MAN, 63" x 11" 33 DEER ISLE, 49" x 27" 13 INCA, 48" x 8" 34 EYE, 25" x 41" 14 MOURNING DOVE, 56" x 15" 35 DAPHNE, 76" x S8" 15 CAGE, 58" x 8" LENT BY BEVERLY LUKS HAFNER

16 THE FLAME, 7' x 22" CLAIRE ZEISLER 17 SAMURAI, 6'8" x IS" 36 HANGING, UNTITLED, 41" x 20" 18 AZTEC, 6/10" x 10" 37 HANGING, UNTITLED, 60" x 7lh" 19 SPRAY, 4/6" x 8" 38 HANGING, UNTITLED, 84" x 14" 39 HANGING, UNTITLED, 57" x 22lh" 20 THE PILGRIM, 6'2" x 10" 40 HANGING, UNTITLED, 45" x 3lh" 21 ACANTHUS, 6'6" x 17" 41 HANGING, UNTITLED, 84" x 15" 22 DOUBLE IMAGE, 50" x 5" 42 HA.NGING, UNTITLED, 54" x 2S" LE~T BY MRS. ANN WILSON 43 HANGING, UNTITLED, 65" x 2" 30 DOG by Dorian Zachai 42 UNTITLED HANGING by Claire Zeisler. Detail 42 UNTITLED HANGING by Claire Zeisler CLAIRE ZEISLER 27 WRAPPED-WARP PANEL by Sheila Hicks. Detail 27 WRAPPED-WARP PANEL by Sheila Hicks

23 MAJOR GENERAL by Alice Adams. Detail 23 MAJOR GENERAL by Alice Adams ALICE ADAMS