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Textile Society Of America Newsletter 20:3 — Fall 2008, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America Newsletters

TSA 2008 Symposium: "TSA Membership Provides Rich Program in Hawaii"
President's Letter
TSA News
TSA Member News
Collections News
Conference Reviews
Book Reviews
Exhibition Reviews
Calendar: Exhibitions, Lectures, Workshops, and Tours
Calendar: Conferences and Symposia
Positions

Self-Crosslinked Gliadin Fibers With High Strength And Water Stability For Potential Medical Applications, Narendra Reddy, Yiqi Yang

Department of Textiles, Merchandising, and Fashion Design: Faculty Publications

For the first time, protein fibers with excellent mechanical properties and water stability have been produced from gliadin for potential use in tissue culture and other medical applications. Biomaterials developed from plant proteins such as zein and soyproteins are preferred for several medical applications over synthetic polymers such as polylactic acid. However, the plant protein based biomaterials developed so far have poor mechanical properties and hydrolytic stability even after crosslinking. This study aims to develop biomaterials from gliadin with excellent mechanical properties and water stability without using any crosslinking agents. A novel gliadin fiber production method was used to self …

Perfumed Textiles, Katia Johansen

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

As a museum professional, I work with memories. And nothing is more evocative than scent, which is at the same time both fragile and powerful. Perfumed textiles and costume are a standard part of every culture, yet few objects have been identified, and virtually none have been preserved. Perfuming was traditionally used to mask bad odors from use or from production processes like tanning and dyeing, for ceremonial reasons, or simply to create a favorable impression of the wearer. Perfuming methods included using incense, laundry aids, sweet bags, fragrant oils and fuming pans. Unintentional perfuming also occurred, of which we …

Industrial Production And The Hand Process: Making A Bridge, Catharine Ellis

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

I am a weaver, a dyer, an artist, and an educator. I speak to you today from the perspective of a maker because it is from the process of making that I have researched and learned what I know about taiten shibori.

My own work has been defined for the last number of years by an original process that I call woven shibori. The genesis of that process was the introduction to stitched or nui shibori. As I made hand stitches into a piece of cloth in preparation for making a resist for dyeing, I realized that a …

Soft Or Modern? Delineating Curtains In Domestic Interiors Of Modern Architecture, Açalya Allmer

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

These are the words of the Bourgeois, the fictive character in Le Corbusier’s seminal book, The Decorative Art of Today. Le Corbusier’s witty attack on curtains was common in the dominant rhetoric of modern architecture in which drapes and curtains were regarded as superficial, fleeting, and effeminate. In spite of this, curtains were never a legitimate discussion among modern architects. Conceivably this explains the lack of scholarship on the use of drapery and curtains in modern architecture. In this paper I will deal with domestic interiors; exploring the correlation that exists between the re-presentation and function of curtains in …

A Stitch In Time: New Embroidery, Old Fabric, Changing Values, Annin Barrett

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Using recent embroidered artwork by Ghada Amer, Orly Cogan, and Louise Bourgeois as a bellwether for changing social relationships, this paper will discuss how values regarding time, family and gender roles have evolved in the past couple of generations. Rozsika Parker’s pivotal 1984 book, The Subversive Stitch, recognized the significant relationship between women’s social history and their embroidery styles, passed down through generations in Europe and America. We can extend that analytical approach to embroidered artwork being made today. Parker’s book ends with 1970s feminist art, such as Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party. This work achieved a kind of equal but …

Textile Society Of America Newsletter 20:2 — Spring/Summer 2008, Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America Newsletters

TSA 2008 Symposium Speakers: "Hawaii Calls: Announcing Keynote and Plenary Session Speakers, 11th TSA Biennial Symposium, Honolulu, HI, Sep. 24–27"
President's Letter
More Symposium News
TSA Member News
Publications News
In Memoriam: "Ursula Eland McCracken, Former Director, Textile Museum, 1942–2008"
Collections News, Calls for Papers
Book Reviews
Exhibit Reviews
Calendar: Exhibitions
Calendar: Lectures
Calendar: Workshops, Tours, Conferences and Symposia

Soft Or Modern? Delineating Curtains In Domestic Interiors Of Modern Architecture, Açalya Allmer

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

“My windows hung with lace curtains (Valenciennes, Venice, Bruges, Scotland) combined according to the formula: = m (m - 1) (m - 2) … (m – n + 1).” These are the words of Bourgeois, the fictive character in Le Corbusier’s seminal book The Decorative Art of Today (1925). Le Corbusier’s witty attack on curtains was common in the dominant rhetoric of modern architecture in which drapes and curtains were regarded as superficial, fleeting, and effeminate. This paper deals with curtains in domestic interiors, exploring the correlation that exists between the representation and function of the drapery in modern architecture: …

Social Cohesion And Cultural Expressions: The Case Of The Sacred Textiles In The Armenian Orthodox Churches Of Istanbul, Marlene R. Breu, Ronald T. Marchese

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

This paper reports on data collected from textiles used in the religious life of members of the Armenian Orthodox Church community of Istanbul, Turkey, specifically consecrated items associated with the expression of the Divine Liturgy. Our analysis of selected objects and their inscriptions revealed a valuable source of information about the culture and how it expressed itself in one of the key aspects of Armenian identity as a minority population in the Islamic society of Istanbul—its religion. The production and use of these artifacts contributed to the cohesiveness of a people both in Istanbul and in the Diaspora, where Armenians …

Embroidering The Golden Chersonese: Metallic Thread Needlework In The Malay Peninsula, Hwei-Fe’N Cheah

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Metallic thread embroidery is a historically significant form of textile decoration in the Malay peninsula, Ptolemy’s “Golden Khersonese” of ancient times. Pillow ends, cushion covers, food covers and decorative hangings elaborately embroidered with gold- and silver-wrapped thread were conspicuously displayed at court and at weddings as symbols of rank and wealth. Undertaken by noblewomen, metallic thread embroidery was a point of pride and skillfully crafted items were presented as gifts to foreign royalty. Although no longer as visible, metallic thread embroidery has nevertheless retained a place in ceremony as part of Malay adat or custom and is now valued as …

From Construction To Ritual Function: An Exploration Of New Guinea Fiber Masterworks, Jill D’Alessandro, Christina Hellmich

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Non-loom techniques used by generations of women in New Guinea to create everyday necessities, and by men to fabricate sacred ritual objects reveal a mastery of the fantastic and ephemeral materials found in their island surrounds. Collectors Marcia and John Friede have amassed a collection of over 3000 works that comprise the Jolika collection of New Guinea Art at San Francisco’s de Young Museum including many historic tours de force made exclusively of plant fibers and materials. These works celebrate the rich and diverse local and regional artistic traditions based on core fabrication techniques of tapa making, plaiting, coiling, twining …

Textiles, Masculinities And Spontaneous Communities In The Burning Man Project, Susan Kaiser, Denise Nicole Green

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

For one week of the year nearly 50,000 individuals make the pilgrimage to the desolate Black Rock Desert in Northwestern Nevada to participate in the creation of culture. As an experiment in ephemeral Bohemia, the Burning Man Project (BMP) provides a space for unbridled creative expression. This festal gathering seeks to replace commodified with communified material culture. The latter works to move beyond the capitalist “disconnect” between production and consumption, toward a model that bridges the two.

The BMP is a work in progress, with a reflexive awareness of the challenges involved in integrating collective participation and a gift economy …

Supplementary Warp Patterned Textiles Of The Cham In Vietnam, Michael C. Howard

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The difficult supplementary warp weaving technique appears to have been developed initially by Tai-speaking peoples in what is today southern China. The decorative technique subsequently diffused across Mainland Southeast Asia as far as Bhutan as well as to the southern Philippines and Indonesia. Use of the technique has declined considerably in recent years, until today it is still employed by only a few peoples in Southeast Asia. In the case of the Cham of southern Vietnam, the technique has not merely survived but it remains one of the dominant decorative techniques used by Cham weavers. The paper provides an examination …

Weaving Cloth From Tosa-Washi (Japanese Paper From Kochi In Shikoku, Japan): Connection And Expansion Of Area And People, Yuka Matsumoto

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The purpose of this paper is to make clear the socio-cultural meanings of woven textiles through a case study of making textiles from Tosa-washi which was already being made in Kochi in the 10th century involving two textile craftswomen of two different generations. Mey Kusakawa (1933-) and Yuko Isozaki (1978-) create paper textiles with the underlying meaning and rationale of recycling used paper and thrift long ago. From activities of these two textile craftswomen in modern times, it is clear that the change from paper to cloth has a role which connects areas and people, and brings independence and a …

The Iemoto System And The Development Of Contemporary Quiltmaking In Japan, Nao Nomura

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

In 1975, the first American quilt exhibition toured some of the major cities in Japan including Tokyo and Kyoto and attracted a large number of audience. This exhibition made American quilts widely known to Japanese women and quiltmaking soon became a popular form of needlework among the middle-class women. Now, Japan boasts one of the world’s largest quilt populations and exhibitions, and many classes are offered all over the country throughout the year. In contrast to American quilters who often learn to quilt through informal practice with friends, families or local communities and by attending short-term workshops, many Japanese quilters …

Black Silk, Brown Silk: China And Beyond—Fabric Analysis, Margaret T. Ordoñez

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

This one-hour discussion panel will examine bi-colored black and brown silk textiles called chiao-chou and shiang-yin-sa, (a.k.a. black gummed silk, Canton silk, cloud perfumed silk, gambiered silk, and by other names). Little known in the West, these textiles express cultural identities associated with a specific geographic locals

Traditional Textile Materials Of Baekje Kingdom, Mi Young Suh, Kil Soon Park

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The purpose of this study is to analyze the traditional textile materials of Baekje including the sorts of material, colors, and patterns. This study is qualitative research using documentary records related with the costume of Baekje and evacuated data such as “Yang-Jikgongdo”, on the wall paintings of Seonwun-temple, Wajeon(tiles), and the relics from King Muryeong's dome and other domes.

The results of study are as follows:

1) Textile manufacturing technology of Baekje which had been developed since Mahan era greatly prospered in Baekje era, and high quality silks, hemp, wool, and leather were used as dress material.

2) Six basic …

Sea Snail Purple In Contemporary Japanese Embroidery, Takako Terada

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Shellfish purple, known also as ‘murex’, is a dye obtained from molluscs and it has long been associated primarily with Central American textiles. It is also a very ancient dye in Japan but it is less well known. The earliest evidence is from the Yoshinogari site which dates to circa 100 BCE, where a shell bracelet shows traces of shellfish purple pigment. This archaeological find is particularly important because in all of East Asia there has been little other evidence of ancient shellfish purple dye.

Several years ago I was asked to investigate the dye. My project was to research …

Spinning Pattern, Ann Pollard Rowe

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Ecuadorian textiles are in general more austere than those of southern Peru or Bolivia, but there are some interesting things if you look carefully enough. The focus of my paper is a woman’s wrap and carrying cloth, locally called a rebozo, from the Salasaca ethnic group in central highland Ecuador (Figs. 1-2).1 It was collected in 1966 by Frances Ruddick, then a Peace Corps volunteer working in Salasaca, and given to The Textile Museum in 2004. It is a large rectangle, 2.23 meters long and 1.02 meters wide, in purple wool with some narrow white cotton stripes, mostly near …

“Revisiting The Ocucaje Opened Tunic From The Textile Museum; Washington, D.C.: Textile Models And The Process Of Imitation”, Sophie Desrosiers

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The opened tunic from the Textile Museum in Washington D. C. (fig. 1) is a beautiful object the colors and design of which are well known since a part of it was used 22 years ago on the cover of The Junius B. Bird Conference On Andean Textiles. The tunic has no archaeological context, but its characteristics place it among Early Horizon Epoch 9 woven fabrics from Ocucaje.

Mary Elizabeth King has described the piece in her doctoral thesis. It is made of four widths: two main panels in balanced plain-weave with discontinuous warp-and-weft, and two borders in triple …

Warp The Loom – Wrap The Dead Trapezoid Shaped Textiles From The Chiribaya Culture, South Peru, Ad 900-1375, Wynne Minkes

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Trapezoid shaped garments are not common in the Andean Pre-Columbian cultures. Generally, men and women wore sleeveless tunics made from the whole woven fabric without cutting and sewing it into any shape as did the Europeans for instance. The lengths of these tunics ranged from chest to ankle. Often the shorter tunics were complemented by loincloths or skirts. The number of fabrics needed to make these garments would vary: one web folded in half or two or more webs sown together. The warps were hardly ever cut from the loom bar and wefts would be inserted up to the heading …

Supplementary Warp Patterned Textiles Of The Cham In Vietnam, Michael C. Howard

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The Cham People

The Malayo-Polynesian speaking peoples of Vietnam and Cambodia speak languages belonging to the Malayic group of Sundic languages. Sundic speaking peoples lived on the island of Borneo prior to their spreading to adjacent regions. From Borneo they sailed north to Vietnam, west to peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, and south to Java and Bali. While Sundic speaking groups appear to have migrated to parts of Indonesia as early as 1500 BC, they do not seem to have arrived along the coast of Vietnam until some time around 600 BC. It is during the period 600 BC to 300 …

Iowa Or Dye! Natural Dyes As American Craft And Horticulture, Sara J. Kadolph

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Natural dyes are colorants derived from specific items found in the natural environment: plants, insects, animals, and minerals. A natural material that produces a dye is called a dyestuff. For example, the dye, madder, is extracted from madder dyestuff, the roots of a sprawling perennial, Rubia tinctorum. Many natural dyes require a mordant to permanently bond with a fiber. Mordants are usually chemical salts such as ferrous sulfate or aluminum potassium sulfate that form a bridge between the dye and the fiber. Natural dyes can be processed in several ways, including one or more water based extractions of the …

Mud And Dirt: Australian Soil As Self-Expression, Di Mcpherson

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Australia is a vast and ancient land of desert and mountain ranges that have been sculpted by the forces of nature resulting in a huge range of colored muds, dirts, soils and ochres. The aborigines used and continue to use, colored clays and ochres to decorate their ceremonial artifacts, bodies, caves and bark paintings. They use yellow and red obtained from ochres including ironstone and limonite, black from charcoal or manganese ore and white from pipeclay or gypsum. After grinding these finely, the aborigines mix them with water and a natural fixative of gum or resin is added if necessary. …

Sea Snail Purple In Contemporary Japanese Embroidery, Takako Terada

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Introduction

Purple dye

Sea snail purple, also known as Shellfish purple, Tyrian purple, Royal purple, Ancient purple or Murex purple, abbreviated to purple in this text, is a pigment obtained from the secretion of the hypobranchial glands of certain species marine mollusks (Fig. 1). The milky secretion from the glands includes a purple precursor which can be applied directly onto textiles (Fig. 2), where the final pigments are formed in the presence of oxygen and sunlight (Fig. 3). The main chemical constituent of the purple pigment was discovered by Paul Friedländer in 1909 to be 6,6′- dibromoindigo.

Purple dye in …

Donning The Cloak: Safavid Figural Silks And The Display Of Identity, Nazanin Hedayat Shenasa, Nazanin Hedayat Munroe

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Introduction

In a red world bathed in shimmering gold light, a man sits with his head in his hand as wild beasts encircle him. He is emaciated, has unkempt hair, and wears only a waistcloth—but he has a dreamy smile on his face. Nearby, a camel bears a palanquin carrying a stately woman, her head tipped to one side, arm outstretched from the window of her traveling abode toward her lover. Beneath her, the signature “Work of Ghiyath” is woven in Kufic script inside an eightpointed star on the palanquin (Fig. 1).

This depiction of the literary characters Layla and …

Documentary Film Presentation Local Colors: Natural Dyeing In A Milas Carpet Weaving Village, Ulara Tamura, John Wells

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

This documentary, filmed in 2006, examines the process of naturally dyed carpet production in a village in the Milas region of Muğla Prefecture in southwest Turkey, a region well known as a traditional Turkish carpet production area. In large numbers of villages of this region, carpet weaving is the household based work of every woman who lives there.

In this paper, I aim to add more detailed information and discussion specifically on the colors and dyes of the carpets shown in this film (see the abstract). First I will introduce the varieties of the natural dye materials the villagers use …

“I’Ve Got A Feeling We’Re Not In Kansas, Anymore:” Cross-Cultural Design In Peruvian Connection’S Textiles, Margarete Ordon

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Peruvian Connection is a high-end clothing, mail-order catalog company that has built its reputation on clothes made from finely crafted textiles in luxury fibers. The company appropriates elements from various textile practices and fuses them with Western fashion. The company simultaneously stresses distance and connection, colonization and celebration. We cannot simply locate the company in the rural Kansas town in which the corporate headquarters are based. Rather, this company straddles multiple geographic, temporal, and cultural locations, while simultaneously trying to ground its products in Peru. But we’re not in Kansas anymore, and we’re not in Peru, either.

I have chosen …

The Cloud Brocade And Yangzhou, Ying Wang

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The cloud brocade, yunjin, is a unique production of Nanjing. The royal court had monopolized this kind of textile during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The incredibly rich textures and fantastic designs of the so-called cloud brocade fascinate people even today. The textiles studied in this paper are from the collections of the Research Institute of Yunjin at Nanjing. This research institute has been working on preservation and excellence for the cloud brocade in its classical style and technique.

Yunjin is the only kind of textile of China that cannot be replaced by modern weaving machines; in present-day …

Atlas Today: Patterns Of Production, Bazaars And Bloomingdales Uzbekistan And Xinjiang, China, Mary M. Dusenbury

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

In nineteenth century courts of the khanates and oasis cities of Central Asia, rulers, wealthy merchants and other well-to-do men and women wore boldly patterned warp-ikat and ikat velvet robes, often stunning in their patterning and variety. Nineteenth century ikat costumes and other textiles are well documented in private and museum collections today and have been the focus of considerable attention by collectors, dealers, and scholars since the 1970s. This robe is from a Turkish collection of Central Asian ikats given to the Textile Museum in Washington D.C. in 2005 by the collector Murad Megalli (Fig. 1).

Nineteenth century ikat …