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Sustainability Of Handwoven Carpets In Turkey: The Context Of The Weaver, Kimberly Berman, Charlotte Jirousek

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Forms of Production

Past research, conducted mainly in the 1970s and 1980s, has identified three forms of production in which carpets are woven as commodities. These are petty-commodity production, the putting-out system, and workshop production.

Petty-commodity production involves weaving in the home, with the male head of the household or other male relatives selling the finished product to a carpet dealer or at a local or regional market (fig. 1). The family owns the loom and other weaving supplies, and family members purchase or prepare the yarn themselves. Under the putting-out system, the yarn, rug patterns and perhaps the loom …

Unraveling The Story: Art Holmes’ War Correspondent Uniform, Courtney Stewart

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

War correspondents have, and continue to risk their own personal safety in order to capture a story and communicate news. The first war correspondents from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Art Holmes and Robert Bowman, shipped out from Halifax in late 1939, and for the duration of the war vested themselves in standard military attire. Identical to that of the soldiers on the front whose stories they was capturing, Holmes and Bowman were given military uniforms. Although correspondents were neither soldiers nor members of the armed forces, they were given military priority and respect by association of what this uniform signified. …

Messages From The Past: An Unbroken Inca Weaving Tradition In Northern Peru, Lynn A. Meisch

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The only documented unbroken Inca weaving tradition thrives today in the Huamachuco region of northern Peru (La Libertad Department), where females in several Andean communities weave belts chronicled in A.D. 1590 by a Mercedarian Friar Martín de Murúa. Murúa was entrusted with collecting tribute from and Christianizing the indigenous population of Yanaca in the Province of Aymarays (in modern Apurimac Department in central Peru). His contemporary Guaman Poma accused Murúa of exploitation of the Indians and drew him beating an elderly male weaver (Guaman Poma 1980 [1615]: fig. 647). In his manuscript titled, “History of the Origin and Genealogy of …

Contemporary Hemp Weaving In Korea, Min-Sun Hwang

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Until the 1900s, hemp was one of four traditional textile fibers in Korea, the others being cotton, ramie, and silk. The production of hemp fabrics had traditionally been for family use, but since the 1950s, that tradition has ceased to exist. The present status of hemp production is, therefore, extremely limited to the rural regions, and practiced by only a small number of the elderly (fig. 1). Of the approximately thirteen hemp cultivation regions (fig. 2), the city of Andong developed a different technique in hemp fiber-making from the rest of the regions and this paper will cover hemp fabric …

Elemental Pathways In Fiber Structures: Approaching Andean Symmetry Patterns Through An Ancient Technology, Mary Frame

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Repetitive pattern is laden with meaning in many cultures. In Andean cultures, where no alphabetic writing system was developed during prehispanic times, patterns and graphic codes carried a large cultural load. It is crucial to have appropriate tools to investigate the integrated properties (symmetry, color, number, direction, etc.) in the graphic codes of the ancient Andes. In this paper, I will propose some modifications to the prevailing approach to symmetry classification that better fits the patterns in Andean textiles.

Approaches to Symmetry Patterns, Modern and Ancient

An approach to classifying symmetry patterns that is called “plane pattern analysis” has been …

Nasca Needlework And Paracas Procession, Lois Martin

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Among the treasures in the Brooklyn Museum is an ancient cloth from the South Coast of Peru: 38.121, sometimes known as “The Paracas Textile,” and now more often as “The Brooklyn Museum Textile” (BMT) (fig. 1.). First acquired by a Peruvian collector around 1912, the cloth shuttled between New York and Paris in the 1920’s and 30’s, inspiring great interest and numerous studies. One of these, Raoul d’Harcourt’s Textiles of Ancient Peru and their Techniques (1934), has been in reprint since 1962, and continues to intrigue fresh audiences.

The BMT was one of several spectacular fabrics that spurred archeological exploration …

Brides And Grooms: Embroidery Of The Epirus Region, Sumru Belger Krody

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Traditional marriage ceremonies in the Epirus (Ípeiros) region of northwestern Greece were some of the most extravagant wedding celebrations among the Greeks on the mainland and islands. The textiles produced for the young bride’s trousseau were as elaborate as the celebrations. They included garments for her and her husband and textiles for their home. These textiles tell us many things about the region’s political, economic and artistic history. Ottoman Empire held the Greek mainland and islands in their control for centuries leaving their mark in many aspects of daily life and the arts and as an extension of arts in …

The Narrative Scheme Of A Bengal Colcha Dating From The Early 17th Century Commissioned By The Portuguese, Barbara Karl

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

In this article I analyse the iconographic programme of a large size embroidered textile dating from the early 17th century from the Hugli region in Bengal. The textile is part of subgroup (c) of the Solomon group. India has an extremely rich textile tradition. Every region has its peculiarities and techniques. Quilts were made all over the Indian subcontinent throughout the ages. Worn out clothes were not thrown away but were instead reused: Several layers of cloth were laid upon each other and were sewn together to be used in Indian homes. Most of them were very simple but some …

White Snake, Black Snake Folk Narrative Meets Master Narrative In Qing Dynasty Sichuanese Cross-Stitch Medallions, Cory Willmott

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The cross-stitch medallion in figure 1 was collected by my grandmother, Katherine Willmott, in the early 1920s when she was a missionary in Renshow, Sichuan Province, West China. Many years after I inherited it, I learned that it depicts a folk narrative called “White Snake; Black Snake” that was traditionally performed both on stage in the legitimate theaters and in Chinese shadow puppet dramas (Highbaugh n/d:6).

The story may be summarized as follows: There were two female snakes, White Snake and Black Snake, who were inseparable friends. They both changed into beautiful young women. White Snake got married and bore …

Narratives Among The Mola Blouses Of The Kuna: A Blending Of The Old And New Worlds, Teena Jennings-Rentenaar

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The Kuna of the San Blas (Kuna Yala) region of Panama are highly regarded for the mola panels that they make using appliqué and reverse appliqué. These panels form the front and back of blouses that the women and their daughters wear both in their daily lives and for special occasions. Mari Lynn Salvador found, when doing her research on the making of mola panels, that there are different types of designs and that these categories are recognized by the Kuna women themselves as being distinct. Each of the different categories requires a different approach to its manufacturing process.

One …

Investigation Of A Colonial Latin American Textile, Elena Phipps, Lucy Commoner

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Introduction

Museum collections often contain works of art of uncertain provenance. Additionally, hybrid works attributed to Colonial cultures reflect the composite nature of a cross-cultural society integrating native and foreign traditions. An interdisciplinary technical study often is needed to identify such an object, including where it was made, when and by whom. The following paper presents the results to date, of a collaborative investigation from art historical, scientific, and conservation perspectives, of a textile belonging to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. (fig. 1).

Catalogued as Colonial Peruvian, the textile was considered for inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum’s Colonial Andes: Tapestries …

About Textile Society Of America

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The Textile Society of America, Inc. provides an international forum for the exchange and dissemination of information about textiles worldwide from artistic, cultural, economic, historic, political, social and technical perspectives.

National Office

Textile Society of America (TSA)

Kim Righi, Executive Director

P.O. Box 70

Earleville, MD 21919-0070

Phone (410) 275-2329

Fax (410) 275-8936

TSA Board of Directors 2006-2007

Officers

President

Vice President

Treasurer

Recording Secretary

Past President

Director of Internal Relations

Director of External Relations

Directors at Large

Task Representatives

Co-Chairs, TSA 10th Biennial Symposium - Toronto 2006

Co-Chairs, TSA 11th Biennial Symposium - Honolulu 2008

2006 Proceedings Editors

Newsletter …

Abstracts

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Textile Society of America

10th Biennial Symposium 2006

October 11–14, 2006

Harbourfront Centre

Toronto, Ontario

A-Z

Author Biographies

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Textile Society of America

10th Biennial Symposium 2006

October 11–14, 2006

Harbourfront Centre

Toronto, Ontario

A-Z pp. 1-26

Acknowledgements, Carol Bier

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Nataley Nagy and Frances Dorsey deserve our very special thanks for the organization of such a splendid symposium, which indeed exceeded our expectations and goals. Thanks are also due to the dedicated staff of the Textile Museum of Canada, of which Nataley is Director, and to the staff at Harbourfront Centre, and its Director, Melanie Egan. We also thank Debbie Adams of Adams + Associates Design Consultants, Inc., who served as artistic director for the Symposium; her designs, logo and artwork, have served us as well for the Proceedings.

Ann Svenson Perlman stepped in to take on the role of …

Introduction, Frances Dorsey, Nataley Nagy

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The Textile Society of America's 10th Biennial Symposium took place in Toronto, October 11- 14, 2006. The Textile Museum of Canada and Harbourfront Centre co-sponsored the event. A springboard for discussions across disciplines, the symposium offered in-depth explorations of specific topics related to textiles. The Program, which serves as the Table of Contents, includes presentations about textiles and trade, education, ritual practices, cultural transitions, cultural and gender issues, and contemporary art practices, offering an enticing and savoury array of narratives and conversations about textiles. The organized sessions, panels, and plenary programs are designed to raise questions that encourage our talking …

Notes On Editing, Carol Bier, Ann Svenson Perlman

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Sixty-six papers and more than ninety bios and abstracts are included in this publication of the Proceedings of TSA's 10th Biennial Symposium in Toronto. The Proceedings reflect in text and image the substance and the intellectual vibrancy that characterized the Textile Society of America's 10th Biennial Symposium in Toronto. The contents are published substantively as submitted. Our editorial efforts comprised formatting of more than 500 images and preparing each paper to a standard visual style of presentation.

We have endeavored to bring all papers into a consistent visual format, suitable for either screenviewing or hard-copy print-out. Since the symposium was …

About The Authors

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

About the Authors

A-Z

Nettie Adams

Monisha Ahmed

...

Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada

Stephen Wagner

Mike Cloud: Systems, Daniel A. Siedell

Sheldon Museum of Art: Catalogs and Publications

Mike Cloud was born in 1974. He received a BFA from the University of Illinois-Chicago and studied at Yale University, where he received his MFA in 2003. He has had solo exhibitions at the Max Protetch Gallery in 2003, 2004, and 2006. His work has been featured in National Projects at PSl Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City and in Frequency at the Studio Museum in Harlem. He lives and works in Brooklyn.

"So a lot of painting for me is just trying to find out what is believable and what kinds of painting can be honestly generated."

"The …

Who Is Imitating Whom?, Sharon L. Kennedy-Gustafson

Sheldon Museum of Art: Catalogs and Publications

Photographers create images that look like paintings, and painters make paintings that look like photographs. Who is imitating whom and why?

Long before photography was invented painters who could depict realistic imagery were held in high esteem. When photography was first invented, its ability to capture reality was also greatly admired. Over time, however, its status declined and eventually it was viewed as merely a mechanical tool with little artistic value.

Henry Peach Robinson (1830-1901) popularized the emulation of painting and encouraged artificiality in photography. It was believed that if a photograph were made to look like a painting it …

Here… Is The Place Where You Are, Leah Decter

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

In this paper I will be discussing my use of material and process as conceptual elements for exploration in my practice, and the ways that narrative intersects with my work. I will be focusing on the first four works in ‘here’, my ongoing body of sculpture, installation and video works. These works examine human relationships with place through a lens of the contemporary and historical.

I am not exclusively a textile artist although I have used textiles periodically throughout my practice and extensively in the last several years. In my practice I draw on the social, personal and formal connotations …

Historical Memory And Empathy In Studio Art Classroom, Karen Hampton

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

During the fall of 2002, I was a guest instructor at California College of Art and Craft in Oakland, California, and was asked to create a course inspired by my artwork and research. The course I created was titled, “Slavery, Internment and Transcendence,” subtitled "Artists of Color Who Use Historical Memory." The course involved the study of contemporary artists, their artwork and the historical context in which the artwork was inspired and fashioned

Students were taken inside the artist's world, learning to analyze artwork from the perspective of historical memory. By using "sense of place" curriculum, which included an understanding …

La Mode À L’Écossaise: Textile Of Diplomacy, Seta K. Wehbé

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The fashion style called La Mode à l’Écossaise flourished during the early years of the French Second Empire (1852-1870). There is no equivalent English term for it except maybe “tartanmania.” In the early 1850s Queen Victoria’s fondness for wool tartans had already popularized this textile as clothing for women and children in England. Tartans came to France as a full-fledged fashion style after Empress Eugénie wore a tartan gown for the trip to England. The six-day State Visit of the French Imperial couple started on April 16th, 1855, a very foggy Sunday, when Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie set sail …

Swept Under The Carpet: Subtle Tales From The Back Room, Michele Hardy

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

According to Ruth Phillips, we are poised to enter the second museum age. For many years now museums has been the object of serious criticism. First Nations have critiqued museums’ authority to represent and possess culturally significant objects. There has also been a shift away from object-based research—undermining the very foundation of museums. They have been forced to re-evaluate who they are, whom they are for, and what to do with all that stuff in the storerooms. Since the mid-1980’s there has been growing responsiveness to indigenous peoples concerns, efforts to share authority, and a re-envisioning of museums as places …

Weaving Social Change: Berea College Fireside Industries And Reform In Appalachia, Sarah Stopenhagen Broomfield

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The Appalachian subculture of America is well known for its tradition of handcrafts, and Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, played a seminal role in promoting that tradition throughout its 150-year history. This study looks at the first five decades of Berea College’s renowned handweaving program, the beginning of what is known today as the Student Crafts program. It explores the connection between Berea alumnae and the settlement school movement that promoted social change in the Appalachian region, specifically the contribution of Berea College’s Appalachian Crafts Revival to reform in Appalachia.

The historical record is full of references to Berea College students …

The History And The Present Of A Traditional Textile Of Okinawa, Japan A Narrative Of The People In Miyako Island And Miyako-Jofu Textile, Yuka Matsumoto

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Preface

Miyako Island, located in the Sakishima Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, is known for the production of the Miyako-jofu textile. Miyako-jofu is a hand-woven ikat textile, which is dyed with indigo and woven with dye-resistant yarns of hand-spun ramie. (fig.1) “Jofu” means a ramie textile. In this paper, the dye-resistant process in which designs are reserved in warp or weft yarns by tying off small bundles is called “ikat.”

This study examines what the meaning and the role Miyako-jofu have for the people in Miyako Island and examines the relations between the people and the textile. …

Sashiko Workshop: Experiential Geometry, Lucy Arai

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The objective for this workshop is to experientially understand the connection between textile and math by drafting and stitching simple underlying grids from which all sashiko patterns are derived. This demonstrates the intrinsic connection between textiles and math.

This hands-on presentation taught the essentials of sashiko pattern drafting and stitching to facilitate an experiential understanding of geometry and subdivision of the stitched plane. Each participant received a threaded needle and a fabric square prepared with a grid, the underlying structure for all traditional sashiko patterns. I guided the participants through the process of sewing and drawing stitches through the grid …

The Question Of Symmetry In Andean Textiles, Mary Frame

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Considering the various mathematical ideas we’ve been exploring briefly, how might these differ in textiles from ancient Peru?

In the ancient textiles that I study, Andean people seem to have made conscious use of the math embedded in textile processes for generating several kinds of graphic codes. You may have heard about a device called the khipu: it is a bunch of colored and knotted cords that looks like a string mop, but it is really an ancient record-keeping device. The knots stand for numbers in the base 10 system. Long knots were used for numbers from 2 to …

Confessions Of A Red Thread Bandit Queen: Ten Years Of Fieldwork With Narrative Embroidery, Skye Morrison

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

I confess to living a life full of unexpected experiences trying to remove the bark from the tree of commercialism and finding the ever-fruitful world of contemporary textiles made by traditional artisans. This presentation is a series of confessions brought to light through fieldwork, teaching and working in India and Canada / there and here / two worlds made into one. We begin with the six images connected to confessions or thoughts to live by:

Always dream that something is possible. I confess that I can be very stubborn when it comes to realizing these dreams. When I first …

Mathematical Approaches In Quilt Design, Gerda De Vries

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Mathematics often is thought of as the study of numbers and geometry. But mathematics is so much more. It also includes the study of patterns, enumeration, classification, problem solving, and logical reasoning. More loosely, mathematics is not just a collection of facts, but also an action: a way of doing, or a systematic way of thinking.

In this paper, quilt making will be discussed in the context of the latter view of mathematics. In particular, three quilts made with a structured approach to design will be discussed: Bubb’Illusion II, Wild Flowers, and Cyclic Permutations. Bubb’Illusion II represents early work of …