Art Practice Commons^™

Project To Recover Prehispanic Textile Techniques In Peru: A Brief Review, From Its Initiation To Today, Yuki Seo

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

I have lived in Peru for approximately 20 years, devoted to research and the study of prehispanic textiles. Because of the rich heritage and enormous quantity of tangible textile patrimony that exists in this country, I have chosen Peru to be able to pursue several interests. Over time, I worked in different museums, which motivated me to promote the study, understanding and recovery of prehispanic techniques. I proposed to give them life, so that they would be appreciated in these times. Along the way, I have met admirable self-taught persons who come from my country, Japan. This led me to …

Wool Sells Itself: Tracing The Movement Of Navajo-Raised Wools, Emily Winter

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Every June for the last eight years, a coalition of commercial wool buyers, the Diné College Land Grant Office, and the Black Mesa Water Coalition has hosted a multi-site wool buy in the Navajo Nation of New Mexico/Arizona. Historically, the primary outlets for Navajos to sell their wool were trading posts and border towns, which paid far below market price. Over the last several years, the wool buy has effectively doubled the price per pound paid to Navajo producers by bringing them into direct contact with buyers. In June 2019, an estimated 160,000 pounds of wool were purchased from over …

India In Situ: Textile History And Practice, A Team Approach, Annin Barrett, Carol Bier, Anna Jolly, Louise W. Mackie, Barbara Setsu Pickett

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Five textile specialists from various backgrounds came together to explore shared interests in Indian fabrics, histories, and architectural patterns. Guided by Rahul Jain’s extraordinary scholarship and generosity, we visited weaving workshops producing exquisite fabric and metallic yarn in our quest to understand the naqsha system for drawloom patterning. In Cholapur and Varanasi, we studied drawlooms set up to weave velvet, lampas, and samite, and a distinguished naqshaband demonstrated the making of a naqsha that provides the design for drawloom lifts. We examined rare historic textiles in New Delhi’s National Museum, Ahmedabad’s Calico Museum of Textiles, Varanasi’s Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum, …

Clothing The Black Body In Slavery, Wanett Clyde

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

After suffering the traumas of capture, enslavement, and the ship’s journey from their homeland, newly arrived Black people, along with struggling to understand and cope with their reduced circumstances, were often pulled in multiple directions with regard to their appearance.

Stripped of garments that represented their native culture and forbidden to practice their personal grooming habits, slaves were now reliant on their owners for care. Once a slave was purchased, it was in the best interest of the master and mistress to protect their investment by providing them with the essentials. Chief among those necessities was clothing.

This presentation will …

The Arts Of Urgency: Textile Practices And Truth-Telling, Catherine Dormor

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

To think of the arts of urgency is to think about tactics for making public realities and ‘truths’. It is to ask how art and artists can express horror, suffering, collective and individual trauma with intelligence, rigour, truthfulness, integrity and ethics? In this paper I explore the role of textile as a set of practices deployed as acts of resistance, focusing on the work of Chinese artist Lin Tianmiao and the US artist collective behind the Pussyhat Project (Jayna Zweimann, Krista Suh and Kat Doyle). Both deploy a tactics of spatiality and collaborative action to produce discourse around female disempowerment …

The Nantucket Looms: Historicism And Modernism In An Island Cottage Industry, Jennifer Nieling

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Social and political upheavals of the 1960s spurred many reactions in the arts, from optimistic modernism to nostalgic historicism, that resulted in a widespread revival of handcraft. On Nantucket, the 1960s craft revival coincided with a renaissance of the island itself, as it looked towards the past to shape its future. The wharf transformed and historical tourism was promoted, the island a time capsule of its nineteenth-century glory days as a whaling port. In 1961, the Nantucket Historical Trust renovated the Jared Coffin House, a historic whaling merchant’s mansion turned hotel, decorating it with custom reproduction interior textiles. A weaving …

The State Of Traditional Albanian Kilims, Their Motifs And Narratives, Alexis Zoto

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Albania is a cultural crossroads. Its history is rooted in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. It has been part of the Republic of Venice and part of the Ottoman Empire. It has maintained its own identity and language in spite of many occupiers. Like many of its neighbors, it also has a rich weaving tradition influenced by hundreds of years under Ottoman rule. However, the knowledge of the old ways of this craft is quickly dying out. There are splits in knowledge and documented information between pre-communist Albania and Communist Albania and post-Communist Albania.

In the mid twentieth century …

Four Artists: My Angels And Mentor, Polly Barton

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Interwoven into my life at the loom are the stories of four women: a weaver, a painter, an embroiderer, and a fiber artist. Their histories have guided and pulled me forward in my own growth as an artist. Yet it is to their art that I feel a heartfelt, visceral, and almost spiritual resonance. I would like to present to the TSA conference in 2020 my research into the lives of Sumiko Deguchi (1883-1952), Helen Frankenthaler (1928- 2011), Adya van Rees-Dutilh (1876- 1959), and Pat Hickman (b.1935).

As an artist who has wound, tied, dyed, and woven silk into contemporary …

Intertwining The Past And The Present Through Textiles, Experiences In The Communities, A Vision From Peru, Rommel Angeles Falcón

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

In recent years in Perú, a number of initiatives have been independently developed by collective groups, taking prehispanic textile heritage as a reference and beginning to replicate and teach ancient techniques. These initiatives were born from diverse interests, in many cases based on the experiences of weavers from the Andean highlands, textile traditions of the coast and a notable interest on the part of young people. Resist dye techniques, warp-faced weaving and tapestry have been most fully developed. This presentation reviews the principle initiatives developed in the Lima region, the ‘norte chico’ region and the far north coast.

Contemporary Oneida Beadwork: Revitalized Identity Through An “Adopted” Art Form, Beverly Gordon

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

A relatively new type of raised beadwork has “become a way of life” for the Oneida people of Wisconsin. “Beading extravaganzas” are important social events, and beadwork adorns ritual objects such as graduation stoles. This examination of contemporary Oneida beadwork functions as an intriguing update to Ruth Phillip’s 1990 TSA paper, “Moccasins into Slippers: Traditions and Transformations in Nineteenth-Century Woodlands Indian Textiles.” Phillips documented how indigenous forms “morphed” into objects made for sale to non-natives at sites such as Niagara Falls. While even tourist art was part of native cultural identity, its greatest significance was as a source of income …

Blanket Statements, Issue 146, Seminar 2020

Blanket Statements: News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group

Blanket Statements, Issue 146, Seminar 2020

Uncoverings: The Research Papers Of The American Quilt Study Group, Volume 41 (2020), Joanna E. Evans, Deanna Allred, Linda Baumgarten, Hallie Bond, Mary Bywater Cross, Gretchen Guidess, Kimberley Smith Ivey, Charlene Bongiorno Stephens, William G. Stephens, Rosa Thornley

Uncoverings Journal

Preface by Joanna E. Evans

Unraveling the Mysteries of a White Quilt One Quilt, Two Cultures, and ­ree Approaches by Linda Baumgarten, Gretchen Guidess, and Kimberly Ivey

“Nothing Thou Love Be Lost or Die”: An 1846 Friendship Quilt Made at the Vermont Asylum for the Insane by Charlene Bongiorno Stephens and William G. Stephens

Seeking the Evidence: ­The Solar System Quilt and Artist Ellen Harding Baker by Mary Bywater Cross

“For Top-Cover Warmth” North Country Comforters, 1800–1970s by Hallie E. Bond

“Reach Out and Touch Someone”: Examining How Instagram Has Become a Conduit for Quiltmaking Communities by Deanna Allred and …

Enigmatic Mediterranean Silk Quilts, Kathryn Berenson

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Nearly two dozen centuries-old, corded quilts and fragments made of jewel-toned silks rest in North American and European collections. Expertly designed, they are variously stitched with imagery of ships sailing over waters that teem with fish, musicians who play amidst animals that gambol and prance to their music, armed hunters and their dogs in pursuit of boar, wolf, and even lion, and arcaded galleries where half-dressed women pose beneath the arches. Double-headed eagles, a symbol of both political and religious significance, and roundels featuring profiles of men wearing turbans or crowns, are also common motifs.

Each quilt is completely reversible; …

People, Landscape And Wool Weaving In Venezuelan Andes, María Dávila, Eduardo Portillo

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Wool weaving has been practiced in the Venezuelan Andean region for centuries, specifically at the Paramo ecosystem. This activity was introduced by the Spaniards and shaped by the relation of its inhabitants with the environment, warm clothing needs, climate, and the isolation of the place. Blankets and ruanas have been made traditionally on elementary handlooms by weavers who still use handspun wool, cotton, and natural dyes. Beauty in simplicity has built a singular aesthetic to be worn within the mist of the mountains. This paper intends to share a personal encounter of the authors with the community of weavers, spinners, …

Coming Together Again: A Case Study On Persian Silk Woven Textiles, Tayana Fincher

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Spanning well beyond the parameters of the Middle East, Islam has always had a global reach. It has adapted to numerous cultures and ancient histories encountered over the past 1,400 years. But, due to the prevailing Eurocentric purview in American museums, little has been recorded about the artists and makers of Islamic textiles. Many of these objects were produced by collective, royal workshops with unnamed contributors, or were intended for devotional use inside domestic spaces. With colonial ventures, too, many passed through the hands of collectors and dealers solely interested in the object’s material or aesthetic value.

A group of …

Transformative Power Of Stitchery: Sashiko From Cold Regions Of Japan And Embroidery Work Of The Nui Project, Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This paper seeks to reveal the transformative power of stitchery by examining textile practices in Japan and articulating how a threaded needle can be viewed as the co-agent of stitchers, infusing their materials with properties in a “processual” and relational manner that reflects the currents of their lifeworld.^[1] I will contrast and compare two practices, one ancient and one modern, one responding to life’s necessities and the other simply to the act of stitching. In the ancient world, stitchery was essential for human survival, and later in rural Japan, sashiko stitchery was a medium that connected textiles with daily …

Where Can Objects Take You? The Case Of The World War Ii Japanese Airman's Suit, Madelyn Shaw, Trish Fitzsimons

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

“Dad always said that ‘It’s made out of Australian wool,’ and I thought that was just a joke because you couldn’t see how the Japanese would get hold of Australian wool during the war…. But it is a fine material…. They weren’t scrapping for something to wear.” —Wally Lanagan

In December 1942, the Yokosuka Military Department manufactured, surely among hundreds of others, a flying suit, which may or may not have ever been worn by a Japanese pilot. It did, however, end up on display at the Pioneer Park Museum in Dalby, a small town in rural Queensland, Australia. It …

Textile Memory In Colchane: Weavers Revitalizing The Aymara Tradition, Soledad Hoces De La Guardia

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

In Aymara culture, textiles have played a fundamental role as highly valued community possessions and significant media for ritual and tradition. In Chilean territory, the Colchane community has been fortunate, because they have here retained, with fidelity and vigor, their culture and traditional textile practices. However, the average age of active weavers is rising and those younger do not have the technical expertise of their elders, which has led to the loss of a significant part of traditional technical knowledge.

To not forget the “handwork” became an urgent concern for artisans in the community, members of the Aymar Warmi association, …

Viscacha: Luxury, Fate And Identification In Precolumbian Textiles, Elena Phipps, Caroline Solazzo

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Since the sixteenth century, references by Spanish chroniclers to the use of chinchilla hair (Andean rodents of several species including viscacha) by Andean weavers indicate that the fine hair of these animals had been incorporated into textiles. Their fine soft hair, often mottled in color, has distinctive characteristics which vary and, as a result, make them difficult to identify. Some archaeological finds, primarily in Chile have reported viscacha skins and fur bags, but few if any reports have identified the presence of textiles or spun yarns that incorporate this special fiber. The depiction of the animal takes on special meaning …

Unseen, Unheard, Unnamed: The Matchless And Unsung Heroes Of The Textile Art And Craft Of Rajasthan, Simrita Singh, Anu H. Gupta

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Rajasthan is known for its exquisite handicrafts, especially the textiles. In spite of having the most vibrant and glorious traditions, this sector has been grossly unorganized due to the poor socio-economic status of the artisans. The educational background of the artisans also is not satisfactory; hence, they lack public relations skills. They are totally dependent on big traders and middlemen for marketing purposes. Moreover, in this era of labels and designers, the artisans, however skilled or endowed they may be, have to work under some renowned brand or name to have a regular livelihood. However, not all artisans are lucky …

Artistic Philanthropy And Women’S Emancipation In Early Twentieth-Century Italy, In The Life And The Work Of Romeyne Robert And Carolina Amari, Ruggero Ranieri

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Romeyne Robert, married as Ranieri di Sorbello, started an embroidery school in 1904 in Umbria, at the family’s country estate of Pischiello. Her goal was to teach young peasant women to emancipate themselves by learning the craft of embroidery. She was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in America and by contemporary programs developed in settlement houses along the East Coast. Their aim was to help the emancipation of immigrant women from Italy by fostering the recovery of artisan skills. At the Sorbello Embroidery School, Romeyne rediscovered the Renaissance technique originally called the punto Umbro, later renamed punto Sorbello. …

Tribal Textiles And The Mingei Circle In Japan: Muneyoshi Yanagi’S View On Carpet, Yumiko Kamada

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Tribal carpets and textiles have been enthusiastically collected by connoisseurs and ordinary people in Europe and the United States for years. Along with a number of publications on tribal carpets and textiles, several recent exhibitions such as Portable Storage: Tribal Weavings from the Collection of William and Inger Ginsberg at the Metropolitan Museum of Art indicate a keen academic interest in the West. In contrast, tribal carpets and textiles did not gain the attention of the majority of Japanese. However, some Japanese, especially Yanagi Muneyoshi and his friends in the Mingei circle, notably Hamada Shoji, Serizawa Keisuke, and Tonomura Kichinosuke, …

Patterns Of Identity, Tameka S. Phillips

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

People interpret and categorize visual cues not only to create a concept of an identity. We assume who a person is, and what their personality is like, based on these visual cues that are in turn plagued with established norms and biases that can connect or divide. Cultural norms, such as gender, sexuality, race, or political standing can be further expressed visually through textile patterns, motifs, and color. Even so, the many cultural signifiers serve only as clues to a person’s identity that encompasses many different cultural aspects, despite common practice to relate to only one. Through my textile statues, …

Ciencia De Las Mujeres: Experiencias En La Cadena Textil Desde Los Ayllus De Challapata, Denise Y. Arnold, Elvira Espejo

Textile Research Works

En el contexto de la crisis económica que atravesó Bolivia en los años ochenta, una comunidad de puna de pastores andinos, Livichuco, que forma parte integral del ayllu mayor de Qaqachaka, emprendió por iniciativa propia un proceso de mejoramiento de su producción textil, con un programa de rescate de los tintes naturales de la región. Con recursos mínimos, los comunarios compraron ollas y bateas metálicas, y comenzaron a preguntar a las personas mayores sobre sus conocimientos prácticos tradicionales en el ámbito de la tinción de textiles. Durante un período de diez años, y en coordinación con varias instituciones —incluida la …

Blanket Statements, Issue 140, Fall 2019

Blanket Statements: News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group

Blanket Statements, Issue 140, Fall 2019

Getting Located: Queer Semiotics In Dress, Callen Zimmerman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The body, a long contested site of identity construction, has been used by historically by queers to convey desire, build affinity and transgress norms. Looking at the fashioned queer body, this capstone takes the form of a proposal for an art exhibition at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. Seeking to engage with objects, performance and film which approximate, provide proxy for or depart from the body as a site, it explores the social and political quagmire of getting dressed. Comprised of contemporary art that looks at the rupture of legible bodily semiotics, this show wonders what …

Blanket Statements, Issue 139, Summer 2019

Blanket Statements: News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group

Blanket Statements, Issue 139, Summer 2019

Jennifer Tshab Her, Allison Bautista

Asian American Art Oral History Project

Artist Bio: My work demonstrates and complicates the politics of displacement through my experience as a second-generation Hmong-American woman. As a nation-less ethnic minority from Southeast Asia, I fear cultural extinction. I create work that reveals the diaspora of the Hmong, questioning the roles of site and place, and instead looking in-between. My work engages political and cultural space through multidisciplinary practices such as embroidery, installation, and social practice. I use color as a dialogue–a tool for bringing attention to space, claiming space and recognizing how spaces are claimed. I interpret the question of ownership, whether land or body, through …

Through The Looking Glass: Marie Antoinette, The Mafia And The Buddha, Craig G. Foisy

Theses and Dissertations

Through the Looking Glass: Marie Antoinette, the Mafia & the Buddhais a short documentary film that recounts six chapters from the autobiography of Marie Antoinette. No, not that last Queen of France who got her head chopped off. This Marie Antoinette lives in Woodstock, NY (“but I do like cake!” says Marie from inside her shop). And yes, Marie Antoinette is her real name. She is 78 years old and she sells what she calls “wearable art” out of a ramshackle and overstuffed boutique in town. Marie is facing the possible closure of her shop: her 100-year-old …

Kiddush Levana, The Moon Is Your Handheld Mirror, Noa Ginzburg

Theses and Dissertations

Noa Ginzburg is weaving cast-off and hand-made objects, lights, reflections, spells, drawings, and an abundance of knots into site-responsive installations. In her thesis, Ginzburg addresses Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings, the synergy of assemblages, repurposing of materials in the era of Anthropocene, and how notions of solidarity and indeterminacy influence her work.