Wow, another year almost finished already. Doesn’t seem long ago that I was reviewing 2013.
Here is an overview of the textiles I’ve experienced in exhibitions, museums and galleries, at talks and visiting textile craftspeople at work. I’ll also have a look at whats to come in 2015.
In January on my way back from the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland I stopped off at the Paisley museum, which gave an insight into the Scottish weavers of the highly prized global commodity, at a time when geographical indication of a particular craft definitely didn’t exist. A visit to Manchester Platt Hall gallery also in January showed us another highly skilled, but much less known about craft. There was a talk and exhibition by textile artist and researcher LOkesh Ghai who has done extensive research on the traditional Kediyun, the hand-stitched and embroidered jacket, worn by rural cattle herding men in Kutch. The research is poignant at a time when the original hand-made version of the kediyun is at high risk of disappearing.
An exhibition held at the Fashion and Textiles Museum in London, Made in Mexico, the Rebozo in Art, Culture and Fashion brilliantly displayed the history, technique and designs of the robozo, as well as its ability to signify the wearer’s identity. It also showed contemporary uses and meanings of the rebozo, and its lasting importance and iconic status in Mexican culture. It was interesting to see the similarities in technique and design to weaving in other countries across the world, such as the ikat technique, often used in the rebozo as well as in weaving in Central, South and South-East Asia. An example of long-distance trade and global cross-cultural influence.
Another exhibition that I visited but went undocumented, was British Folk Art at Tate Britain. It included some fascinating textile pieces, most of which were quilts. It provoked thought about the categorisation of art, folk art and craft, or even design; a subject to perhaps come back to when I have more time and space. Quilts in this exhibition are categorised as ‘folk art’ but when they are being made and in the maker’s home, would probably be labelled craft. It seems it is the change of context of a quilt, from the maker’s home to the gallery, that changes it’s status from craft to folk art. Most of the quilts were made by groups of people or the maker wasn’t known, something quite common in ‘folk art’, whereas an artist (as opposed to a folk artist) is usually well-known by name. It was interesting to see quilting done as an activity done as a form of therapy or way of passing the time, and also not always done by women, as textile crafts are most often thought of as women’s work. An example of this in the exhibition is a quilt made by soldiers serving in the Crimean war.
I also loved Alfred Wallis’s paintings of the sea. I wondered again why these had been classed as folk art and not just art. Perhaps because they have that naivety about them, like so many other pieces that get classed as folk art, such as the old shop signs in the exhibition, or the huge figurehead from the HMS Calcutta. This reminded me of a cross between the huge figures representing gods in Hindu festivals such as Durga Puja and Ganesh Chaturthi and the bright art work painted on canal boats. Perhaps it was the massive size and the bright, bold colours that gave a naivety to this dominating figurehead.
A huge highlight of the year has been my trip to India to research weaving and identify possible participants forupcoming fieldwork. I visited Kutch again after a 3 year gap, and visited two new areas, Saurashtra to visit some khadi weaving factories and see some patola weaving, and Maheshwar a buzzing and picturesque weaving centre in Madhya Pradesh steeped in history. Look out for more weaving stories from India this coming year.
It was great to see my good friend and guide when in Kutch, Kuldip Gadhvi win the World Responsible Tourism Award which I interviewed him about, as well as how he began working as a tour guide, his favourite places and crafts in Kutch and a typical tour around Kutch. As well as being a great boost for his business, the award has put Kutch on the map as a global tourist destination. Lets just hope the area, the communities and their crafts can keep their integrity and stay in touch with their rich culture and identity while on the global stage.
In Kutch, the pilot year of the Somaiya Kala Vidya course happend which focussed on business and marketing for artisan-designers. They then had an exhibition of their work at Artisans gallery in Mumbai. It went well and most students made good sales. The course is due to end soon, and another set of students start this year. It will be interesting to see how it progresses.
Another side project lead by Judy Frater and Somaiya Kala Vidya was the Bhujodi to Bagalkot project where weavers from Bhujodi worked with weavers from a struggling weaving community in Bagalkot, Karnataka to help them innovate within their distinctive style of weaving to appeal to a high-end urban market. Both groups of weavers took inspiration from each weaving tradition, creating new combinations and perspectives of traditional motifs and patterns, incorporating new colours, textures and compositions. The resulting exhibition was successful and good sales were made.
Some more highlights I haven’t yet blogged about are artist Richard Tuttle’s exhibition at the Whitechapel gallery: I don’t know. The Weave of Textile Language, which I went to see a few weeks ago, and the new book edited by Jessica Hemmings, which I will review soon: Cultural Threads: transnational textiles today, as well as a new book on Indian textiles from the Karun Thakar collection, adorned with rich imagery of a huge range of techniques and traditions from all over India.
So what will 2015 bring for the world of textiles? A huge exhibition at the V&A in London called the Fabric of India is coming up in September. I have been reading about the preparation in the curators’ blog. Of course there will be more travels too, new designs and developments and hopefully more research and documentation into ancient and traditional skills, the political, economical and social issues for problems faced by textile makers and how these are being, or can be overcome.
What are your textiles, art or craft related highlights of 2014? Leave a comment below…
