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CURRENT
EXHIBITIONS
BLUE
April
4 - September 18, 2008
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Hiroyuki
Shindo, Shindigo Space 07 (detail), 2006
‘Shindigo shibori’-dyed cotton and hemp
and Shindigo
balls (polystyrene wrapped with hemp and dip-dyed)
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The
human perception of color is a complex sensory phenomenon
filtered through the eyes, brain, language and multiple layers
of social experience. While shades of red (examined in the
2007 Textile Museum exhibition RED) quicken the pulse
and increase blood pressure, blue induces a calming effect
and is widely perceived as a “cool,” tranquil color.
BLUE explores the creation and meaning of the color
blue on textiles produced across time and place, with particular
emphasis on contemporary artists’ use of natural indigo
dyes. Until the invention of chemical dyes in the late 19th
century, peoples worldwide relied largely on indigo-bearing
plants to achieve blue-colored garments, household furnishings,
artworks and even body paint. Many cultures attributed talismanic
properties as well as health benefits to indigo, and the mysterious
transformation of this temperamental dye has long been steeped
in myth and magic.
The exhibition features blue textiles ranging from Greco-Roman
and pre-Columbian tunic fragments to installations by internationally
renowned artists. Hiroyuki Shindo, a Japanese artist who grows
and processes his own indigo to produce innovatively patterned
textiles, as well as Maria Eugenia Davila and Eduardo Portillo,
who raise silkworms and dye threads with natural dyes in Venezuela,
highlight the ways that artists around the world are embracing
this ancient dye to create works that speak to their own experience.
BLUE
is curated by Lee Talbot, Assistant Curator, Eastern Hemisphere
Collections, and Mattiebelle Gittinger, Research Associate,
Southeast Asian Textiles.
View
Press Release (pdf)
View
Available Images
View
Image Descriptions (pdf)
View
Artist Bios (pdf)
View
Educational Programs (pdf)
The
Finishing Touch: Accessories from the Bolivian Highlands
February
15 - October 26, 2008
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Coca
bag, Bolivia, northern Potosí, possibly Laymí,
1950-75. The Textile Museum 2007.29.18. Latin American
Research Fund.
Knitted
bag, probably La Paz, Bolivia, early to mid-20th century.
The Textile Museum 2007.37.7.
Latin American Research
Fund.
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Now visitors
to The Textile Museum have more time to explore the liveliness
and diversity of woven and knitted textiles from the Bolivian
Andes in The Finishing Touch: Accessories from the Bolivian
Highlands. The exhibition, originally scheduled to
close on September 18, 2008, has been extended through October
26, 2008.
The
Finishing Touch features a charming group of belts, bags
and other accessories made and used by the indigenous people
of the Bolivian highlands. A large group of traditional Bolivian
textiles acquired by the Museum in late 2007 inspired the
exhibition and comprises the bulk of the more than 100 objects
on view. Complementing these objects are other Andean textiles
drawn from The Textile Museum's collection. The belts, bags
and other accessories in the exhibition, although small, are
often invested with great care and even more fully decorated
than larger shawls and ponchos.
The broad
range of techniques, patterns and items in the exhibition
reflects the many regional variations that characterize the
cultural wealth of the Bolivian highlands. The Finishing
Touch: Accessories from the Bolivian Highlands is organized
by Ann P. Rowe, curator of Western Hemisphere Collections.
View Press
Release (pdf)
View
Available Images
UPCOMING
EXHIBITIONS
TIMBUKTU TO TIBET
Rugs and Textiles of the Hajji Babas
October 18, 2008 - March 8, 2009
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Tiger pelt rug, Tibet, 20th century, Bruce Westcott. Photo by Don Tuttle Photography.
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Textiles are expressions of the lives of all peoples. As social currency, textiles reveal a great deal about an individual’s wealth, social status, occupation, and religious and ethnic associations, as well as a culture’s values, codes and social order. Textiles support commerce and delight us with their color and ornament. Within the diverse cultural traditions, lifestyles, fashions, and technologies represented by textiles, however, there are common threads that bind us together. People around the world use textiles to meet physical, aesthetic and spiritual needs: clothing themselves, defining their living spaces and performing their rituals.
One of the determining factors in how textiles have been made, decorated and used from Africa to East Asia is whether the people creating them are nomadic or settled. The textiles produced by these two divergent societies differ greatly in terms of their aesthetic, technical, and functional qualities, although, because of their continuous interaction, nomadic and settled people have shaped each others’ textile traditions.
Textiles’ functions and modes of production are often defined by the maker and the circumstances in which they live. These two points are an integral part of any discussion on the subject of textile art and history. Organizing textiles by social origin or according to the circumstances in which they were made and used allows us to see a more comprehensive picture of the different artistic categories.
Timbuktu to Tibet: Rugs and Textiles of the Hajji Babas is curated by Sumru Belger Krody, Associate Curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections.
View
Press Release (pdf)
View
Available Images
View
Image Descriptions (pdf)
View
Educational Programs (pdf) |
