Diane Savona and Closet Archaeology

Textiles have always been such a large part of domestic life, as it still is today. However, what has sadly faded away producing a rupture in the constant that was for generations such an intimate part of life, is that of the craft skills that supported all forms of domestic textiles. Centuries of creative and repairing skills have died out within a generation; many will probably never again be resurrected on the same scale as that of our ancestors.

In Closet Archaeology, the artist Diane Savona has created a form of vocabulary library of lost skills. However sad this may seem to one devoted to the textile crafts, perhaps more poignant still is the sense of lost lives and lost memories. Textiles, in many households, were literally often passed down over the generations. Therefore, woven, sewn, embroidered, crocheted, knitted and quilted forms often outlived their original owners. Many were offered as wedding or christening gifts from older to younger members of the same family. These could be offered and received in the form of an attractive gift, a keepsake, or as a memory parcel if you will. So many pieces of textile work have generational value and are imbued with the lifeblood of individuals that are no longer here. It is sad, as Savona herself reflects, how much of our individual family and community history and culture has been casually jettisoned by a couple of recent generations, including our own who seem ambivalent of the cares of any future generation that might have wished for these keepsakes and memory parcels to have continued.

It is with a sense of awe that this exhibition has been put together. The cavalier means by which we dismiss all previous generations apart from our own, holds no sway here. Many of the textiles featured in Closet Archaeology are actually not particularly ancient and not that far removed from our own. However, perhaps that is one of the points that Savona is trying to make. Domestic textile work that she features is sometimes only one or two generations removed from ourselves. However, they might as well be a hundred or more generations away. The emphasis on detail, patience and pride that can be seen quite evidently in so many examples of domestic work, seem a world away from our own lives. Many today have no sympathy, empathy or understanding towards the life of past generations. Their wide-ranging and significant skills base is often dismissed as irrelevant. Much of the history of domestic craft skilled work has already been lost and connections between generations of family have been irrevocably severed by car boot and garage sales.

Although this exhibition should be seen as a form of celebration of generational textile craft skills of countless and mostly nameless women, it is tinged with sadness. It cannot be coincidental that there is an element of the forgotten and the neglected in Savona's work. The exhibition at times seems to take on the mantle of a neglected corner of a museum, or perhaps more fittingly, a long forgotten domestic linen cupboard. Previously precious family items, steeped in memories, carefully packed away, but now forgotten and misplaced.

The history of our species is made up of so many variations of creative and destructive behaviour. All these elements of our group personality become layers set one over the other, building up a fossilized record of our species achievements along with its failures. Treating domestic textiles in the same way is an intriguing concept. Savona has literally unpicked various three-dimensional garments, often of a celebratory nature such as christening gowns, and rearranged them within two-dimensions. By flattening these garments, they have lost their original shape and purpose and have become, in some respects, fossilized memories, or partial impressions of previous generations. It is perhaps similar to us viewing a flat compressed fossilized creature and trying to imagine the reanimation of that specific life. How and where would the creature inhabit and fill the space in its forgotten world.

For me, one of the most intriguing aspects of Savona's exhibition, and there are so many elements that make up the whole, is that of the last illustration shown in this article. It is a rendition of a form of geological layering of clothing. It seems somehow humbling to view generations of humans as each being a thin layer of garment. It is also an important point for us all to remember, that although we may seem in our present generation, to be sitting proudly above all the previous layers of humanity, we are in fact only one transitional layer. To future generations we are one small coloured line in the continuing strata of humanity.

Diane Savona's excellent and intriguing exhibition can be viewed at the Hermitage Museum in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. Closet Archaeology continues until September 26 2010. I can only hope that by viewing this exhibition, some individuals may well change their views concerning the importance of generational textiles and perhaps treasure, in some small way, family pieces that store the life, ambitions and skills of our predecessors.

A link to Savona's official website, along with another link showing more fascinating and intriguing images of the Closet Archaeology exhibition can be seen below in the Reference links section.

All images of the exhibition were kindly provided by the artist.

Reference links:
Diane Savona website
Closet Archaeology

Virginia Abrams Reflections

Illustration: Virginia Abrams. Reflections 5, 2009.

I am always pleasantly surprised and even intrigued when considering how many contemporary textile artists arrive at the genre from such diverse creative journeys and backgrounds. It perhaps says much about the comprehensive appeal of textile art that so many individuals feel compelled to take up the genre. Obviously, because of the diversity of these individual artists, textile art itself broadens its parameters immensely.

The American textile artist Virginia Abrams has a background in organic chemistry and biochemistry. She is fascinated with the complex interactions of the natural world and her work is centred on this fascination. Abrams work runs on themes suggested by nature. I have chosen one of these themes water, to illustrate this article. All of these pieces are literally reflections. However, it would be misleading to believe that they are merely optical observations conceived by Abrams. These are complex recipes using ingredients of light, air and water, all with shifting parameters. Each element adds its unique quality to the composition.

Illustration: Virginia Abrams. Reflections 1, 2008.

It is the combination and arrangement of elements that is the important point to remember when contemplating the nature of Abrams work. In what can appear to be an almost scientific fascination with the symbiotic partnership of the elements that are part of the makeup of the natural world, the artist draws our attention to the complexity of each moment. How each element contacts and subsequently influences the other is a fascinating creative exploration. We are asked to consider how many procedures and how many connections have to be made in order for water to ripple and for a reflection to be disturbed.

Illustration: Virginia Abrams. Reflections 4, 2009.

In some respects, these compositions are frozen moments in time, never to be repeated exactly with those particular elements and with those particular parameters. This implies that all connections with nature, particularly those as experienced from the human conception, are fleetingly unique moments in time. The proportions of Abrams compositions are therefore also unique; showing us a snapshot of a complex series of actions and reactions that take place between light, air and water with the added, but all important element as far as textile art is concerned, of colour and tone.

What seems to work exceptionally well in these particular compositions is that of the tranquil, balanced and seemingly limited colour palette, which on closer inspection is of course anything but simple. It entails a much more complex and accomplished use of colour, tone and texture on the part of the artist. However, the contemplative nature of the compositions draws the individual towards a sense of introspection of an almost meditative quality. Perhaps it could be said that these particular compositions are reflective in more ways than that of the obviously optical and observational.

Illustration: Virginia Abrams. Reflections 3, 2008.

Abrams work is impressive on both art and craft level. She has an intrinsic understanding of the balance and harmony that can be achieved through correct composition. Her confident use of materials and textile skills adds to the winning combination, helping to take the genre of textile art to yet another level of achievement.

There is a link to Virginia Abrams comprehensive website in the reference links section below, where many more of her textile art pieces can be found.

Artwork is reproduced with the kind permission of the artist.

Illustration: Virginia Abrams. Reflections 6, 2009.

Reference links:
Virginia Abrams website

Pattern Work of Ian O'Phelan

Illustration: Ian O'Phelan. Night Flowers, 2009.

The pattern work of the American artist, designer and illustrator Ian O'Phelan is an excellent example of the continuing relevance and contemporary usage of the repeat pattern. It is often thought that the great days of pattern work, whether that be textile or wallpaper, are well behind us and that the contemporary world has nothing of relevance to add to the accumulated wealth of the past. However, as the work featured in this article shows there are still a number of excellent young designers who are aware of both the historical context of pattern work and the relevance it has, or can have, to our contemporary world.

Illustration: Ian O'Phelan. Fruit Vine II, 2009.

Repeat pattern work is not the easiest of technical processes to master. To make a pattern appear both seamless and above all effortless is another process and level of achievement altogether. Although admittedly a basic repeat pattern is relatively easy to produce, there are a number of optical rules that apply, and in order to achieve an interesting pattern without an obvious formal and optically tiring effect, skill is needed along with an intrinsic knowledge of composition, spacing, balance and harmony.

O'Phelan's decorative pattern work is both graceful and punchy. The observational details, particularly of the floral work, are within the great tradition of decorative pattern work that goes back centuries. The designers work shows a sensitive, sympathetic and indeed compatible approach to the subject matter that is truly timeless. However, twinned with this sensitivity to the floral tradition of pattern work is the ironic juxtaposition of what to many would appear to be an uncomfortable, or even inappropriate use of subject matter.

Illustration: Ian O'Phellan. Pink Paint (Beetles), 2009.

An obvious example of this juxtaposition is that of one of the examples shown here Pink Paint (Beetles). This gives a clear indication of the sentimental and traditional representation of a floral repeat pattern that appears to be superimposed by yet another repeat pattern of a very different kind. The beetles although seemingly at odds with the pink floral motifs are in fact technically and amusingly part of the same overall story. The floral and insect life of the natural world is indeed a symbiotic partnership in that world. The harmony of nature is in the detailed balance of flower and beetle.

This is by no means a misaligned pattern imposing ugly over beautiful, or distaste over graceful. It is an acute observation of the real world, rather than the posy formalised world that decorative pattern work can often take. There are many other small details and larger impositions and juxtapositions that run through much of O'Phelan's decorative pattern work. All are intriguing, thought provoking and amusing. They ask us to question what we expect of our pattern work, and perhaps what has been missing in the past.

Illuastration: Ian O'Phelan. Disporum Cantoniense, 2009.

O'Phelan's repeat pattern work, which admittedly is only part of his overall output, should be seen within the context of the history of decorative pattern work. His work is by no means a pastiche or even a messy reimagining. It is the work of a bright, clear, concise and gifted designer who both understands the relevance of historical context, but also understands the contemporary relevance that that context can take within our own world.

There are a number of links to O'Phelan's work, which can be found below in the Reference links section. There is both a website and blog as well as a Flickr account. The artist and designer can also be found on both Facebook and Twitter. He has exhibited work in both the US and the UK.

Illustration: Ian O'Phelan. Fungi I, 2009.

All images were used with the kind permission of the artist.

Reference links:
Ian O'Phelan website
Ian O'Phelan Flickr gallery
Ian O'Phelan blog

The Creative Free Form Textile Art of Lisa Chipetine

Illustration: Lisa Chipetine. Waves of Emotion: Relief, 2008.

Illustration: Lisa Chipetine. Waves of Emotion: Relief (detail), 2008.

The textile artist Lisa Chipetine is a woman who sees no merit in creative boundaries, frameworks and conventions. Her work is expressed by her belief in the limitless horizons of both self-expression and self-exploration. Of all her work, it seems only fitting to use some of the examples of her highly evocative emotions series as an illustration for this article.

It is always refreshing to find a creative artist that is constantly striving to explore sources of creative freedom well outside the box of conventional rules, regulations and formulas. The imagery that Chipetine portrays in this particular set of work is one that hints at the realms of freedom, not only of creative expression, but also of the inner emotions. Using a title such as emotions is bound to produce many personal interpretations, as it should do. Creative work is subjective at the best of times. It feeds on the instinctive and the intuitive, very much aspects of the unconscious. The artist is actively encouraging us to explore realms outside of the norm, leaving the conventional far behind us. She leads us on a creative dance, which is her purpose.

Illustration: Lisa Chipetine. A Moment of Joy, 2008.

Illustration: Lisa Chipetine. A Moment of Joy (detail), 2008.

All the pieces illustrated here have various shades and tones of red as their main base. Many are purposely shot through with white, giving the appearance of a surging ocean or a maelstrom that once activated cannot be contained. It is interesting that the feeling of spontaneity is carried to the very edge of the work and fully gives the impression that it could go much further. In fact, it feels as if the composition has been cut out of a much larger and unfocused composition, as if this were only a small convergence, a segment or pinpoint element if you will, of the true emotional and creative freedom that Chipetine is offering.

The artists work is a salutary lesson in how far we can and should push the creative and emotional element of fine art textiles. There are at times, it seems, far too many unwritten rules concerning the acceptable parameters of textile art in both subject matter and techniques. If more artists can push the boundaries, even a little, then the genre takes on a much more confident and mature role.

Free form creative exploration is not necessarily an easy option as far as textile art is concerned. However, it is an exciting and rewarding interpretation of a genre that is open to many levels of understanding and presentation. It is the endless possibilities that textile art holds in store for the creative individual that is surely a large part of its attraction.

Illustration: Lisa Chipetine. Waves of Emotion, 2008.

Illustration: Lisa Chipetine. Waves of Emotion (detail), 2008.

Lisa Chipetine has exhibited widely in North America as well as Europe. She runs a selection of creative workshops as well as finding time to act as president of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates). Her comprehensive website contains many more aspects of her work. Both a link to SAQA and Chipetine's website, are as always, listed below in the Reference links section.

Reference links:
Lisa Chipetine Official website
SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates)