1965 Fabric Collage The Museum of Contemporary Crafts Textile Exhibit Catalog

Description: This listing is for the following book - If you have any questions please let me know. Book Title - Fabric Collage Book Author - Director Paul J. SmithBook Publisher / Year - The Museum of Contemporary Crafts of the American Craftsmen's Council, New York, NY // 1965 // 24 pages with illustrationsBook Condition - Overall bright and clean - extreme lower corner has damp stain damage - just at the tip - a hint of foxing at inside cover edges but really faint. Catalog is Good plus or better. Book Content - Exhibit / catalog split into three sections 1. Contemporary Hangings 2. American Quilts 3. San Blas Appliques // artists include Elizabeth Jennerjahn, Marilyn Pappas, Marie Kelly, Lillian Elliott, Alma Lesch, 19th century quilts & San Blas Molas From the original press release - In the Exhibition Catalog, Paul J. Smith, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, says: "A technique common to all three is the stitching together or superimposition of fabrics, an art form practised by many civilizations of the past. It is possible to see other affinities between folk art and contemporary fabric collage: American quilts were often composed of bits of old wedding dresses, uniforms and other fragments recalling the past, a device employed in contemporary applique, which often utilizes pieces of fabric w ich have been worn or in other ways used, evoking memories of a previous context and the warmth of human association. This association of the past with the present, intrinsic to collage, simultaneously refers to two different experiences: art and reality. In folk art, however, the assembling of cloth into patterns was secondary to their immediate function as objects of use. The expressive possibilities of fabric - the seemingly endless variety of textures, colors, and tactile sensations - that we see in contemporary collage parallel the innovations in contemporary art, particularly Assemblage." The five artists represented in the contemporary section illustrate a wide range of approaches to the creative use of applique. Marie Kelly creates stitched layers of fabric and crochet, working with a severely restricted palette of black, white and beige, moving from the more typical application of collage on two-dimensional surfaces into three-dimensional constructions. Elizabeth Jennerjahn uses sensitively selected fabrics varying from the opaque to the transparent, from the heavily textured to the smooth, to create subtle illusions of depth. In the wall hangings of Alma Lesch, bold combinations of found objects - old jackets, blouses, fans, wallets, the lindsey and woolsey used in early American quilts - with highly stylized forms create intricate abstract patterns. Lillian Elliot combines small swatches of fabric mounted on translucent backings which are manipulated with an infinite variety of color effects. Marilyn Pappas employs texture and stitchery juxtaposed with objects of everyday use in collages wit and humor. American Quilts American quilts were creations born of necessity to meet a basic need-- not conscious efforts to produce works of art. Considering the material shortages imposed upon the early quiltmaker the first quilts show remarkable ingenuity and imagination. As time progressed and materials became more plentiful, designs became correspondingly more elaborate. First wool, linen, chintz and calico; _then sil , velvet, brocade, plush and satin became available; quilts fashioned of the more luxurious fabrics can generally be attributed to the Victorian era. The earliest quilts were pieced, joining tiny swatches of fabric together by means of a seam, an important part of the design which was treated in a decorative fashion. This form of quiltmaking was the fundamental one until 1750 when the Applique Quilt became popular. This method of sewing small pieces of fabric to large ones allowed the quiltmaker greater freedom of design since it enabled her to plan her pattern first and then cut it out of whole cloth. Quilt designs were derived from objects of everyday use and association: from political and social events of the time which directly affected their lives; from the Bible, an important particularly for quilt names; and from nature which provided most of the motifs - animals, birds, trees, plants, leaves, butterflies, the stars, the sun and the clouds. Other quilts employ purely geometrical designs; even where natural forms are used, they tend to be abstracted into formalized patterns. San Blas Molas Borrowing their motifs from television, political slogans, cigarette ads, fashion magazines, movie cartoons, and numerous other lands have created strikingly imaginative designs - bold patterns of elaborate stitchery and brilliant color - which are fashioned into blouses called "molas", used for daily as well as ceremonial dress. The "molas" are complex designs of four or five layers of applique using vivid reds, greens, oranges, and blues which vibrate when placed in subtle juxtaposition. Usually the patterns have no religious or symbolic significance but simply reflect the transformation of images, taken from the daily life on the island or brought in from the outside world, as they captured the imagination of the individuals who made them. In the 1850's, when the San Bias Indians first moved to the islands from the mainland of Panama, about a mile away, their "molas" were simple affairs of plain blue material decorated only with a border of red cloth at the bottom. As more colorful fabrics were introduced into the islands, the San Blas women be an blouses with a simple applique at the hem, gradually the elaborately decorated blouses that they are today which consist of two large appliqued rectangles, each measuring approximately 14" x 20", making up the front and back of the garment. Only portions of the neck and sleeves remain undecorated. These appliques are the principal art of a comparatively primitive agricultural and fishing community which remained quite isolated until it was opened to occasional tourists in 1938, then to U.S. military forces during World War II, subsequently to United Nations personnel and other visitors. "Molas" are also a means of displaying wealth and it is considered improper in some areas for a San Bias maiden to marry without having many new "molas" in her dowry. Favorite blouses are usually kept as mementos of childhood or their designs passed on to friends. In assembling this exhibition the Museum has emphasized those pieces which reflect international influences upon the art of the San Blas Indians. This selection represents only a portion of their art which also includes many purely abstract designs forming handsome geometric patterns. 010

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Location: Wellsboro, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-08-14T20:58:34.000Z

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