Everything old is new: Textiles on the Cutting Edge of Time

Ying Gao, Science is Fiction, 2013, silver- coated medical cotton. Photo: Dominique Lafond Image provided by Textile Museum of Canada  (TMC) used with permission

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Fashioning the Intangible: the conceptual clothing of Ying Gao
May 7, 2014 - September 1, 2014
The Eternity Code: Archaeology, Textiles and Preservation
June 11, 2014 - September 21, 2014
Curators: Shauna McCabe, Executive Director Natalia Nekrassova,Curator, Collections and Research, Roxane Shaughnessy, Curator, Collections and Access and Sarah Quinton, Curatorial Director
Textile Museum of Canada
55 Centre Avenue, Toronto Ontario

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Cairo Under Wraps: Early Islamic Textiles
June 21, 2014 to January 25, 2015
Curators: Anu Liivandi, Assistant Curator (Textiles & Fashions), Karin Ruehrdanz, Senior Curator (Islamic Decorative Arts), Lisa Golombek,Curator Emeritus (Islamic Art) Retired
Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles & Costume, Level 4
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario
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Reiko Sudo + NUNO, Textiles from Japan
July 11 to November 22, 2014
Curator: Alan Elder of the Canadian Museum of History
Norah Rosamond Hughes Gallery
Mississippi Valley Textile Museum
3, Rosamond St. E. Almonte, Ontario

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Mantel panel fragment with figures wearing hats and tunics, Peru, 1350 to 1540 CE, cotton and camelid hair, T2005.17.7. Gift of Pascal Muzard and Nieves Carrasco, Image provided by TMC used with permission
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Eternity Code: The Eternity Code: Archaeology, Textiles and Preservation, an exhibition at the Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto, beings with a time line. The following findings date to the pre-Christian era of archaeological time:

-30,000 BCE Oldest evidence of textile fibres, discovered in Dzudzuana Cave, Georgia. (*a)

-27,000 BCE, Earliest evidence of woven textiles, found on clay figurines at Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic.

-8,600-800 BCE Plant fibre basketry in practice, discovered in Guitarrero Cave in the Andes.

-3000 BCE Date of earliest complete garment found anywhere in the world, an Egyptian Linen Shirt.

-3000 BCE Evidence of domestication of fleece-bearing camelids (Llamas and alpacas) in highland Peru.

-1500 BCE earliest evidence of wool in Europe, recovered from Danish bog burial.

 - 400 BCE Every weaving technique is present in pre-Hispanic Peru.

 Eventually it brings us up to modern day with:
-2013 CE Discovery of the first unlooted imperial tomb of the Wari civilization that build South America’s earliest empire.

During the summer of 2014 in Ontario. there is an opportunity to see some of the oldest textiles in Museum collections in Canada and some of the most cutting edge industrially manufactured textiles. Along with The Eternity Code: Archaeology, Textiles and Preservation at the Textile Museum, there is: Cairo Under Wraps: Early Islamic Textiles at The Royal Ontario Museum. You can see the innovative cutting edge fashion textiles in Reiko Sudo + NUNO, Textiles from Japan at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte Ontario, and medical textiles in Fashioning the Intangible: the conceptual clothing of Ying Gao at the Textile Museum of Canada.

TMC: Fashioning the Intangible: the conceptual clothing of Ying Gao, installation shot, 2014. Photo: Jill Kitchener Image provided by TMC used with permission

While few of older textile fragments are ever shown en mass because of conservation necessities, they are a valuable research asset to the institutions that house them. Exhibiting older textiles along with contemporary fibre art and design is often used to add context or show inspiration/ influences on the contemporary work. In this case these four exhibitions in the three different institutions are independent of each other and have four different curatorial frameworks. For me to write about them for a reader who may not have the opportunity to see the exhibitions, I need to find a connection beyond the obvious one of textiles. The connection in this case is the use of metallic - not because they are omnipresent throughout - but they provide a route into the relationships and approaches to industrial R&D, technical production and the science of fibre behaviour. I have seen three of the four exhibitions. I have not seen the Reiko Sudo exhibition in Almonte yet; however, I have seen an exhibition of this work at the Kuneo Textile Biennial in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 2011, and I have just received the exhibition catalogue the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum produced to accompany the exhibition and it is work of NUNO studio that made metallics the starting point for this essay.

Naomi Polllock, an American architect, lives in Tokyo where she writes about design. In her essay, “A Short History of NUNO,” about the early training of NUNO founder Junichi Arai, she comments:

“The scion of a long line of textile producers, Arai hails from Kiryu, a historic textile manufacturing town northwest of Tokyo, where his family has lived and worked for generations. Although Aria toyed with a career in theatre, he remained home and entered the family mill. There he learned the nuts and bolts side of the industry and oversaw the production of cloth for both Western- and Japanese-style garments. This included a local version of Lame made by wrapping silk yarn with gold or silver threads- the birth of Aria's fascination with metallized fabrics”

Spatter Gloss, 1990, Designed by Reiko Sudo, Alloy spattering; 100% polyester. Image provided by MVTM used with permission 

She then writes “One of (Reiko) Sudo’s first independent endeavours borrowed a plating technique from the automotive industry. Called “Spattering” the process is often used to coat door handles and frames with a plastic substance resembling steel “I really wanted to make shiny, metallic textiles, so I began experimenting with this technique.” says Sudo. Working closely with technicians at the textile plant, she experimented with ways to apply this plating method to various types of polyester. Aptly named 'Spattering Gloss,” Sudo's astonishing finished product has a sheen of polished steel but the fluidity of fabric” [1]

a Qasab fragment (Gauzy linen tabby with silk and gold tapestry, Egypt, Mid-11th century, 980.78.111.A Wilkinson Collection, Gift of Albert and Federico Friedberg Image provided by the ROM used with permission 

These two methods of creating a metallic surface; weaving metallic wrapped yarns and the seemingly modern method of adhering/ applying the metal foil/leaf directly to an already constructed surface can be seen on textiles from the range of time represented in all of these exhibitions. At the ROM, in Cairo Unwrapped, there is a Qasab fragment consisting of a Gauzy linen tabby with silk and gold tapestry (Egypt, Mid-11th century [980.78.111.A]), and a Tiraz fragment from 10th century Iran of Glazed mulham, (warp of fine raw silk floss with weft of heavier Z spun cotton in a tabby weave [2], ink, gold leaf (963.95.3). At the Textile Museum of Canada, Ying Gao's piece Science is Fiction, 2013, is made of silver-coated medical cotton, silver having anti-bacterial properties (b). This textile, like Sudo’s “Splatter Gloss" which consist of three powered metals, chrome, nickle, and iron the compotes of stainless steal, are produced in industrial situations with patented processes that aren’t readily available to textile/ fibre artists. There are, however, a large number of makers using metallic on the surface of their work using products available in the market place. Sparkly things that attracted the eye and reflect light have been in use for millennia. When it comes to contemporary products, the actual amount of the metal in the product ranges greatly. One can estimate the amount of metallic content of the metallic threads and foils and leafs you can buy at art, craft and sewing supply outlets from the price. The life span of these products will also be a guide to their content. The gold on the Islamic fragments on display at the ROM speak to the longevity of the real thing.

Tiraz Fragment, Glazed mulham, ink, gold leaf, Iran, 10th century, 963.95.3. Image provided by the ROM used with permission 

The journey the 80 textile fragments on display at the ROM have taken to get to this destination is quite varied. The early Islamic textiles, dating from the 7th to 14th centuries (including rare examples of clothing) have been gifted from individual private collections. Some of the earliest pieces were collected by Charles Trick Currelly (January 11, 1876 – April 10, 1957) (* c), the founding director of the Royal Ontario Museum. A small selection of fragments came from a 1980 archaeological dig at Fustat where approximately 300 Fatimid textiles were excavated by the American Research Center in Egypt under the direction of George Scanlon, with ROM participation. These pieces have yet to be conserved, and their being shown in this exhibition gives the public the opportunity to see the starting point of the process of conservation. A major theme of The Eternity Code: Archaeology, Textiles and Preservation at the Textile Museum of Canada, is conservation – a topic that is much on the minds of museum curators today. Indeed, at the press preview for Cairo Under wraps show at the ROM, I had a very interesting conversation with Jenny Poulin of the Canadian Conservation Institute who is analyzing dyes, glazing material and the materials/techniques used to produce the gold decoration on the Tiraz pieces. A paper on this will be published on the ROM website when it is ready.

TMC Flat Storage: The Eternity Code: Archaeology, Textiles and Preservation, installation shot, 2014. Photo: Jill Kitchener image provided by TMC used with permission [see below for more information]

The overview of the exhibit at the Textile Museum discusses both preservation of old textiles and their survival into the present, as well as conservation:
“How have textiles – among the most fragile and vulnerable artifacts – survived over centuries? Learn about the materials and techniques found in archaeological textiles and the conditions that have allowed for their survival through this exhibition of Peruvian and Coptic textiles from the Textile Museum of Canada collection… By their very nature, archaeological fibres are among the most fragile, extremely sensitive to environmental conditions. In 2013, the Textile Museum of Canada began research and development of new approaches to the conservation and storage of archaeological textiles to ensure enduring access to valuable artifacts of global heritage for future generations. Innovations introduced into the exhibition demonstrate the science of conservation as well as state-of-the-art advances in archaeological textile storage developed by the Textile Museum of Canada to provide the essential care and security of some of the most valuable and cryptic of human evidence”. (TMC exhibition overview)

Returning to the time line of events within the Christian era:
-1200 CE Irrigation canals transform Peruvian coastal desert allowing cultivation of cotton

-1476 CE Inca Empire established

-1534 CE Spanish conquer the Inca Empire in Peru

-1798 CE Napoleon Bonaparte and the French army invade Egypt

-1822 CE Jean-Francois Champolion deciphers the Rosetta Stone

-1911 CE Hiram Bingham rediscovers Machu Piccu, Peru

-1922 CE King Tutankhamen’s tomb discovered by Howard Carter

TMC Border fragment, Peru, 100 to 300 CE, camelid hair, T97X0010b, Image provide by TMC
used with permission

One of the oldest pieces on display in Eternity Code is a Border fragment, (TMC T97X0010b) from Peru (Nazca, 100 to 300 CE), made of Camelid hair. Its method of construction is described as cross-knit Looping. This particular technique was first diagrammed in Raoul D'Harcourt book Textiles of Ancient Peru and Their Techniques (1934) (in French) and is featured on the TMC, and Gardiner Museum’s 2010 co-presented web project “Cloth and Clay Communicating Culture” on the Government of Canada’s Virtual Museum website.This piece has been researched by independent scholars such as Rebecca Nelson Jacobs in her Archaeological Experiment: Re-creation of a Nasca Textile, Presidential Scholars Project” (*4) in 2004, under Dr. Bethany Usher from the Potsdam Anthropology Department. Jacobs attempted to create an archaeological replica of the border piece. Other pieces in the show have also been the subject of research projects instigated by the museum. For example, an Incan bag from Peru (1476 to 1534 CE) was also made of Camelid fibre using warp-faced, complementary warp, cross-knit looping was part of a materials study done in 2005. It is from the Opekar / Webster Collection (TMC T94.0999).


In 2005, curator Roxane Shaughnessay in partnership with researchers Dr. Christine White, Dr Andrew Nelson and Dr, Fred Longstaffe of the University of Western Ontario conducted isotopic analyses on camelid fibres from this Inca bag preserved on the coast of Peru, and other selected ancient Peruvian textiles in the TMC collection. Among the lines of inquiry that have been used to identify and contextualize pre-Hispanic textiles is isotopic analysis of camelid fibre (llama, alpaca) to determine diet, which can give us information on habitat of the animals whose fibres were used to create the textiles in the TMC collections. In turn, such information allows us to understand more about the habitat that the makers and/or users of the bag knew, as well as something about exchange networks in the Andes.


“The study attempted to shed some light on the question of whether the camelid fibre was brought to the coast pre-spun and pre-dyed from the highlands for use in weaving coastal textiles or whether llamas (and perhaps even alpacas) were imported to the coast from the highlands and raised there for periods of time. The tests analyzed fibres to determine if the animals ate a highland diet of plants and grasses, or a coastal diet of maize resources. The test showed that the samples from the bag showed highland dietary influences, which demonstrates a highland source of fibre, probably alpaca. The bag could have been brought from the highlands to the coast, or woven as an Inca tax obligation on the coast with wool imported from the highlands.” (TMC didactic)

TMC ‘Rolled Storage” The Eternity Code: Archaeology, Textiles and Preservation, installation shot, 2014. Photo: Jill Kitchener image provided by TMC used with permission [see below for more information]

The main impetus behind Eternity Code was the re-housing of the TMC’s oldest textiles. In 2011, the TMC requested a facilities assessment by the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa that looked at every aspect of the Museum from lighting to security to temperature control and included the storage area. The TMC is a small museum with limited resources and at this point in time had done the best with the resources they had to secure the collection and in finding the smartest ways to best improve the pieces. The result of this assessment provided the museum with a list of suggestions for the improvement of the storage of the collection. This became a blue print to follow. With the assessment, the museum was able to apply for funding for improving in the ways their oldest textiles were being stored. An existing digital photographic data base gave them a head start on this project in that a good record of past conditions of individual pieces was available to compare with the current condition of the artifacts. The earlier photographing of the collection had occurred in the mid-2000s using the then state of the art technologies. Even today, this is one of the best museum digital archives around. As this was done, many pieces that had never been shown or removed from the packaging they came to the museum in were returned to the same packaging – which seemed the best thing to do in the absence of a standardized system. As the project got underway in 2013 it became obvious that an exhibition could be built to showcase this work and the textiles that they would be re housing also provided the broader theme of symbolic meaning and cultural use, as well as the importance of conservation.

"In 2013, the Textile Museum of Canada began research and development of new approaches to the conservation and storage of archaeological textiles to ensure enduring access to valuable artifacts of global heritage for future generations. Innovations introduced into the exhibition demonstrate the science of conservation as well as state-of-the-art advances in archaeological textile storage developed by the Textile Museum of Canada to provide the essential care and security of some of the most valuable and cryptic of human evidence. Curated by Shauna McCabe, Natalia Nekrassova, Roxane Shaughnessy and Sarah Quinton and organized by the Textile Museum of Canada. Archaeological storage upgrades undertaken with the support of the Museums Assistance Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage". (TMC website exhibition overview).

Tunic fragment, Egypt, 6th to 7th century, wool, T90.0236a-d. Gift of Lloyd Solish Image provided by TMC used with permission

These four exhibitions offer a series of windows into an important human innovation that has been in use at least 30,000 years of human time, and probably more. Textiles are a locus on which humans apply imagination, skill and beauty. If you need one reason to go and see any or all of these exhibitions it is simply because textiles are beautiful to see. This is the first response one has to each of these artifacts. The information on technique, material, age, symbolic meanings are all secondary to that first response. The value of that information and the ways and means they are assessed and understood adds to our ongoing knowledge base -- but they don’t alter what you first see -- and what you see will engage you in as many ways as you allow it to do.

Praying Saint, Linen and wool tapestry, Egypt, 7th -8th century 980.78.37 Wilkinson Collection, gift of Albert and Federico Friedberg Image provided by the ROM used with permission

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notes

[1] REIKO SUDO + NUNO Textiles from Japan, Catalogue ISBN 978-0-9938427-0-2 (pbk)

[2] Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art &Architecture: Three-Volume Set page 338 accessed July 30, 2014

Details for images of TMC storage displays

Follow the links to see images of the artifacts being stored from the TMC digital archive 

Display of Flat Storage Top right to left

Tunic Border, Peru, Central Coast, Chancay, 1200 to 1550 CE, cotton, camelid hair: slit tapestry woven, Gift of Thomas Kalman, TMC T82.0107
http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=collection.detail&catId=1861&row=1

Band, Peru, Chimu, 1000 to 1476 CE, Cotton, camelid hair: tapestry woven, gift of Thomas Kalman TMC T82.0108 http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=collection.detail&catId=1862&row=1

Bottom: right to left

Tunic decoration, Egypt, Coptic 7th century, wool, linen; Tapestry- woven, sewn, Gift of Andrew Vodstrcil, TMC T87.0407 http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=collection.detail&catId=4584&row=1

Tunic Decoration Egypt, Coptic, 7th to 9th century, Linen, wool; plain-woven, tapestry-woven, gift of Andrew Vodstrcil TMC T87.0401 http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=collection.detail&catId=4578&row=1

Tunic band Egyt, Coptic 6th to 7th century, linen wool; tapestry-woven, plain-woven, braided, sewn, gift of Mrs. Herta Vodstrcil, TMC T86.0137 http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=collection.detail&catId=3470&row=1

Rolled Storage Box:

Left side of box
Belt, Peru 1000 to 1476 CE cotton camelid hair: warp-faced, complementary warp, gift of Pascal Muzard and Nieves Carrasco, TMC T2005.17.24 http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=collection.detail&catId=14101&row=1

Fragment, Peru 1000 to 1476 CE cotton camelid hair: warp-faced, complementary warp from the Opekar / Webster Collection. TMC T94.1010 http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=collection.detail&catId=1062&row=1

Right side of box

Belt Peru c.1000 CE Camelid hair: plain-woven, warp-faced, gift of Thomas Kalman. TMC T83.0241 (no image available) Belt Peru c.1000 CE Camelid hair: woven, TMC T97X0013 (no image available)

Belt, Peru 1000 to 1476 CE camelid hair: Plain-woven, supplementary warp, from the Opekar / Webster Collection TMC T94.1008 http://www.textilemuseum.ca/apps/index.cfm?page=collection.detail&catId=233&row=1

Websites
Mississippi Valley Textile Museum http://mvtm.ca/mvtm/
Royal Ontario Museum http://www.rom.on.ca/en
Textile Museum of Canada http://www.textilemuseum.ca/

Web project
Cloth and Clay Communicating Culture

Interesting Reads

(*a)  Dzudzuana: an Upper Palaeolithic cave site in the Caucasus foothills (Georgia) by Paul Goldberg published in Antiquity Volume: 85 Number: 328 Page: 331–349

(*b) “Antibacterial Activity Of SilverPhotodeposited Nepheline Thin Film Coatings” by Talieh Rajabloo;  Ceramics International Volume 38 Issue 7 2012 a journal published by Elsevier

(*c)  Researches in the Sinai. by Petrie, Flinders ( with chapters by Currelly, Charles Trick) New York: E.P. Dutton, 1906


(*d) Rebecca Nelson Jacobs ‘ “Archaeological Experiment: Re-creation of a Nasca Textile, Presidential Scholars Project” http://rebeccanelson.com/presidential_scholars.html 

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fibreQUARTERLY Volume 6 Issue 3/ Winter 2010 now online

 

In the meantime I have been travelling. Starting last January in Calgary where I saw REEDS & WOOL: Patterned Screens of Central Asia, at the Nickel Arts Museum and reviewed it for Selvedge. 

This Dob- Cross Loom is part of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum core collection of Textile Machinery. envisioned as a history Museum of the local, regional and national textile industry. This loom had been installed at Eaton's Toronto Store along with a weaver to show how Harris Tweed was woven.

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In May and June I had the opportunity to visit the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario and the Musée du Costume et du Textile du Quebec for the first time. This spring I visited some historic House Museums, regional Historical Society Archives and historic “Villages,” aka Living Museums. I took the opportunity to talk with costumed interpretive guides,  conservators and administrators directly or via e-mail to find out how these different facilities dealt with the textiles in their collections. In October it was off to Lincoln Nebraska for the 12th Biennial Textile Society of America Symposium then of course there were the exhibitions lectures and trade fairs in Toronto. All along the way I have been taking photographs after receiving permission to do so of course and posting them in facebook albums. "My life On Facebook by a Random Reporter" ... 

from the editorial "Textiles Travel and So Do We"

the Canadians just kept running into each other, here we have Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary covered. Toronto, Joe Lewis: weaver writer, publisher of fibreQuarterly, far left, Roxane Shaughnessy: Curator, Textile Museum of Canada and TSA Recording Sectary on the far Right with Michael Hardy: Curator, Nichol Arts Museum in Calgary and TSA Director of External Affairs, unknown woman from east coast, Ruth Scheuing: Professor Capilano University Vancouver, Artist, TSA President. Montreal: Kelly Thompson Assistant Professor in Textile Fibre Department at Concordia,

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when you pass by the front page of the Velvet Highway you might want to sign up for are newsletter 

Expect the Unexpected: fQ's Fall Textile Listing

 There is an wonderful world out there along with all the other crap. The mistakes we have made and the hope we place in the next generation to save us may not be misplaced. There is imaginative high school student work on display now and through out the fall that will bring a smile to your face. Or in the case of the grade 10 students from  Toronto's Martingrove Collegiate Institute exhibition "Fabricating Fear" currently on in the Textile Museum of Canada's Fibre Space Gallery, a big belly laugh

"Night Fire" Kartik Dewan, 8cm X 3 cm x 20cm, polyester cloth with synthetic fibre fill [photo: joe lewis]

" My gargoyle is named Night Fire. It has brown eyes and ears. its is wearing black socks and a Buffalo nose, it has whit fur around the nose. Night fire is wearing a Ladybug Back Pack and wears white furry gloves and a colourful hat. I had originally picked these parts to make the teddy a scary looking gargoyle, but my original idea soon morphed into a very cute creature! the viewers will call it " a lovely, fun-loving and optimistic creature". This cute little gargoyle reminds me of a small girl returning home from school carrying an animal looking back pack."

Kartik Dewan

"Untitled freak" Stanislav Ahn, 32 cm High, 16 cm wide, 12cm length , polyester fabric, stuffing, cotton thread, plastic, wire and metal., cat- body, Seal- head and fins, rat - tail, Halloween mask- teeth, baby doll - sound mechanism. [photo: joe lewis]

 " The reason I made this creature the way I did is because I wanted to mix delicate beauty with extreme freakiness. The "cuteness" of the mouse is balanced with some additional features like teeth from a Halloween costume, a scar on the belly of the animal. I've also added a sound mechanism to make this seemingly sweet animal a little bit scary. Pull its hand or its foot to discover the Beauty within."..Stanislav Ahn

Fabricating Fear: grade 10 students from Martin grove Collegiate Institute in Fibre Space Gallery TMC.[photo: joe lewis]

.Not to out done by grade 10 students David Harper's Skin & Bones exhibition along with Lia Cooks Faces and Mazes and Stephnen Schofield's Stuble continue at the Textile Museum of Canada have been held over until October 17th.  Drawing with Scissors: Molas from Kuna Yala curated by Max Allen which open on July 21, 2010 and runs until February 13, 2011.

Last to Win by David R. Harper [photo: joe lewis]

detail of Last to Win. [photo: joe lewis]

There are currently two interesting shows at the Bata Show Museum: BEAUTY, IDENTITY, PRIDE:
Native North American Footwear and SOCKS: Between You and Your Shoes. I dropped in during
"My Accidental Day " (yesterday) stroll along Bloor Street West after seeing “Winter Garden: The Exploration of the Micropop Imagination in Contemporary Japanese Art”.The Bata Shoe Museum a place I have never really explored. "Socks: Between You and Your Shoes" and " Beauty, Identity, Pride: Native North American Footwear" are interesting exhibitions.

Probably Iroquois (Haudenosaunee), early 18th century, Batta Shoe Museum Collection P94.81 [photo credit: Joe Lewis]

"Many early 18th century Iroquois moccasins featured gathers along the centre seam of the vamp. These seams are commonly covered with decorative quillwork whose design is echoed in the quillwork on the collars and on the back seams. The tin cones and hair fringe are also typical features of these early moccasins" Bata Museum Didactic

Beauty Identity and Pride has been on exhibit since November 2007 and was to close in 2009 but is still on and needs to be seen. The display is divided into geographic regions, the Iroquois being in the North East area entitled "The Warriors and Harvesters" others are Subarctic, Southeast, the Plains, the Great Basin, and the Southwest regions of North America.

fort Providence Slavey, c. 1987 Bata Shoe Museum Collection S87.81 [photo: joe lewis]

" Moose hair tufting was introduced by Ursuline nuns working in eastern Canada in the 17th century, Slowly it moved west where it  was embraced by the Athapaskans. This decorative technique was revived again in the 1930s and became a technique for many Slavey Women"  Bata Museum Didactic

Stocking Frame shown along with 19th century American Stocking. [Photo: Joe Lewis]

"What could be cosier than slipping into a pair of hand-knit socks? What about pair of warm woven grass socks or shimmery silk ones? For thousands of years, people around the world have sought to separate themselves from their shoes with all manner of socks.  Some are humble, some are splendid but all were created to make us more comfortable as we walk through life." Bata Museum Website

Socks: Between you and your shoes is broken into Nicely Knitted, Sewn Together and Factory Fabricated and with the inclusion of  a Replica of Ötzi man’s shoe, (2002 Dr. Petr Hlavacek,) they present 5,300 years of socks. Ötzi man’s body was found in the Alps in 1991, his body been preserved but so had his clothing, including his shoes and “socks”.

possibly Spanish, 17th century, Bata Museum Collection P96. 101 (knitted) [photo: joe lewis]

 "Knitting was introduced into Europe by the Moors who ruled Spain from the 8th to the 15th centuries. Finely knit silk stockings became a highly desirable Spanish specialty. Queen Elizabeth is said to have declared that she would never again wear linen hose after trying on a pair of Spanish silk stockings. This pair of hand-knit silk stockings is probably Spanish and was made to be worn by a very wealthy child. The stockings were made using silk threads that had been dyed red, which was the most expensive dye in the 17th century. The use of silver and gold gilt thread also suggests that the wearer was well off." Bata Museum Didactic

Yup'ik, late 19th century P01.68 (woven grass) [photo: joe lewis]

 I did take some photos but don't have permission to us them yet so check out the website where the images are better any way. http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/index.html

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Cross Country Check In 

Montreal

Museum of Costume and Textile of Quebec presents Le Musée sort ses Griffes  an off site exhibition on display in the lively passages of the Montreal Eaton Centre with a selection of Quebec Designer's dresses from their collection. This show  featuring  over 35 pieces by Michel Robichaud, Raoul Jean Fouré Marie Saint Pierre, Joseph Helmer,  Marie-Paule Clairette Trudel just to mention some represents fashion from the 1950- 60

Joseph Helmer  Photo credit; Daniel Choiniere.this image is currently used without permission and is from the blog  "Montreal State of Mind" 

Across the rive at the Museum, LA RELÈVE SE RÉVÈLE an exhibition of work created by three young artist:  Eveline Menard - story, Melanie Morin - Textiles & Marie-Claude De Souza - poetry intervention, using the museums collection as a staring place to make new work. This show opened on July 30 and runs until October 17, 2010

Musée du costume et du textile du Québec
349, rue Riverside
Saint-Lambert, QC

Metro Longueuil, then bus no. 6, 13 or 15) or Highway 132, exit 6 Notre-Dame

Found during search 

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Jason W. Fowler Fitzpatrick

DIAGONALE opens their 2010-2011 season with an exhibition of Vancouver artist Jason W. Fowler Fitzpatrick. on September 18th

Jason W. Fowler Fitzpatrick, 557
September 10th to October 9th 2010
Performative intervention : September 10th to September 18th

The projects history comes from time based works that hinge on the transformational quality/potential of sculpture. “557” was first realized in Ontario under the title “Lucy”. After adding a few elements the project went to Calgary and was executed for twelve days, it was after the Calgary exhibition that the title “TNG 557” was implemented. For the exhibition in Montreal the project will be called “557”.

http://www.artdiagonale.org/

Submitted by: Diagonal

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Anna Biro

Text in Textile2
an interactive textile art exhibition
By the artist Anna Biro
From September 15 to October 22, 2010

Opening on September 15 at 5:00 pm

Centre des textiles contemporains de Montréal /
Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles
5800 St-Denis bureau 501
Montréal (Québec)
H2S 3L5
Canada

Visit Ann Biro's website and watch video of this piece  http://www.annabiro.com/

Submitted by: MCCT

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In Western Canada

Regina 

One of 155 crocheted sculptures in Dale Roberts the "Distorts Series" which is part of Thread Bound at the Art Gallery of Regina

Thread Bound
Art Gallery of Regina.
Opening Reception on the 22nd September, 7-9 PM

2420 Elphinstone Street, Regina, SK.

This exhibition features ten artists working in various media that use filament to either make marks, create objects, bind parts or as broader metaphors relating to labour, tradition, domesticity, or confinement.

Exhibition features:  Martha Cole, Christopher Campbell Gardiner, June Jacobs, Leanne Lloyd, Judy McNaughton, Sheila Nourse, from Saskatchewan, Dale Roberts  from Victoria, BC, Karen Tam and Kristina Thornton from Montreal, and Cara Sawka from Halifax, Guest curated by Wendy Peart.

for more information visit the website: www.artgalleryofregina.ca

Submitted by: Dale Roberts

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Castlegar

final chapter of Maggie Tchir and Kathleen Hill's installation, COSMIC HOUSE - POINT OF RETURN,

at the Opening on Friday September 17 at 7pm at the Kootenay Gallery in Castlegar across from the airport.

On Saturday September 18 they shall be giving a talk and a walk-about through the installation at 1 pm.

Through discussion, images and a 'walk-about' through the installation, Cosmic House - Point of Return, artists, Maggie Tchir and Kathleen Hill will discuss their collaborative creative process. They will address how the subject matter of their installation has affected both their own personal and professional lives and daily practices. The talk will begin at 1 pm at the Kootenay Gallery on Saturday September 18.

Submitted by: Maggie  Tchir

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Vancouver 

WRAPPED: An Exhibition of Kimono Inspired Garments 
 Jenefer Pleadwell - Jessica de Hass
September 9 - October 17.
Craft Council of BC Gallery at Crafthouse
1386 Cartwright st. Granville Island, VAncouver, BC.

Opening reception Sept. 9 6-8 pm. 

There will also be an artist talk on Sept 30 at 7pm.

Submitted by: Jessica de- Hass

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Ontario

ONE DAY… THREE OPENINGS! 

On Saturday, September 11th from 2-5 pm in Cambridge as we celebrate contemporary Canadian textile art by opening a unique art installation by Cambridge Centre for the Arts 2010 Artist-in-Residence Sue Sturdy; along with two textile based exhibitions organized by Cambridge Galleries. 

OPENING COMMENTS will take place on the Main Street Bridge at 3:00 pm.

RECEPTIONS to follow at Cambridge Galleries, Queen’s Square and Design at Riverside

  

Sylvia Kind,: detail of "9 impossibly small sweaters", 2007, Knit wool, zippers, buttons, Various dimensions.
Purchased by the Cambridge Galleries for their permanent collection.
to see more photos from fibreworks 2008 see my facebook album 

Fibreworks 2010

September 11-October 31, 2010
Jurors: Catherine Heard and David H. Kaye

Canadian artists from coast to coast participate in this juried competition, now in its 13th edition. The competition honours the community's rich textile manufacturing history and provides a showcase for the extraordinary work carried out by Canadian artists working in the fibre medium. This year's jurors, Catherine Heard and David H. Kaye, have selected works that truly represent the diversity and ingenuity of these artists.

ARTISTS IN THE 2010 EXHIBITION:

Sarah Alford, Maria Chronopoulos, Lyne Girard; Ann Marie Hadcock, Noelle Hamlyn, Kate Hampel,
Eleanor Hannan,  Cynthia Jackson, Sayward Johnson, Svava Juliusson, Valerie Knapp, Tracey Lawko.
Shuyu Lu, Sarah Maloney,  Judy Martin, Nancy Anne McPhee, Heidi Overhill,  Matthew Peddie & Alan Wilson.
Meghan Price ,  Elizabeth Roy, Angela Silver. Ilona Staples,  Kelly Thompson,  Laura Vickerson,
Yvonne Wakabayashi,  Meichen Waxer and  Anna Wieselgren

fibreworks 2010 artist Noelle Hamlyn: with embroidered jacket, made of tea bags. which won FIBRE - BEST OF CATEGORY at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, The Best of the TOAE 2009 exhibition at the First Canadian Place Gallery [photo: joe lewis]

FABRICation

August 24-October 24, 2010
Curated by Esther E. Shipman

This exhibition features the work of established and highly regarded textile designer-entrepreneurs from across Canada, whose work bridges the worlds of art and commercial fabrication. Each of the studios in the exhibition is represented by several examples of their work, providing an opportunity for a closer look into their individual design styles, products and collections.

ArchiTextiles lab | http://ccti.nscad.ca/textiles.php
Armstrong Fox Textiles | www.armstrongtextiles.ca
Monique Beauregard & Robert Lamarre/Seri+ | www.designtextile.qc.ca
Laura Friedland Design/Moose Mountain | http://laurafriedland.com
Bev Hisey | http://bevhisey.com
Institute of Everyday Life | www.ofeverydaylife.com
Virginia Johnson | www.virginiajohnson.com
Arounna Khounnoraj/bookhou | www.bookhou.com
MOTIF Textile (Marie-Hélène Langevin) | www.motiftextile.com
Joy Walker/WORKtextiles | www.joynwalker.com
Kathryn Walter FELT Studio | http://feltstudio.com
Lily Yung | www.lilyyung.com

"Blue Gold", a hand knotted carpet, Wool Topography with Silk Rivers 72" X 108 " designed by Bev Hisey and hand made by a "Rug Mart" certified maker. the tile of this rug is inspired by Maude Barlow's book " Blue Gold; The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Waters" written with Tony Clark and published in Canada by McClelland and StewartMADE's Radiant Dark 2010 photographed at - Assets & Values-an exhibition of modern Canadian Design 199 Bay street, Commerce Court west Ground floor lobby, Jan 20-24 2010 [photo: joe lewis]

Arounna Khounnoraj (Toronto, ON) "untitled" 2000, Salt and Copper wire.(approx 4' high)
This piece is part of the Cambridge Galleries permanent collection added in 2001
Gift of the Artist [photo: joe lewis]

KNIT camBRIDGE, Through September 26, 2010

Main St. Bridge installation under the direction of Sue Sturdy, Artist-in-Residence, Cambridge Centre for the Arts

More than 1,000 people, ranging in age from 4 to 103 years, have joined together to help cover the Main Street Bridge with creative knitting designs. Contributors come from Cambridge, across the province, North America and throughout the globe as far away as Australia. This colourful public artwork celebrates the rich textile history of the area and the resurgence of knitting as an exciting contemporary art form. Once the bridge installation is over the knitting will be washed and sewn into scarves to be used for a fundraising event on November 25th with all proceeds going towards the Cambridge Self Help Food Bank, YWCA and the Cambridge Arts Guild (Cambridge Centre for the Arts).


For more information about this project, please visit: www.knitcambridge.com

FREE ART BUS: The bus will be departing from the Virginia Johnson Boutique (132 Ossington Avenue, Toronto) at 1 pm. To RSVP for the ART Bus contact 519.621.0460 x127.

Submitted by: Cambridge Galleries

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Almont Ontario

Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

September 11th ~ 12th, 2010, 15th Annual Fibrefest

This three day festival features fibre art vendors, demonstrations, a quilt and weaving exhibit, fashion shows, historical reenactments, plays, a textile appraisal fair and much, much more

Agnus Dei, by William C. G. Hodge, 21.5 inches by 30 inches, fabric collage, 2010

Uplift by William C. G. Hodge.
September 10th ~ October 7th, 2010

A joyful visual exploration of the Requiem mass. Specific Requiem Masses by Hector Berlioz, Zbigniew Preisner, and Guiseppe Verdi inspired the three larger works. Reading the text of the mass and particular elements from many favorite Requiem Masses inspires the other works. This exhibition will open as part of Fibrefest and continue through October 7.

Kyrie, by William C. G. Hodge, 14 inches by 18 inches, fabric collage, 2010 [image provided by artist] 

Visit the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum's new website for more information

You can see Uplift on William Hodge's website http://www.armurestudios.ca/ 

Found during regular search. Then I became a member of the museum  so I could get regular updates.

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Markam

Kai Chan: A Spider's Logic
September 26, 2010 - February 2011
The Frederick Horsman Varley Gallery
Curated by Sarah Quinton

The exhibition includes a selection of Kai Chan’s sculptural works, created between 1975 and 2010. The exhibition is in partnership with the Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto. it is in two parts with the first section opening in Markham on September 26 at the The Frederick Horsman Varley Gallery  216 Main Street, Unionville (visit their facebook page ) and part two opens at the Textile Museum of Canada, 7 November 2010 to 1 May 2011.

Then the show will tour


View Larger Map for travel details between the Textile Museum in Toronto and the Varley Gallery in Unionville
you can easily travel on Public Transit if you don't drive it takes appropriately 90 minutes from Union Station

Public Programs at the Varley

Exhibition Tour:  with curator Sarah Quinton and artist Kai Chan

Date: Sunday, November 7

Time: 3:30pm-4:30pm

Admission: Free with admission

Panel Discussion: The Complex Practice of Simplicity

Date: Sunday, November 28

Time: 2:00pm-4:00pm

Fee: $10 members; $15 non-members

A panel discussion of Kai Chan's work with exhibition curator Sarah Quinton, Shannon Anderson (writer curator educator) , Charles Guilbert (Video Artist) and Kai Chan. Moderated by Lynne Milgram.(Professor of Anthropology OCAD University)

Pre-registration required. Contact the Varley at (905) 477-9511.

 There several other events and actives happening around Kai Chan: A Spider's Logic at the Varley in Markham visit their website by clicking on link above for more information


submitted by: Kai Chan

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Coming in October

Carmella Karijo Rother decorated canoe paddles as a fundraiser for WaterCan.

 There are Studio Tours happening across the country this fall as usual, Carmella Karijo Rother who is a past participant of the Chelsea/Wakefield Quebec Studio Tour which is now in its twentieth year and takes place during the first two weekends in October submitted this photo of her decorated paddle.

Current and past artists of the Chelsea/Wakefield Quebec studio tour have decorated canoe paddles as a fundraiser for WaterCan. The proceeds will provide Ugandans with new wells and be matched 3:1 by the Canadian International Development Agency. A selection of paddles, including mine, can be viewed during September at Trailhead in Ottawa. The entire roster of paddles will be on display and for sale during the tour.

Opening Friday October 1, tour days October 2-3, 9-11 www.tourcw.com

No.7 by Carmella Karijo Rother from Numbers series, was featured in the book “500 Art Quilts".
It will be exhibited with the work of other artists in the International Quilt Market & International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. October 30-November 1 and Nov 4-7, www.quilts.com

You can find more about Carmella you can visit her website at http://www.ckrother.com/

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In  advance of El Anatsui exhibition at the ROM the Institute for Contemporary Culture

Walls and Barriers – A Collaborative Project
Canada Court, Level 1
September 25 to October 23, 2010

This fall, the Institute for Contemporary Culture presents Walls and Barriers, a large collaborative art project created by young artists from 20 secondary schools and community agencies across the Greater Toronto Area. The 500+ participants will create an original public art installation in response to the work of internationally renowned African artist, El Anatsui. A solo exhibition of Anatsui's work will be on display at the ROM October 2010 to January 2011.

Inspired by Anatsui’s artistic practice and philosophy, each participant has transformed a 10x12 inch plexiglass panel into an individual artistic reflection on the obstacles they encounter in their own lives. Linked together, the colourful panels form a series of moveable walls, and become part of a larger community project.

Walls and Barriers connects young artists from different backgrounds to stimulate dialogue on the themes of overcoming walls and barriers. It offers them the opportunity to express themselves creatively in a project that will be exhibited at a major cultural institution, and pioneers an unconventional approach to art education.

Curated by Vanessa Barnett and Elena Soní.

El Anatsui’s shimmering mosaic-like patchwork “cloths” made of hammered pieces of metal waste [image provided by the Surface Design Association]

El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, October 2, 2010 to January 2, 2011

The Institute for Contemporary Culture hosts the North American premiere of El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, a career retrospective of the internationally renowned artist. Best known for monumental wall sculptures made from discarded bottle tops, Ghanaian-born artist El Anatsui, has transformed often-overlooked and discarded materials into monumental visual statements that reference global, local and personal histories, as well as traditional Ghanaian beliefs.
More Information

Film: Fold, Crumple, Crush: The Art of El Anatsui
Wednesday, November 24, 7pm
Signy and Cléophée Eaton Theatre
Documentary film on the art and life of El Anatsui, followed by Q&A with director Susan Vogel.

This exhibition is organized by the Museum for African Art, New York, and has been supported, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

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These are just some of the exhibitions and events on the books for this coming fall, The 2010 2011 exhibition season is off to a good start 

they will be seen by many and written about by few.If you see an exhibition that you want to review for fibreQUARTERLY we are always looking so please feel free to contact me at fibre_quarterly@yahoo.com

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