NAKANO, Emiko (1941-).

NAKANO, Emiko (1941-).

My birthday is May 17, 1941 and I was born in Tokyo.

EDUCATION

1987 - Master of Fine Arts. CRANBROOK ACADEMY OF ART, Michigan, U.S.A. Major: Fibers.
1975 - Bachelor of Fine Arts. TOKYO ZOKEI UNIVERSITY, Tokyo. Major: Textile Design.
1964 Bachelor of Arts. RIKKYO UNIVERSITY, Tokyo. Major: Literature.

EXHIBITIONS
One Person
2008 - Senbikiya Gallery, Tokyo
2007 - Tokyo Zokei University Manzu Art Museum
2000 - Senbikiya Gallery, Tokyo
1997 - Senbikiya Gallery, Tokyo
1991 - Muramatsu Gallery, Tokyo
　 　 Tamagawa Takashimaya, Tokyo
1990 - Museum of Modern Art, Sao Paulo, Brazil
1989 - Senbikiya Gallery, Tokyo
1982 - Tokyo Central Kaigakan, Tokyo

Group

2011 - Jacquard 2x2 Montreal: Tokyo

(Maison de la culture, Frontenac, Montréal, Canada)

2011 - Invited Artists Exhibition –Outdoor works - (USBI Gardens - Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico)
2011 - Jacquard 2x2 Montreal:Tokyo
(Maison de la culture Côte-des-Neiges, Montréal,Canada）
2010 - so+zo MOVEMENT(Bunkamura the Museum)

2010 - Jacquard 2x2 Montreal:Tokyo

(Embassy of Canada, Prince Takamado Gallery,Tokyo)

2010 - Textile in future expression
(Exhibition of Japan Textile Council), Axis Gallery, Tokyo
2010 - Korea, China and Japan Contemporary Fiber Art Exhibition of Today (The Museum of National Academy The Republic of Arts, Korea).
2010 - Textile Art Miniature (Roof Gallery, Tokyo)
2010 - Session Textile Art Miniature Exhibition (KCC Gallery)

2009 - Textile in future expression (Exhibition of Japan Textile Council, Fukuka,Asian Art Museum)

2008 - Cranbrook in Japan 2008 (OZONE Plaza, Tokyo)

2008 - Peace in White Nothing but Everything - KCC Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2007 - Textile in future expression - (Exhibition of Japan Textile Council, Naha Gallery, Okinaawa, Japan
2007 - Identification of new thinking: Textiles, Ceramics, Leather, Object; Arka Gallery, Lithuania
2007 - Fiberart International: Pittsburgh Center For The Arts & The Society Contemporary Crafts, U.S.A.
2007 - Hot House: Expanding the Field of Fiber at Cranbrook, U.S.A.

1970 - 2007, Cranbrook Museum, U.S.A.
2006 - About Jacquard __CTCM Montreal, Canada

2006 - Textile in future expression. Exhibition of Japan Textile Council, 21^st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan

2006 - International Triennial for Flag, Szombathelyi, Keptar, Hungary
2006 - Minitextiles Triennial International, Szombathelyi, Keptar, Hungary

2005 - Filofilo - 2005 Miniartextil Como, The ex-Church San Francesco, Largo Spallino, Italy

2005 - Textile in future expression (Exhibition of Japan Textile Council), Contemporary Art Space Osaka, Japan

2005 - Shibori—Expounding Form(The 6^th International

Shibori Symposium 2005 in Japan Joint Exhibition), Senbikiya Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2004 - COMPUTER AIDED TEXTILE ART, Wacol Ginza Art Space, Tokyo,

2004 - WEAVING MULTIPLE DIMENTIONS, Eleven Eleven -Sculpture space, Washington DC, USA

2004 - Invited Exhibition of Korean & Japan Hanji Representatives, Wonju, Korea
2004 - International Baltic Minitextill Triennal, Gydnia, Poland
2004 - Fiberart International: Pittsburgh Center For The Arts & The Society For Contemporary Crafts, U.S.A.
2003 - International Triennial for Flag, Szombathelyi Keptar, Hungary
2003 - Minitextiles Triennial International, Szombathelyi Keptar, Hungary
2003 - Korea-Japan Fiber Arts Exhibition: Tokyo, Korean Cultural Service, Korean Embassy, Japan and Seoul Public Information and Cultural Center, Embassy of Japan, Seoul
2002 - 2003 7^th Triennale International Des Mini-Textiles, Angers, France
2001 - Japanese & Korean Contemporary Fiber Materials Seoul, Korea
1999 - The 16th Riberart International '99: Pittsburgh Center for The Arts & The Society For Contemporary Crafts, U.S.A.
1999 - Korea and Japan: Textile Network, Korean Embassy in Japan, Tokyo, Japan
1999 - The 4th Baltic Biennial of the Weaver's Miniature: Central Marine Museum in Gdansk and Gdynia City Hall, Poland
1998 - Flag Biennalle, Szombathelyi Keptar, Hungary
1998 - 4th "IN OUR HANDS" An International Competition, Nagoya Trade & Industry Center, Nagoya, Japan
1997 - The 15th Fiberart International '97: Pittsburgh Center For The Arts & The Society For Contemporary Crafts, U.S.A.
1997 - The 3rd Baltic Biennial of the Weaver's Miniature: Central Marine Museum in Gdansk and Gdynia City Hall, Poland
1997 - Two Persons Show: The Museum for Textile, Toronto, Canada
1996 - The 7th International Textile Symposium and the 2nd International - Symposium of Paper, Ruzomberok, Slovakia
1996 - Biennial International Miniature Textiles, Szombathelyi, Hungary
1995 - "Fiber Art from 3 countries" and "4＋4＋4", Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia
1995 - 2nd Baltic Triennal of Miniature Textiles, Gdynia, Poland
1995 - 3rd "IN OUR HANDS" An International Competition, Nagoya Trade & Industry Centre, Nagoya, Japan
1994 - INNER VISION, By Cranbrook alumni, Gallery Muu, Kyoto Senbikiya Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1994 - Contemporary Tapestries, Rose Theatre, Fuji, Japan
1993 - 2nd "IN OUR HANDS" An International Competition, Nagoya Trade & Industry Center, Nagoya, Japan
1992 - Biennial International Miniature Textiles, Szombathelyi , Hungary
1991 - Cranbrook in Japan, Knoll International Japan, Tokyo, Japan
1987 - Cranbrook Summer Show, Michigan, U.S.A.
1987 - Collabolation Cranbrook/Kashmir, Michigan, U.S.A.
1985・86 Comprehensive Exhibition of Contemporary Female Artists in Japan, Uenonomori Museum, Tokyo, Japan
1982-83 Tamagawa Open Air Sculpture and Textile, Tamagawa Takashimaya, Tokyo, Japan
1982 - International Miniatuure Textile Japan/Mexico, Mexico
1981-85 Nitten, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, Japan
1975 -1985 Japan Contemporary Craft Art Exhibition, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan

PRIZES

2008 - Prize of Kuwazawa-gakuen (Japan)
2007 - Fiberart International (U.S.A.)
Past Director’s Award For Innovative Use of Materials
2006 - International Triennial for Flag, Szombathelyi Keptar, Hungary –
The 2^nd prize of the Cultural Foundation for the Textile Art
1999 - The 16th Fiberart International '99 (U.S.A.) - Marianne Kor Award for Excellence in an International entry
1997 - The 15th Fiberart International '97 (U.S.A.)
3rd Prize
1997 - The 3rd Baltic Biennial of the Weaver's Miniature (Poland)
1984 - Prize of Membership of Japan Contemporary Arts and Crafts
1982 - Prize of Japan Contemporary Arts and Crafts

OCCUPATIONS

1994〜2007 Professor of Tokyo Zokei University (Tokyo University of Art and Design)
1991〜94　Associate Professor of Tokyo Zokei University (Tokyo University of Art and Design)
1999 - Instructor at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
1995 - Art Director of Artist in Residence Hachioji
1992〜93 A member of committee of Artist in Residence Program in "TAMA LIFE 21", Art Director

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2011 - Jury for Miniature Textile Art at the International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art in Mexico, -
2010 - Organized the Textile Art Miniature by 100 artists. (Roof Gallery, Tokyo)
2005 - Jury for the Sakiori Exhibition
2003 - Jury for the Sakiori Exhibition
1999 - Visiting artist: Arizona State University
1999 - Fiberart Forum: University of Pittisburgh U.S.A.
1998 - Workshop: Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, U.S.A.
1997 - Residency Program: The Banff Centre for Arts, Banff, Canada
1996 - Workshop: Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, U.S.A.
1996 - Visiting artist: University of Georgia, U.S.A.

PUBLICATIONS

2010 - “Douhyou” by Emiko Nakano

2005 - Japanese Translation of“Contemporary Weaving Rag Rug”-by Heather Allen, Published by Textile and Life

REVIEWS

2008 - Surface Design, Summer 2008 p.34~39 by Heather Allen-Swarttouw

2007 - Senshokuα, August 2007 p.34~37 by Kiyoji Tsiji

Liz Jeneid (Sidney,Australia,1936-).

Liz Jeneid (Sidney,Australia,1936-).

Solo Exhibitions
2010 West of the Divide - Barratt Galleries Altsonville NSW Australia

2009 A Way of Remembering, artist books & Prints, FCA, University of Wollongong

2004 Specific to Site - New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale NSW Australia

2000 Place Notes - Sturt Gallery, Mittagong New South Wales, Australia

1999 Connexions - Mary Place Gallery, Paddington, Sydney,Secrets & Landscape – New England Art gallery and Museum, Armidale New South Wales, and Faculty of Creative Arts Gallery, University of Wollongong

1995 Intersections - Wollongong City Gallery, New south Wales, Australia

1989 A Sense of Place - Wollongong City Gallery, New South Wales , Australia

2 Person Exhibitions

2011 Entre Deux - with Diana Brennan, Marianne Newman Gallery Sydney, Australia

2010 Breathing Space - with Diana Wood Conroy - Wollongong City Gallery NSW Australia

2007 Wanderlust - Artist Books, with Alexander Arcus -

Burra Regional Art Gallery S.A., Riddoch Gallery, Mt Gambier S.A., Flinders University Art Gallery, Adelaide S.A., Maitland Regional Art Gallery NSW, Goulburn Regional Art Gallery NSW, NERAM Armidale NSW

2006 Polarised with Susan Barnett, FCA Gallery UOW, Wollongong NSW Australia

Wanderlust with Alexander Arcus, AGNSW Library, Sydney Australia

2005 Separate Journeys – with Virginia Kaiser, GIG Gallery Glebe NSW Australia

Selected Group Exhibitions

2011 - Vl International Textile Biennial, Xalapa Mexico

ll Fires Festival, Braidwood NSW Australia

Recycled Library Altered Books - travelling to regional galleried in NSW & Q’land

2010 Something Personal - Charles Hewitt Gallery Sydney

Recycled Library:Altered Books - travelling to regional galleried in NSW , SA, Q’land

2010 Libris Awards: Australian Artists’ Book Prize Exhibition, Artspace Mackay Q’land, Australia

2009 Shapes of Longing - Charles Hewitt Gallery Sydney

Recycled Library :Altered Books - travelling to regional galleries in Q’land

Meroogal Women’s Art Prize - Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, Gunnedah Regional Art Gallery, NSW

30th Anniversary Exhibition Wollongong City Gallery

Momentum - Tamworth Textile Biennale - Tweed River Art Gallery, Canberra School of Art,Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Mornignton Peninsular Art Gallery

In Your Dreams - Touring Regional Art Galleries in Q’land

Shared Journeys - Level 17 Artspace, Victoria University, Melbourne

Shapes Of Longing: Returning to the Mediterranean - Charles Hewitt, Sydney

2008 Momentum - Tamworth Textile Biennale - Tamworth & travelling

Meroogal Art Prize Exhibition - Nowra Art Gallery, Historic Houses Trust, Sydney

Moufflon bookshop, Nicosia Cyprus

Searching for Asphodels: Artists in the Mediterranean, AGNSW research Library

In Your Dreams - touring regional Art Galleries in Queensland & NSW

30th Anniversary Exhibition Wollongong City Gallery

2007 Mimosa - Ukuma Gallery, Torremolinos Spain.
Artists from Poland, Finland. Denmark Spain & Italy.

In Your Dreams - Canada, Germany

Transferring the Image 2007 Mura clay Gallery Newtown Sydney

Milestones 1 - Long Gallery UOW NSW –(curator)

(collected) women. Wollongong City Gallery, NSW Australia March 2007

5th Artists’ Book Show - Ino Town, Kochi Japan

2006 Paper Works ‘06, Ino Town, Kochi, Japan

Moufflon Book Shop, Nicosia Cyprus

2005 Artist books - n’Box gallery, Kochi, Japan

2004 Moments of Slippage - Mura Clay Gallery, Newtown Sydney NSW Australia

Undercover - Artist Books - Art Gallery of New South Wales library, Australia

Books of Imagination - Noosa Regional Gallery NSW

Artist Books – n’Box Gallery, Kochi, Japan

Encounters & Journeys – Craft ACT Gallery, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

Surfaces – Stella Downer Gallery – Sydney, New South Wales

2002 Common Ground – Hazelhurst Gallery & Arts Centre, Gymea New South Wales

Departures – Sturt Gallery Mittagong, New South Wales

Paperworks 2002 – Ino Town Paper Museum, Kochi Japan

2001 Postcards from an Island Tasmanian State Library, Hobart Tasmania

Book Object Galleri Kaponjaren, Rindo Redutt, Vaxholm, Sweden

2000 Local Knowledge - Wollongong City Gallery, Wollongong, New South Wales

Lake Mungo Revisited 2000/1- travelling exhibition to 5 venues in New South Wales,

South Australia and Victoria

1999 Hidden Treasures - Herning Museum, Denmark

1998 9th International Triennal of Tapestry Lodz, Poland (Selected as 1 of 3 artists to represent Australia)

1997 SAG – Australian Girl’s Own Gallery, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

1996/7 Below the Surface - travelling exhibition to Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.

1996 Derivations Craft ATC, Canberra and Dowse Gallery Lower Hutt New Zealand

1995/6/7 Crossing Borders - travelling exhibition in USA curated by Sue Rowley

Professional experience

2008 - University Fellow, University of Wollongong, NSW Australia,

1983 - 2003 Lecturer, Senior Lecturer & Co-ordinator of Visual Arts in the Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong, NSW Australia; Director of the Faculty Art Gallery for six years.

2011 artist residency Vermont Studio Centre USA

Artist Book Tutor - Textiles Ballarat

Invited artist - V1 Int. Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art, Xalapa, Mexico

Workshop tutor artist books - Stuart Town summer School

2009/10 Workshop tutor artist books - Stuart Town summer School

Participant in CODEX artist book Fair , San Francisco USA

Artist Residency at Vermont Studio Center, Vermont USA

2008 Workshop tutor - Textiles Ballarat, Victoria, Artist Books Bunbury W.A.

2007 Artist in Residence NERAM, Armidale NSW,

Artist in Residence Skopelos, Greece

Curator Milestones 1 & 11 for Art, Heritage & Place Project Wollongong

Workshop tutor Sturt summer School

2006 Workshop tutor in artist books in New Zealand and Geelong Victoria

2005 Artist in Residence Quark Polar Expeditions, Antarctic Expedition

Lecturer Paper & Book Intensive Colorado USA

2004 Visiting Artist Residency at NERAM, Armidale NSW

Artist in Residence Quark Polar Expeditions, Arctic Expedition

2003 Visiting Artist Skopelos Art Foundation, Greece

2002 Curator of Departures an exhibition of Australian paper artists to show in Paperworks 2002 Ino, Japan

1999 Selected as a participant in Northern Fibre 111 held in Jutland Denmark

Selected as 1 of 3 Australian artists to exhibit in the International Tapestry Triennale in Lodz, Poland

1994 Cite Internationale Studio Paris, Art gallery of New South Wales studio 3 month residency.

Visiting Lecturer Marmara University Istanbul, Turkey

1993-4 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade grant for travelling Student Exhibition to Turkey

1983-4 Australia Council Trainee Grants for training in weaving workshop

1979-83 Established production weaving workshop in Sydney Australia working with apprenticeship training program; also worked as a community artist with Community Activities Network from 1978, training rural and urban educators working in out of school centres.

Study & Research Overseas

2010 - USA, Mexico

2009 USA, France & Turkey

2007 Cyprus, Greece, Spain - Mallorca, Menorca, Malaga region.

2006 Israel, Spain, Paris, France

2005 Antarctic, Greece, Mallorca, USA

2004 Iceland, Greenland, Canada

2003 Italy, Greece, USA - one month residency at the Skopelos Foundation Greece.

2002 Cambodia/Japan

2000/1 USA, Europe

1999 Denmark - participant Northern Fibre 111

1998 India, Europe - lectured in France, Finland & Estonia

1994 Turkey - to mount University of Wollongong student exhibition in Istanbul, visiting textile lecturer in residence, Marmara University, Istanbul.

Residency at Cite, Paris for 3 months

1992 Japan,,Hungary (Paper& Book conference)Turkey, France, UK, USA(Participated in Artist Book Fair Washington DC)

1989 Yemen, Turkey, Switerland, UK, USA, Japan

Collections:

Power House Museum, Sydney, New South Wales; Queensland Art Gallery; Araluan Art Gallery, Alice Springs Northern Territory: University of Southern Queensland; University of Wollongong New South Wales; Wollongong City Gallery, New South Wales; Goulburn Regional Gallery, New South Wales; NERAM Armidale NSW, Mackay Regional Gallery; Flinders University Collection; AGNSW Australia, Washington State University,USA; Carleton College MN USA; private collections in Australia and overseas

Publications

2010 Catalogue Breathing Space, Wollongong city Gallery NSW Australia

2009 - Recycled Library- Altered Books Artspace Mackay, Q’land Australia

2008 Searching for Asphodels - catalogue

2007 Imprint - Wanderlust review by Virginia Jay, Textile Fibre Forum - Wanderlust review by Kathryn Orton, issue 4, No 88 2007, IAPMA journal November - Article by LJ

Milestones catalogue - introduction

2006 Wanderlust - Artist book catalogue

Imprint, Spring ‘06 Polarised - review by Sue Forster

2004 Undercover - Artist Book Catalogue

2002 Departures & Paperworks 2002 Ino, Japan. catalogues

2000/1 Lake Mungo Revisited – catalogue

Common Ground - catalogue

1999 Northern Fibre - Hidden Treasures - catalogue

1998 9th Internationale Tapestry Triennale - catalogue

1996 Below the Surface catalogue essay.P54,56Derivations - catalogue essay

Second Look- catalogue essay Prospect Gallery S.A.

TAASA Review - The Turkish Connection

1995 Crossing Borders catalogue essay Sue Rowley p. 28-29

Intersection Catalogue, Wollongong City Gallery Publication

Periphery, catalogue essay by Diana Wood Conroy Issue no.22 Feb’95

p30-31

1994 Discerning Textiles catalogue essay Jennifer Lamb

Anthology of the Illawarra edit by Ron Pretty.

1992 Imprint- Reflections on the Artist Book Summer 1992 Vol 27 #4 NSW part 2 Textile Fibre Forum #33 Artists of the Illawarra p.27

Grace Cochrane,The Crafts Movement in Australia- a History p.11,215,358,363, pub NSW Univ Press ’92

　

　

Maningrida Threads: Handcrafted fabric from Babbarra Design, by Valerie Kirk.

It is my pleasure to speak this evening about Maningrida Threads: Handcrafted fabric from Babbarra Design: the history, particular features of the work and issues facing the fabric printing centre.

The work compliments the exhibition by Winsome Jobling titled Breathe: Works in Paper, reflecting on the pockets of remnant bushland around Darwin which provide breathing spaces in the city; to listen, reflect and wonder. The town supports a population of 2,600 people, which includes those who live on the 30 homeland centres.

At the Indigenous fibre conference Selling Yarns, in Darwin, in 2006, I noticed the stall selling Babbarra fabrics was swarmed by people. You had to get in quick as each piece was individual and the work was being snapped up by people in the know, relishing the opportunity to buy the fabrics brought in from the remote community.

Maningrida is 371 kms east of Darwin and 2989 kms from Canberra in north central Arnhem Land situated on the coast and last year I travelled in a small 3 seater plane out to the settlement.

The Babbarra Women's Centre was established in 1983 as a woman’s refuge. From this it has developed into a small business enterprise running five arms of the operation: Laundromat, hairdresser, OP Shop, cleaning crew and the fabric printing workshop. Babbarra Designs is the major activity at the Women’s Centre and has been in operation since 1989. It is supported by CDEP which stands for Community Development Employment Projects and the program is an Australian Government funded initiative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Job Seekers.Through CDEP the fabric printing workshop employs 13 women and they produce block printed and screenprinted fabrics, sometimes with additional hand painting. There is also a sewing area where garments and products are stitched up and sold to the community and visitors.’s cave for fabricistas: if only they could travel the 2989 kms from Canberra to get there. Local people come into the shop to buy for themselves, their families and friends. Visitors to the community, health advisers, government officials, and education specialists drop in to purchase some of the special fabric that they know is made at Maningrida by the local women. They want to support the artists and acquire something with associations to the place and the people.’t see the fabrics at all. They are rare. Although fabric printing has been happening continuously on Aboriginal communities since the heyday of the Crafts in the 1970s only small amounts of fabric are produced due to the time-consuming methods used. It has generally sold directly from maker to end user so has flown under the radar of galleries, collectors and publishers. Now communities are investigating means of increasing production through outsourcing screen printing and accessing digital print bureaus, opening up questions about the value of the handmade and authenticity. The issues become more urgent as CDEP is under threat of being replaced by sustainable business models where there is no subsidy and the income generated has to cover all costs.’s view of the world and her relationship to family, culture and country.Claire Summers, The Babbarra Womens Centre Manager for her calm persona and tireless dedication to the women and the centre. To CDEP for providing an income to the artists, their families and community and enabling the dedicated hand printing of artistic fabrics. We hope the Babbarra Womens Centre will be able to transition into a new self-sufficient business model to be able to continue the fabric production post CDEP. 

The Babbarra shop is a little Aladdin’s cave for fabricistas: if only they could travel the 2989 kms from Canberra to get there. Local people come into the shop to buy for themselves, their families and friends. Visitors to the community, health advisers, government officials, and education specialists drop in to purchase some of the special fabric that they know is made at Maningrida by the local women. They want to support the artists and acquire something with associations to the place and the people.

 Sometimes fabric is commissioned: for women park rangers who put in a request for metres of fabric to make into work skirts as their uniform, for the Darwin Convention Centre and Pandanas Apartments, Darwin and with recent housing development at Maningrida there has been a demand for curtain fabric. Small amounts of fabric are sold in other places like Nomad in Darwin and Canberra, the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair or bought by cult fashion house Raw Cloth to be made into boutique clothing.

Before Nomad we rarely saw Babbarra fabrics in Canberra and in most other cities people do not see the fabrics at all. They are rare. Although fabric printing has been happening continuously on Aboriginal communities since the heyday of the Crafts in the 1970s only small amounts of fabric are produced due to the time-consuming methods used. It has generally sold directly from maker to end user so has flown under the radar of galleries, collectors and publishers. Now communities are investigating means of increasing production through outsourcing screen printing and accessing digital print bureaus, opening up questions about the value of the handmade and authenticity. The issues become more urgent as CDEP is under threat of being replaced by sustainable business models where there is no subsidy and the income generated has to cover all costs.
 

Perhaps also because the fabric is Womens business, Textiles, Aboriginal and Australian it has been taken for granted. Last year when I presented an exhibition of Indigenous Printed Textiles at the World Textile Organisation in Mexico, the international audience was astounded by the quality and boldness of the artwork, the intriguing imagery, the confidence and creativity. Is this another example of where you have to make it overseas to gain recognition here?

The artists depict their dreaming stories, spirit beings, surroundings, bush foods and tools. Through these aspects their lives and spirit are embedded in the cloth. Deborah Wurrkidj is an experienced artist and has worked at Babbarra Designs since 1991. Her work encompasses the breadth of subjects she can respond to in her paintings and her fabric work. In Yawkyawk she has drawn the female water spirit from the Duwa story that she learned to paint from her father. The fabric Bush Apples in black white and grey shows the fruit drawn freely and joyfully, repeated in layers on the cloth. The Dilly Bag fabric in turquoise, behind the desk, shows the woven collecting basket, usually made from vine or Pandanus, and used to carry a fresh catch of fish or yams. The patterned image conveys her knowledge of the process of making the basket, the intricate lines giving a sense of the complexity and time invested in the process. In the gallery here you can see some of the fibre objects alongside their images in the fabrics. The images move between realistic depictions, schematic drawings and abstract renditions of subjects. Elizabeth Gandabuma, in her work, Mudripples shows an abstraction from nature, a pattern created from observation and innate knowledge of the repeating marks in mud. The direct hand process of working allows for further abstraction as colours and images are layered in the print. Unusual things happen in the fabric as artists move from one block and pattern to another or overlay screens in different directions. This gives the work a very quirky sense of design, which probably without the artists knowing, is the latest fashion in the European design houses with companies like Custeau and Desiguel.

A folder on the plan chest gives you details about all the artists and their work with photographs that show you the people, the place where they work and their environment. It helps you to realise that these are not anonymous pieces of cloth, each piece is different and embodies the maker, a woman’s view of the world and her relationship to family, culture and country.

Congratulations to the artists on a stunning show. And thankyou to Angus and Rose Cameron, Nomad Art, Darwin for having the insight and willingness to promote Babbarra. Fiona Sivyer, Nomad Art, Canberra for the beautiful display of the works. Claire Summers, The Babbarra Womens Centre Manager for her calm persona and tireless dedication to the women and the centre. To CDEP for providing an income to the artists, their families and community and enabling the dedicated hand printing of artistic fabrics. We hope the Babbarra Womens Centre will be able to transition into a new self-sufficient business model to be able to continue the fabric production post CDEP.

The opportunity is here to buy the fabric tonight, artwork to keep and cherish in solidarity with the Babbarra artists, fabric to add vitality to your home, office or wardrobe or give as a unique gift. Unless you want to travel the 2989 kms to the little shop at Maningrida, this is your chance. Fiona and staff are ready with scissors to snip off a metre or why not invest in a stunning length of fabric. It may not be under the radar for much longer.

Valerie Kirk, Head of Textiles, The Australian National University.

Australian Textile Art,by Liz Jeneid.

Australian Textile Art

by Liz Jeneid.

Because Australia was settled by Europeans after the Industrial Revolution, Australia had not developed a tradition of hand crafted objects and also because most of the early settlers came from towns. In the 19th Century and early 20th century there was little textile industry, mainly because of a strong connection with Britain which enabled the importation of cheap printed and woven textiles.

During the depression most textile skills were concentrated on mend and make do ...

Between and after the wars hand spinning and weaving emerged and the first branch of the Handspinners & Weavers Guild was formed in 1922 when imported goods were in short supply. The guild was formally established in 1947.

European design influences reached Australia in the 1950s and when 　migrants from Europe arrived after the WW2, they brought their traditional skills with them.

In 1941 Sturt Workshops in Mittagong NSW, was set up by Winifred West , an educator and visionary who later brought out highly trained master weavers from Germany 　to set up a studio and 　train other weavers.

The Craft Council of Australia, was instrumental in bringing textile artists from other countries to Australia to run workshops and encourage artists here to expand their practice. Sheila Hicks, Yoshida Wada, Archie Brennan were some of the artists brought out to Australia in the 70s. The South Australian Government established the Jam Factory in 1973 which began craft training workshops, galleries, a shop and artist's studios. When the organisation moved in 1991 to another space, textiles and leather workshops were discontinued.

Archie Brennan, the Scottish tapestry weaver who had worked in the Dovecot Tapestry Studio in Scotland was brought out to Australia in the early 70's. The Dovecot Studio was used as a model for the establishment of the Victorian Tapestry workshop in 1976 which was supported by the Victorian Government. The workshop employs trains and employs weavers with an arts training background who collaborate with Australian and overseas artists in the production of the tapestries.

The development of textile courses in art schools started in 1971 and later in　Technical Colleges and　Universities with art departments. 　Sadly 　many of these departments are being closed as money is not so available and also because it seems that 'outcomes' from these classes are not so obvious to Governments - so ceramic and textile departments are now few and far between.

Individual artists from Australia who trained in other countries such as Indonesia, Japan and Europe returned bringing back skills which they passed on to other textile practitioners.

A　strong tradition of woven baskets exists in Aboriginal communities and their work is being included in contemporary Textile Exhibitions.

Silkscreen and batik techniques have been introduced into Aboriginal communities so that there are beautiful fabrics being produced using their own designs.

There is still a strong textile community in Australia - with some tertiary institutions retaining their textile departments.　

A book by Grace Cochrane 1992 - 'The crafts Movement in Australia - a History ' is a good source of information.

www.victapestry.com.au

www.jamfactory.com.au

22 September, 2011

Hope this helps

with warm wishes　

Liz

 

FIBERART AS SCULPTURE, by Vivian Silva.

FIBERART AS SCULPTURE, by Vivian Silva.

An important American artist to the concept of Fiberart as Sculpture was Claire Zeisler. The artist studied Sculpture with Archipenko; she admitted the influence of two teachers from the Institute of Design - The New Bauhaus/ Chicago: Eugene Dona (Two Dimensional Design), and Marly Ermine (Weaving).

Zeisler defined Fibersculpture as a

[…] free-standing piece that could support itself without a foreign armature in it…. making a form that was really unique to fiber.[ …]

An interview with the artist was conducted in 1981, June, by Dennis Barrie, for the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, that started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

DB: Were you interested in the, you know, [fiberesque] sculpture? Did that kind of…
 

CZ: I was then. My goal was really to make a free-standing piece that could support itself without a foreign armature in it. And what I mean by a foreign armature is the metal piece. . . .

DB: Um hmm, wood.
 

CZ: . . . or wood, or what have you. And I made quite a few around 1967. You know, I had a very important show in 1968 at the [Feigen] Gallery in Chicago. And that was the first time that anybody in the fiber field had ever passed to a fine arts gallery.[…]

CZ: And, you see, the reason I wanted to do it was I was interested, and I still am, in making a form that was really unique to fiber. I almost forgot to say that in that. . .

DB: I think that’s a very important statement.’s about the most important thing that was in my head.’t be done or reproduced in any other material.’d used a foreign armature in the very beginning, I would have gotten a very different shape, and it wouldn’t have been unique to fiber. Now I don’t really know whether I succeeded in making a shape that was unique to fiber; I have no idea. I have a feeling I did a little bit. And I’ve always said that I want to go back to that, to see if I could really do it.

One of the first Free-standing Fibersculptures was presented by American artist Lois Lancaster (1932-): she made immense wool balls, free standing in space: she recovered for Fiberart the woman’s technique of embellishment of tricot garments and caps, with her photos reproduced (CONSTANTINE & LARSEN, 1973).

Another pioneer in American Fiberart is Lenore Tawney (1925-): she, with Claire Zeisler (1903-1991), and Sheila Hicks (1934-), were the first American Fiberartists to present in Europe the exhibition Sculptures in Fiber, at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Zurich, 1963).

 

But, what is Tapestry? How Tapestry became　Fiberart, or Fibersculpture, or Fiberart Installation (or Fiberinstallation), as part of a Fiberart Culture or Fiberculture in the twentieth Century? After more than three decades of daily work with textiles and observation of the evolution of a textile form of art, I have defined each category as follows:　

I.0 Tapestry

The name refers to all the flat surface geometric textile work produced to be placed on a wall, and executed manually with many traditional types of threads such as wool & silk, silver & gold, sinthetic or natural, in one and only traditional textile technique such as embroidery or weaving in any type of loom.

So, never mind if the drawings are figurative or abstract, even Le Corbusier Murs de Laine are tapestries, only that they are Mural Tapestries, among others such as the tapestries of any size produced in workshops such as Gobelin, Savonnerie, Aubusson among other famous international ateliers.

2.0 Fiberart:

The name refers to all the textile work placed on a wall, or on the floor, or in space, that is the result of a personal research of a Fiberartist, and executed manually with any kind of textile techniques such as embroidery, fabric collages and weaving, or a mixture of techniques, or any other, new or invented, with the help of any kind of instrument or any kind of structure and material or a mix of materials.

3.0 Fiberart Mural or Fibermural:

The name refers to all the textile work placed on a wall as a result of a personal research of a Fiberartist,　 executed manually with any kind of textile techniques such as embroidery, fabric collages or weaving, or in a mixture of techniques or any other, with the help of any kind of instrument or any kind of structure and material, or in a mix of materials, with the dimension superior to 3.50 m2.

4.0 Fibersculpture:

The name refers to all the textile spatial work, free-hanging in space or free-standing on the floor, or placed on a wall, as a result of a personal research of a Fiberartist,　 executed manually in any form and texture and in any kind of textile technique such as embroidery, fabric collages and weaving or in a mixture of techniques produced in any kind of loom or with the help of any kind of artifact or material, or the mix of many materials and techniques.

The Fibersculptures can be classified in 3 types:

4.1-Fibersculpture: Type 01.

Is the result of a personal research of a Fiberartist, a free-standing or free-hanging piece that can support itself without a foreign armature in it, a form that is really unique to fiber (Silva, Vivian, based on Claire Zeisler, 1981, declaration.^[2]

4.2-Fibersculpture: Type 02.

Is the result of a personal research of a Fiberartist, a free-standing or free-hanging piece that can support itself with the help of an armature in it, in a form that is not really unique only to Fiber (Silva, Vivian, based on Claire Zeisler, 1981, declaration).

 

4.3-Fibersculpture: Type 03.

Is the result of a personal research of a Fiberartist, a free-standing piece that can support itself only with an armature in the structure of the textile, in a integrated presentation of a foreign material and the Fiber.^[3]

　

Another concept in the evolution of Fiberart came after Fibersculptures: the Fiberart Installations, that represented the evolution of the Fibersculpture work.

5.0 FIBERART INSTALLATION or FIBERINSTALLATION.

Is the result of a personal research of a Fiberartist, a composition with various free-standing or free hangings pieces, showing a set of related works made in any kind of technique and in any kind of material or in a mixture of material(s), related to the Fiberart concept, or material, or technique, in an integrated and coherent presentation.

6.0 FIBERART CULTURE, or FIBERCULTURE.

The denomination Fiberart Culture or Fiberculture includes all types of textiles, such as Tapestry, Fiberart, Fibermural and Fibersculpture and Fiberinstallations of all types, realized with all types of techniques including the mixture of various techniques; realized in any kind of surface including the body, and with any kind of material or mixture of materials, even using material(s) foreign to the Fiberculture, but, in those cases, the work must be formal and intellectually linked to the Fiberart(s) concept(s), and as the result of the creativity and personal research of a Fiberartist.

So, works done with all kinds of the new Digital, Genetic, among other new and innovative technologies, might become a Fiberculture work, and the artist might become a Fiberartist, and the work might be accepted in Fiberculture exibition(s).

NOTES:

^[1]
The transcript of this interview is in the public domain and may be used without permission. Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Claire Zeisler, 1981 June, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

[2] a very different shape that could support itself without a foreign armature in it…. making a form that was really unique to fiber. …Now, if I’d used a foreign armature in the very beginning, I would have gotten, and it wouldn’t have been unique to fiber […] (ZEISLER, 1981).

[3]

Silva, V., based on Zeisler, C.,1981, declaration; and on personal observation of the Fibersculpture of Joan Livinstone in the 11th Biennial of Tapestry, Lausanne, 1985.

SELECTED REFERENCES:

CATÁLOGO. Exposição Nacional de Arte Têxtil/ 85. Porto Alegre: MARGS, 1985.
CATÁLOGO. HERZOGENRATH, K. Bauhaus: 50 Jahre Bauhaus. Tradução de Karl-Georg Bitterberg, Stuttgart: Würtembergischen Kunstverein, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, 1974, pp. 24-27, 85-94.

CATÁLOGO. II Trienal de Tapeçaria. São Paulo: MAM, 1979.

CATÁLOGO. III Trienal de Tapeçaria. São Paulo: MAM, 1982.

CATÁLOGO. VII Bienal de São Paulo. São Paulo: Fundação Bienal, set/ nov/ 1965, p. 460.

CATÁLOGO. 1er Encuentro Latinoamericano de Mini-Textil. Montevideo: Subte Municipal, 12-30 Ago., 1988.

CÁURIO, R. Artêxtil no Brasil: Viagem pelo mundo da tapeçaria. Rio de Janeiro: 1985. 304p, il., algumas color., 21,5 x 29,5 cm.

CONSTANTINE, M: LARSEN, J. L. Beyond Craft: The Art Fabric. New York, Cincinnati, London, Toronto, Melbourne: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1973. 293p., il., algumas color. 26,5 x 35,5 cm.

CONSTANTINE, M.; LARSEN, J. L. The Art Fabric: Mainstream. New York, Cincinnati, London, Toronto, Melbourne: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1979, 293p., il., algumas color.
FOLHETO. Contradições do Feltro. São Paulo: MAC - USP, 05-30 abril, 1989.26,5 x 35,5 cm.　

KUENZI, A.; BILLETER, E.; KATO, K. L. La Nouvelle Tapisserie. Ed. rev. e ampl. Paris - Lausanne: Biblioteque des Arts, 1981, 3a ed., rev. e ampl,293p., il., algumas color. 26,5 x 35,5 cm, pp. 34-36.　.

VERLET, P.; FLORISOME,M.; HOFFMEISTER, A.; TABARD, F.; LURÇAT, Jean. Le Grand Livre de la Tapisserie. Lausanne; Edita, 1965, pp. 147-150.