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Z '• v* liSNI^NVIN0SHilWs'^S3 I bVy a H^LI B RAR I ES^SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIiniliSNI_NVIN - • '" 5 w ^^ = ^ ^ "» ^ — ^ z "V "S N __ _ z _J z RIES SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOIiniUSNI NVINOSHIIWS S3 I aVM 3 H^LI B RAR I ES__SMIT ^^ll^l NbC77 Jill r^ef. |iE VV^ONDERS Of THREAD A Gift off textiles ffrom the Coiiection off Elizabeth Gordon COOPER U .^ The Wonders of Thread A GIFT OF TEXTILES FROM THE COLLECTION OF ELIZABETH GORDON Exhibition Deceuiher 12, 1964 .^^^]^\THS0 / : through February 23, ig6$ m 5W )) Cooper Union Museum Third Avenue at Seventh Street, New York The printing of this catalogue has been made possible through the generosity oj members of the Needle and Bobbin Club. Cover: Detail of red crocus, No. io Copyright © 1964 by the Cooper Union Mnseu, Introduction An interest in the multitudinous ways that thread can be manipulated is almost as reward- ing as an interest in food. But textiles have an edge. They are as consumable as food but, unlike food, they can be preserved intact so they can be sampled again and again for years. You use textiles in all aspects of life. You wear them, or sleep under them. You hang them on the wall as ornament, or use them to temper the light from windows. You walk on them, sit on them, wipe your lips with them at nreal time. They can be mundane (as everyone knows) but they can also be electric in the way they can stimulate you — intellectually, emotionally, tactily. Becoming aware of textiles as more than mundane necessities can add a whole new dimension to your daily life. To pursue the better versions in the many categories is fun and aesthetically rewarding. Quite apart from the pleasures that derive from daily use, there are other pleasures that accrue from the way they can open up your cultural understanding. When you get really interested in textiles, you start noticing how differently different cultures manipu- late thread and color. From the textiles of a country (or ethnic region or historical epoch) you can deduce the kind and type of civilization that produced them. This is why historians rank textiles, as illuminating instruments, alongside the written documents of a culture. Even in contemporary times, the currently-produced textiles of a country can be expressive of a yeastiness of growth and development not being recorded by political news or social commentary. They are excellent indicators of the metabolic health of the technical and artistic aspects of a society. I hope that this small part of my collection, shown here, will give you the impetus to start investigating this area of life for yourself. Even though it is generally ignored by art critics and art scholars, this makes it more fun for you to forge ahead. For you will not meet with an "Establishment" which has already written the rules about who is IN and who is OUT. Nothing but your own good sense and artistic awareness need be your guide. ELIZABETH GORDON The gift by Elizabeth Gordon of textiles from her collection is of significant interest to the Museum, for it includes excellent works in areas in which the Museum's collections have needed the addition of strong examples. In a visually exciting group of weaving and needlework of the 20th century the debt of today's artists to the technology of other times is apparent. But more important, the special expression of the style of our own time is here represented by innovations in ma- terial, by color choices, by arrangements of spatial distribution, by scale and, in a number of cases, by the creation of textiles as a pure art form. The textiles in another group, primarily Japanese and from various periods, stress technical refinement. Evident in most of these examples is the elegant understatement, so coveted by the Japanese people, where design, technique and texture have been consciously concealed only in order to be discovered by the discerning. The sensibilities of Elizabeth Gordon have been touched both by skill of technique and by artistry of design in the production of textiles. She has responded to the appeal of superior craftsmanship and of artistic merit by acquiring these textiles for her own enjoy- ment. It is the pleasure of the Museum now to be able to show these works to the public as a result of Elizabeth Gordon's generous wish to share them. CHRISTIAN ROHLFING Catalogue of the Exhibition No. 3 EVA ANTTILA (FinhiicJ) 1. Hanging, Finnish forest Wool and novelty yam, tapestry weave in shades of brown and other colors. 1953. ig64-24-43 2. Hanging, thumbeline Wool, synthetic fibers and novelty yam, tapestry weave in pale shades of blue, violet and green with additional colors. 1948. ig64-24-46 3. Hanging, PROFILES* Wool, synthetic hbers and novelty yam, tapestry weave in white, red, pink, green, violet and other colors. 1952. ig6 4-2 4-47 4. Hanging, evening Wool and novelty yarn, tapestry weave in violet, pink, yellow, blue, orange, grey and brown. 1949. ig64-24-4S 5. Hanging, flowered cliff Wool and novelty yarn, tapestry weave in green, violet, pink, blue, yellow, brown, orange and white. 195 1. ig64-24-4g 6. Hanging, the white veil Wool and synthetic fibers, tapestry weave in pale shades of pink, blue, orange and brown. 1950. 1^64-24-83 ilhistrarcd No. 7 HELEN ENGELBERT (Norway) 7. Table runner* Linen damask in yellow, grey and white. 1950-1960. 1964-24-33 8. Tray cloth Linen damask in grey and wliite. 1950-1960. 1964-24-61 MARTA MAAS FJETTERSTROM (Sweden) 9. Rug* Various colored wools in tapestry weave. 1937. 1964-24-62 ANN-MARI FORSBERG (Sweden) 10. Hanging, red CROCUS* Wool and linen, tapestry weave in red, violet, wliite, green, orange, grey and brown. 1950-1960. 1964-24-41 VIOLA GRASTEN (Sweden) II. Hanging, TWO ships* Wool and linen, slit tapestry weave in red, dark blue, yellow, pink and shades of grey. 1951. 1964-24-50 DORA JUNG (Fiiihiid) 12. Hanging, doves Linen damask in grey, white, and spotted areas in various colors. About 1958. 1964-24-34 13. Table cloth and napkin Linen damask in dark and light brown. About 1956. 1964-24-33 A andB 14. Table mat Linen damask in black and grey. About 1954. 1964-24-36 15. Table cloth and napkin Linen damask in black and grey. About 1956. 1964-24-37 A andB £ ■■■:.--'•■■,; ;.; ^^P •5 1 .r\ -'^ s '■'■5':«-ii'': ' f :' ^^■■y-^'H-' l" r '■• > i i .^''■■■v'^" Z'i" . ";!' '' ^ ' 1 ^ -^i.-*" \i', ^- 'f^ j -^ .-. ' ' f '^ ^ C \ r r ^^^^^ ^^^^^ No. 17 No. 22 1 6. Table mat aiid napkin Linen damask in cream color and white. About 1950. 1964-24-^$ A and B 17. Tray cloth, birds* Linen damask in white and light brown. About 1947. ig64-24-_';g 18. Tray cloth, GIRLS and cats Linen damask in white and light brown. About 1947- 1948. 1964-24-60 MARISKA KARASZ (United States) 19. Hanging, fields from the air Natural color hncn, embroidered with wools and other heavy yarns, in shades of green, brown, grey and white; abstract pattern of leaves. 1950-1953. 1964-24-^9 20. Hanging, composition in squares Grey-green linen, embroidered in various colored yarns, string, cord and couched tape, in wliite and pale shades of yellow, green and orange. 1950-1953. 1964-24-^6 2t. Hook...
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