Saturday, March 12, 2016

Peruvian Textile Art

A little while ago I read a wonderful travel report from Diane Dorrans Saeks in her blog The Style Saloniste about Peru. And that reminded me of the wonderful textile art you can find in the Andes countries.

Especially the weavers of today can look onto an ancient tradition, dating back up to 4000 years. The oldest textiles were found at the pre-Columbian temple of Huaca Prieta in the Chicama Valley. The materials used then were brown and white cotton, vicuña, alpaca and llama wool. Sometimes materials such as human hair and bat fibers were included, more often gold and silver thread. Main weaving locations are Cuzco, Lima, Ayacucho, Puno, Junin and Apurimac. The colourful decorative works of today are often dyed with industrial dyes although natural dyes are still used as well or rather again by artists.

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On the website of a shamanic center I found the following two examples of peruvian textile art. Unfortunately I could not find any information about these pieces but I love the patterns as well as the colours...



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I am sure when people mention ancient Peruvian art they think of those incredible gold treasures first place which have been found in a country that can be proud of so many cultures and incredible works of art and craft. These treasures have made the country extremely vulnerable against looters and thieves and only since a few years "Peru has moved aggressively in recent years to reclaim works of its early cultures that have ended up abroad not to mention "private collections" where the artefacts unfortunately will be lost to the public and scientific research. In November last year, a final batch of thousands of artifacts from the ancient Inca citadel of Machu Picchu were returned to Peru from Yale University." (read more)


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Between 600 and 1000, long before the Inca, the Wari (Huari) founded a society widely regarded today as ancient Peru's first empire. Wari became dominant in much of the territory of the earlier Moche and later Chimu cultures. Their textile art is beautiful.

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One of the most extraordinary masterpieces of the pre-Columbian Americas is a nearly 2,000-year-old cloth from the South Coast of Peru.
Despite the textile's small size (it measures about two by five feet), it contains a vast amount of information about the people who lived in ancient Peru; and despite its great age and delicacy, its colors are brilliant, and tiny details amazingly intact. (after The Paracas Textile).

The following images are from the website of the Khanacademy and show incredible workmanship that rather seems to belong into "modern times" rather than from 2000 years ago...






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On the above website you can find a fascinating explanation how this mantle has been created. There is a very special technique involved how the figures of the border have been created - crossed-looping. A diagram shows how this has been accomplished. The result looks nearly like knitting. Imagine that this example (The Paracas Textile) of unbelievable textile art is about 2000 years old.

Another breathtaking example from the Paracas culture is this mantle (normally used for wrapping up mummies in bundles):

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But the first reason for all these introductions into Peruvian Textile art and its thousands of years old tradition is a modern fiber artist - Maximo Laura. His award winning wall hangings are breathtakingly beautiful, full of mysteries and I am sure you will feel the same excitement and enthusiasm when you see his work if you don't know him already. He is an incredibly diligent artist and his works have been shown all-over the world. I can only show very few examples of his wonderful art:


Aire Vital, 20 x 20 cm. Alpaca, cotton, mixed fibers. Peruvian Contemporary Tapestry Art
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 Augur of the Harvest Time, 82 x 140 in, Alpaca Wool, Mixed Fibers. 
Handwoven Peruvian Tapestry Art


 Camino Ardiente Hacia la Luz, 47 x 95 in., Alpaca Wool, Mixed Fibers. 
Handwoven Peruvian Tapestry Art
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Looking at the Balance of Life, 68 x 124 in., Alpaca Wool, Mixed Fibers. 
Handwoven Peruvian Tapestry Art
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 Ritual of the Birth Song, 96 x 48 in, Alpaca Wool, Mixed Fibers. 
Handwoven Peruvian Tapestry Art
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The Dream of the Warrior of Light at Dawn, 99 x 48 in, Alpaca Wool, Mixed Fibers. 
Handwoven Peruvian Tapestry Art
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Ritual of the Eternal Chant IV, 280 x 100 cm,  Alpaca wool, mixed fibers. 
Hand-Woven Peruvian Tapestry
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Sacred Night, 180 x 250 cm,  Alpaca wool, mixed fibers. 
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The following examples can be found on the World of Threads website. And don't forget to read the interview with Maximo there - he talks about his traditional roots, his inspiration, his progress as an artist and much more.
 


Presencia de los Apus en la Jungla, 180 x 278 cm, Hand-woven Tapestry
 

 
Sacred meeting in the jungle, 176 x 402 cm, Alpaca wool, cotton, mixed fibers. Hand-woven Tapestry

 
Spring of Love, 178 x 258 cm, Alpaca wool, cotton, mixed fibers. Hand-woven Tapestry



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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

A Silk Painting about a very special Place - Machu Picchu in Peru

As the next post will be about Peruvian textile art I am re-writing this post from a long time ago. Machu Picchu has always been a mysterious and magical place for me and I cannot get enough from listening and watching all sorts of documentations regarding this sacred place. To visit this spot in reality must be an incredible experience where already due to lack of oxygen the sucseptibility to spiritualism probably grows noticably. How could this place leave anyone untouched?

The silk painting Machu Picchu belongs to the Magic Symbols Series. I love the warm colours and the golden ornaments leave a feeling of preciousness. Even if you choose an art print instead of the original it will leave the same feeling as I use to add gold pigments by hand after the printing process to all prints where the original has been painted accordingly with gold metallic pigments.

Machu Picchu is truly a magical place, an archeological site which still holds many secrets. Thousands of tourists undertake each year an incredibly exhausting trip to this place which is not easy to reach as it is hidden high in the mountains of the Andes. 

"Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World.
The Incas started building the estate around AD 1400 but it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction.
Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since it was not plundered by the Spanish when they conquered the Incas, it is especially important as a cultural site and is considered a sacred place." (from wikipedia)"
Whatever might turn out to be the real purpose of Machu Picchu - there is no doubt that this is a place full of magic and an incredible aura. Until today artefacts are found at this site and may lead to new discoveries.


"Machu Picchu"
40" x 13" 
silk, stitched

The ancient golden ornaments certainly add a special touch to the historical city and dreams about the lost treasures of the Inca people...






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Sunday, February 21, 2016

Wrought Iron - The Art of Handcraft

As promised I am reviving this blog with a post about one of my favourite design themes: wrought iron.

This is the second post about wrought iron - last time the theme was wrought iron beds and other furniture. This time I am talking about the "art of handcraft", which seems to be an oxymoron because either is commonly used separately but in my opinion wrought iron can be a wonderful example for the perfect marriage of both terms. I am convinced that you will find the following objects as charming as I did.

Wrought iron has been used for centuries - the Eiffel tower being one of the most famous exponents - for many different purposes such as handrails, gates, fencing, all kinds of ornamental objects etc. Today most items are produced from mild steel but are still declared as wrought iron although not manufactured by hand any more. I don't want to linger on this fact but simply show an array of beautiful examples which can enhance a home in a very sophisticated way.

Venice – Ornamental barred window
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The following is an incredibly beautiful example for a wrought iron bed which I love especially:

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Another application for wrought iron would certainly be chandeliers and lanterns/sconces as below. Nothing could evoke a more romantic feeling than lighting made by these beautiful pieces:

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The next examples show the possibilities how wrought iron can be a magnificent interior design element for a private home and public rooms: 




And although the following examples are the classical application for exterior design, namely fences, doors and gates, I did not want to omit them because they are so beautiful exponents of this handcraft:



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And another classical application for wrought iron would be the railings for staircases and balconies of course:




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Last but not least wrought iron is an impressive "material" for sculptures of course:


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