As stated in the Tapestry Handbook, “A tapestry is the interweaving of discontinuous weft yarns with tensioned warp yarns through two alternate sheds, resulting in a firm, weft-surface textile constructed concurrently with the description of its design” (Russell, 2007, p.10). Tapestries are an amazing form of textile art that has been refined and developed over centuries. Typically, these creations are usually woven over a vertical loom. Most weavers use a natural warp thread such as linen or cotton. The weft threads are usually made out of wool or cotton. They can also be made of silk, gold, silver or other materials. A tapestry is made by repeatedly weaving the weft threads over and under the warp threads, then squishing those horizontal …show more content…
threads down so they are very close together, thus, completely hiding the vertical threads from view. Creating a tapestry is a unique art form in itself. The entire weaving is weft faced with the warp threads remaining completely hidden in the finished work. This is different from normal cloth weaving which usually has both threads exposed. Tapestries have been used as both an art form and a medium for recording historical events. The famous Bayeux Tapestry is a historical account of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The tapestry was hand woven and took years to complete. It was made of linen and has 8 different colors of thread. It was also made as several large panels and was all sewn together at the end. The Bayeux Tapestry is nearly 224 feet long, containing hundreds of images and scenes that go along with the story. Tapestries in modern day are created with a mix of past and present art. Regarding the history of tapestries, they were woven by hand for centuries. In the late 19th and early 20th century, technological innovations introduced the possibility of machine-woven tapestries. Today, workshops and manufactories still produce hand-woven and machine-woven tapestries. Most tapestry weavers still follow the traditional process, copying a painted cartoon. Other tapestry weavers take complete creative control, even improvising their design as they weave. The industry of tapestry weaving reached a new dimension in the 14th Century when they became popular all over Europe. The first wave of production originated in Germany and Switzerland and expanded over time to France and the Netherlands. Tapestries were utilized beyond just being a decorative element in the home. For example, they were used for insulating walls of castles. “Tapestries should begin with a design, even those with simple geometric images. The design process establishes and refines the visual elements of a tapestry” (Russell, 2007, p.177). The main elements of design within a tapestry are the following: value, color, line, direction, shape, texture and proportion. Starting with value, this refers to the relative lightness or darkness of a color. Value in tapestries is expressed only with weft yarns. It also affects factors other than technique, such as balance, distribution of light, depth of space and definition of shapes. Moving onto color, this element is a primary reason for weaving. The lively colors of weaving yarns stimulate creativity in a tactile person. Next, line is a very crucial element. The type of line used within a design can give off an entire different meaning. Straight lines are generally the strongest, gently curved lines are more active and circles or spirals are vigorous lines that display enthusiasm. The fourth element is direction, which is heavily influenced by the element of line since all lines have a direction. Direction can be broken down into four segments, which are the following: horizontal, vertical, diagonal or a combination. The fifth element is shape, which is also closely related to the element of line. Shapes become even more important when considered relative to their proportions. They also have the potential to become completing symbols. The sixth element is texture and there are two distinct types of texture. The first type is tangible and the second type is implied. Tangible texture means that it is visible and tactile, while implied means that it is perceivable only by the eyes. The last element is proportion, which is an important factor to the unification of a design. A unified design includes the right number of elements, with each element having the right proportion for that design. All of the seven elements mentioned play a significant role within a design and they all heavily align with one another. To focus in on an example of a tapestry that relies on all 7 elements of design are the Navajo rugs.
These rugs and blankets are textiles that are produced by Navajo people. These textiles can take up to 2-6 months to be completed, which all depends on the size of the rug or blanket. Each Navajo rug is all hand woven on a traditional upright loom and there are no shortcuts using the traditional weaving process. Another example of a known tapestry is an Islamic prayer rug. This prayer mat is traditionally woven with a rectangular design and within the rectangle one usually finds images of Islamic symbols and architecture. The design of a prayer mat is based on the village it came from and its weaver. Today, weavers in a factory are manufacturing many new prayer rugs. The last example of a tapestry is the Rebozo Mexicano Oaxaca. A rebozo is a long flat garment used mostly by women in Mexico. It can be worn in various ways, usually folded or wrapped around the head and/or upper body to shade from the sun, provide warmth and as an accessory to an outfit. Traditional rebozos are hand woven from cotton, wool, silk and rayon in various lengths but all have some kind of pattern. The garment is considered to be part of Mexican identity and nearly all-Mexican women own at least
one. To conclude, tapestries have made a huge comeback in today’s world. They are generally no longer handwoven, but many machine-made tapestries imitate older and past styles. These past styles include classical, ancient, Renaissance, impressionism and many more. Today’s weavers are mostly finding new traditions for themselves, producing everything from a minimalist approach to a more intricate design. Tapestries are a wonderful way to decorate your home. Today, they are mainly used as bed coverings, headboards, beach towels, window blinds and the classic just using it on your wall. Even though this textile object has evolved in many ways throughout history, it doesn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon.
One of the things I found was The clothes worn by the men included loincloths or short kilts which were made from a long rectangular piece of animal skin or cloth which was worn between the legs and tucked over a belt. The men started to wear cotton shirts and shorts, and a headband They wore moccasins made of soft leather. The type of clothes worn by the women of the Hopi tribe were cotton dresses called mantas which were fastened at a woman's right shoulder, leaving her left shoulder bare. Early women’s clothes included a dark blue woollen blanket that was fastened above the right shoulder and tied with a belt at the waist. When Hopi girls reach womanhood, their hair was dressed in two large whorls at the side of the head in a squash blossom.
Hmong textiles are designed with a variety of geometric shapes and patterns. Shapes are regularly added to their dresses, headdresses, and flower cloths. During the Hmong New Year, men and women wear a traditional dress with a turban wrap or a rooster hat. The dress has a very conservative style; covering majority of the body of the man or woman. It is designed by adding embroideries and appliqués. The headdress is also a main part of the dress. Turban wrap is used as a rounded covering for the head, conversely the rooster hat is highly decorated and resembling the comb of a rooster. The flower cloth, or the Hmong word "Paj Ntaub", has been in the Hmong history for over two centuries. Flower cloths are embroideries contain mainly geometric designs and bright yarns. Hmong textiles are often embellished with bright yarns and are usually know as "story cloths." They were weaved to narrate different series of events: the villa...
Through out the ages some of the most impressive feats of blanket weaving has been produced by the Navajo people. One of the most beautiful styles that the Navajo created are the "chief blankets". These blankets have played a extremely important role in the survival of their people with the coming of Western society and are still continued to be made to this day
The Navajo also made blankets which have simple geometric patterns. Notice how in Figure 4 the artist combined a solid center with rectangles and diamonds on the edge to represent the Navajo’s cultural emphasis on restrained aggressiveness and controlled movement (Parr, 2002). It is important for the Navajo to maintain a balance between static and active, and so they represented this the symmetric designs of their blankets as seen in Figure 5 (Parr, 2002).
According to history Navajo rugs first surfaced in the early 1700’s, by one of two ways. The first most known way is by the Hopi people. They were the first settlers, and are our distant ancestors, that came about weaving in the Southwest for the first time. Instead of using wool as we see now, they used cotton to make their clothes, blankets, and rugs. Dedera said, “Where they (the Puebloans) learned to cultivate cotton, and spin and weave it, is more than we can say, but it is perfectly plain to archaeologists who find cotton blankets buried with their dead that they were at it at least a thousand years ago and have kept at it down to this day.” (Dedera, 7) The Navajo people do not have any weaving dated beyond the early 1700’s, so this shows that the Navajo people learned to weave by the influence of the Hopi. Most Navajos do not agree with this assumption, but scientific evidence proves that these people did not have the will-power to weave. The Navajo believe what we call a legend of weaving.
In The Landscape of History, John Lewis Gaddis makes a cohesive argument concerning about the debate over the objectivity of truth by stating “objectivity as a consequence is hardly possible, and that there is, therefore, no such thing as truth (Gaddis 29). The question for objective history has long been debated by numerous historians, and the differing viewpoints of history have led to a transition in our ways of thinking in the modern world. Ultimately, the question that this paper focuses on is: to what extent is history objective? Along with this, the relation to historical consciousness and the challenges of living in modernity will also be assessed. This paper will analyze the texts of John Lewis Gaddis, Nietzsche and the Birth of Tragedy, Modernity and Historical Vision, Living in Modernity, and Hermeneutics. Finally, the paper will argue that history is not largely objective, and is fundamentally shaped through the historian’s subjectivity.
Often, North American history is perceived from the European mindset of superiority over the indigenous groups that were there prior. However, the underlying reality is much more complex than what is commonly accepted. Deep seeded relationships between the Natives and Europeans, both animus and amiable, created intricate societal structures in which Native Americans were able to exercise historical agency over the European immigrants seeking to gain. Historical agency can simply be defined as the control over the social and cultural development of one group of people relative to another. Following the arrival of European powers in the 17th century, indigenous peoples exercised historical agency through controlling trade networks established
Another suggestion that may form a similar image is by heating a sculpture at a certain degree and place the cloth on it for a specific amount of time.
“Chabi had given cloth to each member of the Imperial Household. Khubilai said: ‘This is needed by the military. Why are you giving it away?’ From that time on, Chabi organized the palace ladies to take old bow string, make it into thred, and turn it into clothing. Its pliability and denseness were greater than that of damask.”
In the early 1800s, lace made materials are much expensive than the crochet products. In Europe, some communities use crochet products to identify their social status, which only indicate that they can afford crochet products and other lace made items. The craft of crocheting only requires less expensive supplies and materials, which are commonly threads and yarns that they can purchase in nearby markets.
Most of the textile winding operations deal with the conversion of ringframe bobbins into cones or cheeses. As a result of high warping speed in modern machines direct use of ringframe bobbins in warping will necessitate package change after very often. This will reduce the running efficiency of warping machine. Therefore, ringframe bobbins are converted into bigger cones or cheeses.
In the art world, the medieval periods were traditionally though to be the unproductive phase of Europe between the decline of Rome and the Renaissance. Our modern feelings toward medieval art are far more appreciative. The main intent of Medieval art was to express Christianity which was also a common bond between a wide spread and diverse Europe. For this reason most of the art found from medieval times originated in monasteries and churches. European art during the Middle Ages can be divided into four periods. These four periods include Celto-Germanic art which ranged from 400 to 800 A.D. and was important in metal work. Carolingian art ranged from 750 to 987 A.D. overlapping 50 years of the Celto-Germanic period. The period of Romanesque art spanned mainly the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and was an important period for medieval architecture. Gothic art, the final period of the Middle Age art began in the Romanesque period around the twelfth century and went on until the sixteenth century. Artwork form these four periods all consist of distinct styles setting them apart from one another.
Someone other than the weaver creates the design of tapestries. The designer paints on paper or cloth an image that will be woven into the tapestry. This cartoon was positioned against the rear of the loom so that the weaver could see which colors to place where (Mallory, 2014). This cartoon was not a part of the finished product though, so it could be reused to create multiple tapestries.
Weaving is a common thread among cultures around the world. Weaving is a way of producing cloth or textile. Today we have machines that weave large-scale textiles at cheap prices. Production of cloth by hand is rarely engaged in today’s Westernized societies. Not many people are thinking about how the fibers are actually constructed to make their clothes. However, in other cultures across the world the tradition of weaving still exists. By comparing three cultures that continue weaving as a part of their tradition we can see similarities and the differences between them. The reasons that each culture still weaves vary, as do the methods and materials. The desired characteristics of the cloth also vary around the world as each culture values different aesthetics.
Some groups even wove coded messages into their cloths that conveyed political and philosophical thoughts. Ghanaians produced silk and intricately woven Kente cotton cloth; Mandingas and Malians wore mud cloths comprised of characteristic brown and beige patterns; and the Congolese, or Bantu people, commonly wore tufted Kuba cloths. Kongolese textiles were also distinguished for their the delicately crafted damasks, sarcenets, satins, taffeta, cloth of tissue and velvet. Professor DeGraft-Johnson observed that: