62-150A: Introduction to Textile Media
Section A of Media Synthesis & Analysis – Fall 2020
In order to find a patterned cloth from the past, I looked through The Met online gallery to find one. I chose the one below from the late 18th-early 19th century from Thailand. I really appreciated the symmetry in the pattern because of how it made
The modern day pattern I found is shown below. I also really appreciated the symmetry in the pattern and how the pattern reflects itself. It would be interesting to incorporate that with my piece.
This textile work caught my eye because of the colors and detailed patterns. I really enjoy the boldness of the colors, yet the subdued quality that the whole piece has as a whole. Furthermore, I found it interesting that this was actually an American or European textile, despite the clear asian inspiration with the subject matter and patterns.
This floral pattern with the pops of color was very eye catching and reminded me of the bold and subdued colors of the textile above. Also, as I look more at this piece, I notice more details in the print like the cameras and wires that I think make it even more interesting.
For my patterned cloth from the past, I chose Sarah Lipska’s textile design. This sample is a piece of embroidered cloth by the Polish artist, originating from 1927.
I was interested in this design mainly because of the interest created by the repeating pattern of lines. The choice of color also allows the pattern to pop. While the pattern is just something as simple and continous lines, there is depth created by turning them in right angles. When we look closer, we can notice that there is an intention in whether the threads cross over, go under, or intertwine with the other threads.
“Featherlight” is the pattern I chose for my contemporary pattern reference. It has a similar color scheme to the previous pattern, but the blue is even more striking due to the sheen of the materials used.
I was especially interested by this pattern because of how it doesn’t even seem like a repeating pattern. The pattern has a sense of figure-ground, and the way that they overlap each other also create a sense of depth with the black background. When looking at the pattern up close, it can easily be seen that they are feathers. However, when looking from further away, the pattern becomes more of a pattern of colors and makes it harder to distinguish what the objects are.
I was drawn to this textile because of the contrasting colors and diagonal orientation of the flowers. I think the shifted repeated pattern is interesting, and I enjoy the way my eye is able to move along the paths created. I was also engaged with this piece because the flowers appear to be stamped, and I love the handmade feeling.
Link: https://www.flavorpaper.com/wallpaper/patterns/handscreened/vigilant-floral
This repeated pattern was captivating to me because it felt like a modern take on the Russian floral pattern I found. The repeated pattern is also offset at a diagonal that I appreciate, and I enjoy the elegant delicacy of the design. I like how the video surveillance cameras add an element of surprise that adds another layer to the pattern. Another surprising feature that pulls the floral pattern out of the traditional realm is the razor wire. Upon first glance, I assumed the razor wire was vines, but I like the added commentary to this design.
The first pattern is a mid 18th century pattern from a Indain cotton used on a French dress that was supposed to immitate a Chinese pattern, so it is a unique mishmash of apropriation and such.
The second pattern is from Rifle Paper Co. which feels like such a modern but classical pattern.
This textile that I found from the Met museum collection has a repeating pattern of the fish and the waves. This is an 18th century textile of Chinese or Japanese culture. I chose this as my inspiration because I really enjoy the movement of the waves and the details on the fish. At the bottom there also appears to be an edge pattern that its pretty interesting.
This wallpaper designed by Dan Funderburgh was found on the Flavor Paper website. The design is an intricate mix of carnivorous plant and bats instead of robins and typical flowers. I really like that the designer changed the elements of a typical floral pattern to use unexpected elements that you wouldn’t really notice unless you were paying close attention.
This is a woven textile from the Met Collection from the 18th century, “from China or Japan.” I am drawn to how the pattern is nested in each other, and the hierarchy of different elements- the main fish, the waves its sits on, the splashing of the waves, then the drops of water in the air. Together, it is well composed and create an intriguing figural negative space. In addition, there is also the pattern below it that seems very different, but of similar colors and contrast.
In contrast to the textile above, this is called Brownstoner designed by Ian “Hydeon” Ferguson, found on Flavor Paper. As an architecture student from Brooklyn that likes to draw facades, of course I was drawn to a pattern of Brownstone building fronts in Brooklyn. There is an intense amount of detail, and lack of white space that makes it almost seem like it is a never-ending amount of different variations of buildings. When the pattern repeats, it fits right into the one below it.
I found two patterns originating from Japan, both of which I really enjoy and would like to draw inspiration from. From the first one, I think the colors used are extremely interesting where the larger pieces somewhat blend into the background and the highlighted parts are all pretty much one color with details using the background color. For the textile on the right, I really enjoy the style of the work in which the there’s a lot of movement and select colors in the textile. It kind of draws your eyes around.
I found this digital pattern wallpaper where I really like to colors used where the accents pop but are covered by the harder to see bike patterns. As it’s titled “Flower Pedal” which I think is super cute and creative, I enjoyed the contrasts between all the details of the flowers and the wheels/gears of the bike.
For the patterned cloth, I chose this one from the Ming Dynasty in China. I found this one interesting since it seemed very delicate and the patterns almost seemed floral until you look in closer. Then you’ll notice the snakes, scorpions, and other poisonous creatures on the pattern. The deception in it really interested me.
I picked this contemporary repeat pattern since I really like feathers. I also found finding the repeat very difficult since it crosses over itself a lot, but eventually doable.
This is a small embroidery by Sarah Lipska. I chose the first textile because I appreciated the color contrast and how striking the combination of these two colors were. I also think along with the contrast, the intricacy and nonuniform direction of all the lines makes this piece even more captivating. As simple as it is it still finds a way to draw it’s audiences eyes and I found myself wanting to trace the lines or follow the many direction they go in.
This piece is called Mermaid Legend by Sorosilutu Ashoona. I chose this second textile because I liked the fantasy of it. The first image I could interpret was the mermaid, or what looks like and aquatic human. The next image I could grasp onto was the intimidating bird that connected and feels like it is terrorizing the aquatic animal. This piece was interesting because the mixing of reality and fantasy ideas. On one hand humans are real, aquatic animal are really and there are birds that eat and terrorize those aquatic animals (fish), all of that are real things, events, ways of life. But the inclusion of this semi aquatic, semi human animal is a fantasy and is inputed into real event (birds eating fish), which takes this real event and turns it into the impossible by simply changing the subject.