Textile Art Research Articles

The Archeologist's Gaze

The Archeologist’s Gaze presents and reflects on a project on the restoration of ancient tapestries, following the award of a research grant to TAMAT (Museum of Tapestry and Textile Arts, Tournai, Belgium) in 2020-2021. After immersing herself in the museum's restoration workshop, looking for images, words, materials and gestures, Paternostre turned her attention to the reverse side of the tapestry. Studying the scraps of thread that had fallen to the floor, her vision of the tapestry was turned upside down, and the little bits of thread that gradually was picked up from the ground became the focus of the research. These details bore traces of many hands that had restored and repaired the tapestry over the centuries and told a story of care and attention, the inseparable opposite of monumental tapestries and mythical tales.

Assyrian Imperial Elites and Textile Culture of the 1st Millennium BC: Shaping Power Visions Through Textiles

Abstract As a crucial component of the materiality of the first world empire, textile culture documented in archival cuneiform documents, visual art, and archaeological materials from 1st-millennium BC Assyria enables historians to reconstruct the social identities, power visions, and economic systems of the people who ruled the “Land of Aššur”. Through the analysis of royal clothes, it is possible to form an idea of the clothing ensemble, the aesthetic, and power visions that shaped the presence of the king and his queen in public ceremonies and in visual art narratives, and to see how royal textile art played a role in political communication. Royal garments, combined with power accessories such as royal insignia and other objects, represented a powerful means to visualize royal personhood and what the institution of Assyrian kingship meant in the imperial phase of Assyrian history. Representations of royal scenes in visual art integrate the documentary picture from texts and archaeological materials and show how the royal costume developed over the Neo-Assyrian period and how the centrality and superior status of the royal person were emphasised by visual interaction between the king’s clothes and other textiles in the scene. Queenly garments represent another channel for the communication of the success of the Assyrian imperial project. Less represented in textual sources and material evidence are other upper-class sectors of Assyrian imperial society, in which textiles equally played an important role as markers of social identity and status. Non-royal textiles were an integral part of power narratives in the Neo-Assyrian age, contributing to create the sense of a common Assyrian identity, of elite’s unity and cohesion, and full adherence to the imperial project.

Material in its fashion: Proust’s Fortunys and the pleats of time*

ABSTRACT This article examines Proust's fascination with the dress as a site of transmaterial and transhistorical transformation. Descriptions of the Fortuny gown evoke its ability to conjure the visual and tactile qualities of ancient sculpture, architecture, and textile arts. The pleats and folds of the Fortuny become a medium through which the novel explores the dialectic between liquid and frozen temporalities, as well as the interplay between gender, materiality, and the aesthetics of the classical. Drawing on Ruskin, Stokes, Deleuze and others, the essay traces how the Fortuny functions as a complex creative material that transmutes evanescent life into lasting aesthetic impression. It also considers how the dress's enveloping folds allegorise dynamics of captation and fugitivity within Proust's narrative.

Batik Scan: Empowering Cultural Heritage Knowledge Through Mobile Innovation

Batik Malaysia, a type of textile art known as Batik originated in Malaysia, especially in the east coast states; Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang. The Batik mostly uses features flower motifs and designs instead of living creatures, such as humans and animals. Even though Malaysian wear it every day, they do not have sufficient knowledge about Batik. Besides, there is a limited number of platforms where Malaysian can get access to the information of Batik in the easiest and fastest way. Hence, this study aims to design and develop a mobile app for batik identification by only capturing the motifs and designs using a camera feature. The app, called as batik scanner, provides quick information related to Batik Malaysia. This app is especially suitable for adults, batik lovers, and new learners. The advances in digital technology play an important role in helping people to identify the type of Batik Malaysia. It also can reduce the effort of new learners and Batik lovers to find out information of Batik. To ensure that users will have a good mobile user experience, an understanding of the importance and limitation of the mobile app features and behaviour is necessary. Therefore, the design thinking approach was applied as the development methodology as it provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. User requirements were gathered through interviews followed by defining the core problems. Next, innovative solutions were identified using the brainstorm technique and mind mapping. Once the batik scanner prototype was completed, user testing was carried out with the targeted respondents to refine the solution. An online form also was distributed to evaluate the usability of the prototype. The results of the evaluation indicate that the Batik Scanner need to improve some of the interface designs. The respondents were also satisfied with the functions of managing the information in the Batik Scanner. The study contributes toward understanding users’ needs in creating the solution to the identified problems. It may serve as a guideline for other developers and researchers to develop similar apps or to enhance the features of Batik Scanner to become better and easier for users.

Batik Pattern Classification Using Machine Learning Approaches

Batik is one of Malaysia traditional textile art form that is well known. By using Artificial Neural Network (ANN), k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) and Decision Tree methods, this study aims to classify Kelantan batik designs according to flora, fauna and geometry motifs. 133 images of the three categories were collected from social media and underwent pre-processing techniques. Image augmentation was done to enhance the diversity and quality of available training data for machine learning models. Digital transformation on the images based on colour features was developed to classify the three types of batik motifs. Image embedding was employed which returned a vector representation of each image in a data table in Orange software. The data divided into training and testing dataset, with a ratio of 8:2. The performance of each machine learning techniques were compared. The findings showed that ANN produced an excellent performance as indicated by classification accuracy (CA) of 87.9% for original images and 82.2% using Luminance Gradient image transformation technique. ANN also returns the highest AUC score indicating it is the best in distinguishing the images motif. Results from confusion matrix showed that ANN have the least misclassification for batik classification. Based on the result, it signifies that ANN performs the best classification among the three approaches.

Gordon Crook: Banners and Wall Hangings

Gordon Crook was a British textile artist who came to live in Wellington in 1972, aged 51. Through contacts at the Dowse Art Museum and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Crook was commissioned by the architect Miles Warren to make banners for the New Zealand Chancery in Washington D.C. (1979–80), followed by banners and wall hangings for the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington (1981–83). Crook’s work was suigeneric, idiosyncratic in its imagery and development, a world feeding on itself. Outside any national or current artworld style, Crook extended and enriched New Zealand’s public visual art scene.[i] [i] See my three articles on the work of Gordon Crook: “Gordon Crook: tapestries,” Tuhinga 31 (2020): 70–90; “Gordon Crook: The Pastel Triptychs,” Tuhinga 32 (2021): 120–34; and “Gordon Crook and the Wolf-Man,” Tuhinga 33 (2022): 1–29.

UNTYING THE THREAD OF INNOVATION: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS FOR NIGERIA’S TEXTILE ARTS

Nigeria’s textile arts scene is a vibrant tapestry of creativity, rich cultural heritage, and untapped potential. Textile arts is one of the solutions to the development of any nation. Despite its significance, the production faces numerous challenges that hinder innovation and growth. This article explores the obstacles and opportunities for innovation in textile arts in Nigeria, examining the current state, challenges, and prospects for future development. The study adopts multiple methods of research design such as literature review, case studies, expert interviews and discussions, observational studies to gather enough data with content analysis, and qualitative methods to analyze the data. Some challenges include lack of modernization and technology, brain drain and skills gap, lack of adequate raw materials, etc. In contrast, the ideas for innovation include, the revitalization of Adire and batik training programs and workshops, digital printing and design, etc. This will eventually lead to innovation for the nation’s building helping the graduates to be self-employed and also employers of labour. Findings reveal that there are still opportunities for improvement in the sector if the right strategies are implemented. KEYWORDS: innovation, challenges, textile arts, prospects, textile industry.

TYPES AND TECHNIQUES OF HANDLOOM SAREES IN MUBARAKPUR (AZAMGARH DISTRICT)

India is known for its diversified art and cultural history. In which textile art occupies a prominent place. Clothing is one of the basic needs of human beings. Day by day different types of textiles and new types of weaving techniques are being used. All over the world, handloom is playing an important role in fulfilling these needs of people. Handloom is very labor-intensive work. After the agriculture sector, the textile industry provides direct and indirect employment to millions of people. An attempt is made to show all these aspects through this research paper, the history of handlooms in Mubarakpur, the sarees, their technology, and the challenges faced by the weavers at present. This paper discusses the weaving tradition of Mubarakpur, especially the sarees made here. Mubarakpur, which is called the city of silk, is the weavers of Mubarakpur transferring their unique weaving art from one generation to the next, keeping their traditions. This research is investigating the history of handloom in Mubarakpur, and the present condition of the clothes made there. To highlight the changes taking place. What types of sarees are made in Mubarakpur? The main objective of this research paper is to investigate their technology and what types of problems weavers are facing. Skilled weavers and people of the Mubarakpur were selected for this study. In which there are both men and women. Questionnaire methods and personal interviews have been used to collect information

Financial and digital financial literacy through social media use towards financial inclusion among batik small enterprises in Indonesia

Batik, an Indonesian textile art form, holds immense economic and cultural importance. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) specialising in batik play a crucial role in Indonesia's economic growth and cultural preservation, contributing significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) and preserving the nation's heritage. Nevertheless, these enterprises face several challenges, such as slow growth and limited access to credit. The batik industry also lags in financial literacy and the adoption of digital marketing strategies, hindering its development. This quantitative study aims to investigate the relationship between financial literacy, digital financial literacy, and financial inclusion in batik SMEs and also examined the moderating effect of online social networks. A survey was conducted involving 535 managers, owners, and financial officers of small batik enterprises. Subsequently, the SmartPLS statistical analysis method was employed for data analysis. The results demonstrate that financial literacy and digital financial literacy play a significant role in accessing financial inclusion for batik small enterprises. Moreover, the utilisation of social media was found to moderate these relationships, amplifying the impact of financial and digital literacy on financial inclusion. The findings contribute to the existing knowledge, provide insights for enhancing batik small enterprises, and propose a digital financial model to promote financial inclusion.

Curating Community: Centering Collaboration, Public Engagement, Social Justice, and Empowerment Within the Fashion Museum

North American dress and textile museums have long been rooted in colonial ideals due to the long-standing perpetuation of Eurocentrism as superior to all other ways of knowing. The fashion and textile art exhibition Material Resistance: Social Justice and Empowerment Narratives Told Through Cloth (2022), curated by graduate students, contested these colonial traditions and instead centered the stories, lived experiences, and empowerment of marginalized communities. The exhibition featured social justice-focused textile works of five artists and three community organizations. The curatorial team explored methods to re-envision how curators can center social justice and empowerment within fashion and textile exhibitions through innovative approaches, building upon previous curatorial scholarship that values collaboration and combines tenets of post-critical museology, intersectionality, and self-determination. By prioritizing the voices of the show’s artists and community members, being intentional about the curatorial selection and accessibility, providing opportunities for community engagement, and practicing repatriation, we provide an example of curatorial practice centering the people, not the system that has often disenfranchised them.

Reframing Fashion in the Exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse

The exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022) reexamined the British fashion designer’s oeuvre by contextualizing select Alexander McQueen designs within art history. Juxtaposing permanent collection works that spanned media, eras, and cultures with McQueen’s fashions, curators explored the cyclical nature of inspiration against the backdrop of appropriation in art history. As evidenced in his powerful collections, McQueen’s artistic process ranged from thoughtful research and examination to Eurocentric revisions that were both critical of and at times complicit in the legacies of colonialism. This analysis of McQueen’s artistic intent and process initially sought to uncover new frameworks for understanding the designer; however, the thematic conversations between encyclopedic objects also yielded new and unexpected insights for the museum’s non-dress and textile art collections. Investigating McQueen’s fashion collections through a broader art-historical lens enabled significant and mutually beneficial dialogues between both dress and non-dress art historians.

Textile pedagogies: Stitching as reflective practice

The act of stitching women’s lives together within the context of a sewing circle is an opportunity to narrate life experiences on fabric and within a fabric of community. Stitching, and its association to mending, also has relevance within trauma recovery to both illustrate adversity and hope. This article features the artistry of arpilleras (stitched storytelling on cloth) produced by women’s textile collectives in Chile. Arpilleras have also featured in art therapy studio workshops, which showcase the history and practice of activism through autobiographical stitching. This vocabulary of textile art aligns interior and exterior terrains of knowledge and can also compose a distinct method of art therapy pedagogy. This is particularly relevant for contemporary art therapy practices addressing anti-colonial methodologies that illustrate a polyphony of voices.

Revival of cultural textile arts: creation of innovative weaving technology for fabricating traditional Chinese non-fixed four-warp leno

China is hailed as a country with a long history of producing silk and is known for the development and evolution of various weaving structures. The non-fixed four-warp leno is an ancient textile that is well-known for its soft, thin, airy texture and high quality. Unfortunately, the production method and apparatus have been lost. This research thus focuses on the development of a novel weaving technology and system to produce the non-fixed four-warp leno. Its major mechanism involves (1) an innovative synchronized vertical and horizontal lifting system to alter the current rigid one that can only produce a simple fixed leno; (2) an effective distance control technology to achieve flexible yet accurate placement of warps for leno formation without limitations on leno pattern and structures; and (3) an alternative method for securing the clearance of the shed to eliminate undesirable twine. It will thus contribute to a breakthrough in weaving technology, functional textiles and aesthetic design. The development of mechanized weaving can enable mass production and mass coverage, eventually contributing to the transmission of special techniques and the sustainable development of high value-added textile products.

Innovative Applications and Market Impact of Indonesian Batik in Modern Fashion

Batik, a traditional Indonesian textile art, has transcended its local origins to gain a prominent place in the global fashion industry. This thesis explores the modern adaptations of Batik within contemporary fashion, highlighting the innovative applications and the market impact these adaptations have created. By integrating advanced technologies and sustainable practices, Batik has evolved into a versatile fashion element that appeals to a global audience. This study analyzes how these adaptations contribute to the economic vitality of the Indonesian economy, support local artisans, and promote cultural preservation. It also identifies strategies to enhance global recognition and demand for Batik, ensuring its sustainability and relevance in the international market. The thesis underscores the balance between innovation and the maintenance of authenticity, crucial for the cultural and economic prosperity of the Batik industry.

Threads of heritage: Intricate patterns of Indonesia and Kazakhstan

Indonesia and Kazakhstan have a rich cultural heritage expressed through intricate patterns and unique threads of art.Indonesia, a country with a rich history and diverse ethnic composition, is known for its unique traditions in textile arts. The richness and variety of Indonesian fabrics such as batik, as well as techniques and patterns that show the cultural characteristics of different regions of Indonesia is very significant in the heritage of Indonesian culture. Particular attention is paid to the symbolism and historical significance of the patterns, as well as their role in rituals and holidays. On the other hand, Kazakhstan, which located in central Eurasia, also has a rich cultural heritage, including unique textile traditions. The features of Kazakh national patterns that show various aspects of the life of this nation are very important. Particular attention is paid to the symbolism of animals and plants in patterns, as well as their role in preserving cultural identity.Overall, the heritage threads of Indonesia and Kazakhstan represent not only artistic expressions, but also important elements of the cultural and historical heritage of these countries. Studying these patterns helps to better understand and appreciate the diversity and richness of the cultural traditions of these peoples.This study aims to understand how the threads of heritage connected into the patterns of Indonesia and Kazakhstan reflect the cultural, historical and religious aspects of these societies.

Automatic Generation Technology of Scrap Denim Clothes in Quilting Art Patterns by Integrating Computer Vision.

The combination of computer vision and advanced Fuzzy C-Means algorithms, such as Hybrid OK-Means Fuzzy C-Means (HOFCM), provides a revolutionary way to automatically generate technology of Scrap Denim Clothes in Quilting Art Patterns. The research focuses on the creation of an automatic generating technique specifically designed for making quilting designs from scrap denim clothing. This study investigates the effectiveness of HOFCM in improving the process of creating quilted art patterns from discarded denim materials. Extensive experimentation and analysis have shown that HOFCM dramatically decreases computational time while improving clustering solution quality, particularly when dealing with huge, high-dimensional datasets like scrap denim cloth analysis. The study emphasizes HOFCM's potential to speed up the quilting art pattern generation process, providing designers and artists with a more efficient and precise way to transform old denim clothing into visually appealing designs. The findings highlight HOFCM's transformative impact on automatic generation technology for quilting art patterns, paving the path for innovation and originality in textile art and design. HOFCM significantly lowers time by up to 93.94% compared to regular Fuzzy C-Means on four real and one synthetic datasets. The worst-case scenario resulted in a 2.51% reduction in solution quality.

Watch and Learn: Imagery Design Process for Weaving Crafts

Weaving craft is one process that produces woven textile products that can be constructed by hand or machine. Different theories and techniques for putting forth ideas lead to distinctive products among textile designers. New designers or weavers were unable to deduct the design process, particularly in woven textiles, from the existence of a textile designer due to a lack of references. This paper shows the weaving design process of woven textile art making to form the imagery weaving as its surface design. The primary objective of the warp-paint procedure is to emphasise the design image on the woven surface. The design process can be done manually by integrating the research into the subject matters, motif development, and the weaving process. The most detailed part of this research will be on the weaving process which shows the warp-paint colouring technique as the main approach to form the imagery weaving. The methodology would be carried out by incorporating a qualitative approach, which would involve literature reviews, interviews, observations, and fieldwork. The output of this article will serve as a resource for aspiring new weavers or textile designers who want to use the suggested idea to produce woven products with imagery design patterns. According to the study's findings, this approach calls for knowledge of weaving procedures and weaving handling expertise to make the intended image more clearly visible on the weave's surface.

Watch and Learn: Imagery Design Process for Weaving Crafts

Weaving craft is one process that produces woven textile products that can be constructed by hand or machine. Different theories and techniques for putting forth ideas lead to distinctive products among textile designers. New designers or weavers were unable to deduct the design process, particularly in woven textiles, from the existence of a textile designer due to a lack of references. This paper shows the weaving design process of woven textile art making to form the imagery weaving as its surface design. The primary objective of the warp-paint procedure is to emphasise the design image on the woven surface. The design process can be done manually by integrating the research into the subject matters, motif development, and the weaving process. The most detailed part of this research will be on the weaving process which shows the warp-paint colouring technique as the main approach to form the imagery weaving. The methodology would be carried out by incorporating a qualitative approach, which would involve literature reviews, interviews, observations, and fieldwork. The output of this article will serve as a resource for aspiring new weavers or textile designers who want to use the suggested idea to produce woven products with imagery design patterns. According to the study's findings, this approach calls for knowledge of weaving procedures and weaving handling expertise to make the intended image more clearly visible on the weave's surface.

RELATION BETWEEN ART, DESIGN AND CRAFT: THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES TEXTILE IN THE FORMATION OF FUTURE FASHION DESIGNERS

This study started from the idea that knowledge of visual elements and aesthetics of textile arts, understanding contemporary textile techniques, is a form of reflective learning in which the practice (for example: physical actions in the fabric of the technique, touching and feeling the materials) can lead to the deepening of the creative process, contributing to the creation of an aesthetic that is not only visual, but also deeply material and even technical. This way of integrating the knowledge and values of art into fashion design in an experimental and reflexive manner can be a creative factor, therefore the analysis focused both on the idea of how fashion can be transformed through different ways of making textiles and on understanding the importance of knowing them.

Hand Embroidery and Visual Communication Nexus: Analysis of Temitayo Taofeek Badru’s Embroidered Works

Art has passed through a series of changes right from the first man in the cave, and artists through the ages have also explored different methods and materials. Such an aspect is the art of hand embroidery. Hand embroidery is a form of decorative stitches for embellishment on worn apparel and garments that was widely used in the past. This paper examines selected embroidered works by Temitayo Taofeek Badru. These artworks are coded with African philosophy, especially Yorùbá proverbs, sayings, myths, folklore and aphorisms, and social issues in society. This is to establish the development of creativity in embroidery works and artist's contributions to contemporary Nigerian art. The paper also discusses the biography and artistic development of the artist, classifies the selected works into expressionistic and Realistic styles, and analyses the symbolic forms of the works. Data were collected through oral interviews with the artist and participant observation method. Data were also gathered from journal articles and art exhibition catalogues of the artist. Descriptive and formal methods of art historical studies were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that Badru grew up in an environment that encouraged his artistic development. It was found that the artist mostly uses expressionistic and realistic styles in his embroidered works and that he sometimes combines the use of threads and acrylic paints for the realistic style he adopts. The paper concludes that Badru has taken Textile Art to a new dimension through the use of hand embroidery for artistic innovations, which has equally contributed to the development of contemporary Nigerian art.