Textiles in Transformation
by Lisbeth Tolstrup

Published 1997 in: Fio-2-Brasil, Arte Têxtil-Dinamarca - 24 Danish Textile Artistsexhibition catalogue, Museu de Arte Sao Paulo. Forlaget Bogto.

There are many ways in when it comes to the basic concepts in textiles. But it becomes much more difficult when the question is specifically a matter of textile art. In Denmark there is a well-founded and rich tradition in local handicraft products which has typically been closely connected with the home and the home-production which in the past was part of the basis of existence for many families.

The basis for a proper textile-art definition did not develop until quite late, while textile handicraft has a much longer history. Lace-making, hosiery and embroidery have, in certain periods, been areas of importance, while actual pictorial- and expressive textiles experienced unfavourable conditions here in Denmark. They are primarily associated with pure decoration in the Church and the nobility, where also many of the textiles intended for everyday use achieved a previously unseen sumptuousness in technique and expression.

The first real break with these conceptions of textiles came with the craftsmen- and women of this century and their development of a tightly disciplined functionalism, which primarily found its way into textiles intended for everyday use, like curtains, material for upholstery and carpets - so-called unique works (unika). The background for this should be sought in contemporary international currents, which as early as the mid nineteenth century began to spread from England, Austria and Germany.

Who is the artist?
The characteristic feature of home-production, as well as unique pieces, is that the practising textile artist must fulfil a number of given conditions which are never purely pictorially or sculpturally determined. On the contrary, therefore, it is a question of walking a line between the craftsman on the one hand, and the consumer or customer on the other. A situation which is closely related to the dialogue between the designer and the producer.

A fourth angle is found in collaboration, which was much more widespread formerly than it is today, i.e. between the pictorial artist on the one hand, and the maker on the other when the two of them together produced a classic tapestry. Today that cooperation still exists, but the big difference between this apprehension and a more pure definition of the textile artist really does not develop until well into this century.

The break with this apprehension has its origin as early as the 1930´s, when some of the first textile artists began to exhibit their own pictorial works in connection with known painters and sculptors. Nevertheless, it is not until after the Second World War that we see an actual biennial for textile art, i.e. the International Biennial of textile Art in Lausanne, which was first held in 1962 and - unfortunately - for the last time in 1996.

For Danish and indeed all Nordic textile artists, this forum in the middle of Europe was an incredible source of inspiration. Here was the chance to meet great people like Magdalena Abakanowicz, Jagoda Buic and Claire Zeisler, to name but a few. Here was the opportunity to follow the trends from the old Eastern bloc countries, from the USA and not least from Japan. And neither was there any lack of reaction. Already in the late 1960´s and early 1970´s, individual Danish artists joined the colours and, in 1976, on a Danish initiative, the first Nordic Triennial of Textiles was held. Unfortunately, like the Lausanne Biennial, this also came to an end in 1996.

The great question that these international exhibitions anwered was - who is the artist? Here it became clear that the artist is the one who conceives and forms the work in contrast to the isolated handicraft situation of earlier times.

Tradition, classic or wild avant-garde
The wonderous thing about Danish textile art today is that it comprises the whole spectrum from local handi-craft, the inspiration from home production and hand-work, to the unique artisan´s strict demands on craft and ornamental balance to the animated and vital ex-periments in breaking down artistic barriers in all areas.

In this way weaving becomes both a means and an expression. Textile printing becomes a product and a springboard. Clothing gets to include functional aspects at the same time as it sketches a vision of a future in balance with nature. Finally, the free works comprise windows into the wizard´s workshop, where fibres are prepared, worked and challenged into fulfilling those goals the artist sets for him or herself.

This exhibition has everything: unique pieces, design and art. Here you will find tentative experimentation, here the through and through professional who only after many years finally becomes established in the field, and here is the critical sense which leads from banal experimentation to works truly sublime. Here you will find play, seriousness and courage. The courage to explode set parameters and limits. Truly a very Danish phenomenon - scarcely have the rules been set down before they are broken. Scarcely has the curriculum been set for a craft education before experiments are underway with new forms, and scarcely has one wave settled before a new one sweeps over the whole field.

Arte Textile Danimarca - Fio-2-Brasil is a portrait of the dialogue of which Danish artisans and textile artists have always found themselves a part, that is the dialogue between the domestic and the international. Between what has gone before and the modern. Incidentally, a phenomenon which takes colour from the place in which it is presented. Modern Danish textile art is broad - but demanding. Each and every fibre, each and every colour and each and every shape contains a story within itself. The textile language provides an excellent way in - but perhaps it is even better at providing room for wonder and experience. The many works provide many opportunities to add something fresh to a powerful concept - textile art - shown here in a distinguished movement on the way to the new millenium.

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