Archive for the 'Lace' Category

Meet the curator – Rebecca Evans

Published on November 9, 2011 by Anni Turnbull in Australian Dress Register, Curator profiles, Fashion, Costume and Dress, Lace and Object of the week. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .
rebecca-450x327.jpg

Rebecca Evans with vintage dresses from the Museum's collection.
Image: Sotha Bourn

What is your name?
Rebecca Evans

What is your speciality area?
Isn’t specialisation code for ‘things I like best’?
I have made and loved clothing and textiles for as long as I can remember. My Mum and Nan taught me to sew and with this passion I eventually completed a Creative Arts degree majoring in Textiles at Wollongong University. A romantic at heart, I am also obsessed with vintage clothing from the 1940s and 1950s. I love how a historic garment can tell a story. This may be a waistline that was let out for pregnancy or the economic use of materials; you don’t get much closer to the bodies of history than historic dress!

I am also fascinated with the manufacture of textiles and dress through time.
It goes against our current understanding of human ingenuity. We are so rapt up with the future that we forget that the past produced designs (especially in fashion and textiles) that we can no longer make due to lost knowledge and materials. We have much to learn from the past. For example, the way clothing was repaired and re-used can help with environment issues in the future.

How long have you been working at the museum? Since 2009

Individual favourite object in the collection?
In 2010 I worked with Glynis Jones on Frock Stars. For this I acquired the Iced VoVo dress by fashion design label Romance Was Born. This dress is a great example of contemporary Australian design and is fun and playful. It is also reflects the personalities of the designers, Anna Plunkett and Luke Sales.
The Museum has an incredible collection of fashion and textiles and it used as a resource for fashion designers, artists, and historians. Some of my favourite pieces include:
1957 evening dress by Christian Dior, the Annette Kellerman collection, Ann Marsden’s ball gown, a men’s patchwork dressing gown from the 1830s, an evening dress by Toni Maticevski, a maternity dress from 1825 and our collection of Indigenous Australian batiks.

What piece of research or exhibition are you most proud of in your career in the Museum?
I have just finished working on the Love Lace exhibition with Lindie Ward. I am still in awe of the creativity of the artists and makers in this show! If you have not seen it yet, you should definitely go and see it!
I am also really proud of working on the Australian Dress Register, first as a volunteer and then an Assistant Curator. It has been exciting to see regional museums and galleries re-consider their dress collections as significant in telling Australian history.

Love Lace will be open until April 2012.
You can follow Rebecca on twitter @rebeccajoyevans

Love Lace International Lace Award and Exhibition: creating the shadows

Published on August 12, 2011 by Anni Turnbull in Art, Fashion, Costume and Dress, Lace, Object of the week and sculpture. 4 Comments Tags: .
love-lace-10-450x298.jpg

Art and shadows from the Love Lace International Lace Award and Exhibition: Image: Powerhouse Museum

When you walk through the Love Lace exhibition its apparent how important lighting is to the successful display of these works. The Museum electrician Peter Hermon says

This was a unique exhibition to work on, we had more time to work on the lighting (and wiring) and the nature of the work was different, shadows were really important and the lighting needs more particular.

lace-entrance-450x299.jpg

'Garden Party' at the entrance to LoveLace, Image :P owerhouse Museum

“In lighting Garden Party, the artwork at the entrance I stared working on the lighting idea based on a photo and planned to light the work from behind with a complicated rig I had built. That became obsolete when the object turned up. I put the lighting in from above after talking to the artist.”

Peter felt a great responsibility to get the lighting right, as he says:

When its somebody’s art the responsibility is higher, its double sided you have an obligation to show their work in all its beauty, but also you affect the way people view it. That doesn’t sit so easily, I’m changing the way people see their art.”

lovelace-5-450x222.jpg

Another World Wide Web (2011) Image: Powerhouse Museum

In lighting the work Another World Wide Web (2011), Peter says ” I like that the lights are brighter in some places, so it changes the yellow, in some places the colour is much more intense.”
Peter has found it hard to say which of the artworks he likes the most, some provided real challenges to light like Jenny Pollacks work A Brief History of Time. Peter explains:
“Her work was created to be viewed from both sides. Our exhibition space didn’t allow that. The artist ideally wanted the work lit from behind, which would then fade out and also create a silhouette. Seeing the work was about a garden and there are small trees on top of the paper I have created the effect of the sun, rising and setting. One light creates a dull wash over the work and then three lights progressively get further away like the angle of the sun.”

When asked about nominating a favorite work Peter said he found that difficult, but did like the ones with defined shadows because that gave him more to work with.

“One I liked in particular is located in an alcove, its a lace face, with a serious shadow behind it.” Peter created a unique way to light this work Marraine’s Memory an artwork about memory loss in the aged.
“I had to design a way to coordinate the light and a mirror. By just pointing the light down, you couldn’t get a good enough angle. Now the lighting goes into a mirror and the light on the object comes from the reflection.”

lovelace-6-450x299.jpg

Love Lace Exhibition Image: Powerhouse Museum

As Peter says “the best part of working on any exhibition is the collaboration”.*
*From an interview with Peter Hermon 9th August 2011

Love Lace International Lace Award and Exhibition: an artist’s view

Published on July 27, 2011 by Anni Turnbull in Design and Designers, Lace and Object of the week. 0 Comments Tags: , , .
lace-0091-450x600.jpg

Lace panels from 'Third Space II '

A textile artist from the Cook Islands, Andrea Eimke has spent the last week installing her work in the Love Lace exhibition. With the title ‘Third Space II’ the work is made up of thirty five hanging panels of tapa (bark cloth), cotton gauze, interfacing, thread and soluble stabilizer. The effect is to create ‘a landscape’ of lace. The words ‘bark cloth’ suggest a rather dark unyielding material. Instead Andrea has created an airy delicate fabric, lace that suggests nature. The panels are are enhanced by shadowy lighting and the soft sounds of the Atiu Island swiftlets (kopeka) fill the space.

Hanging the works is not a structured process and is Andrea’s favourite part of the creative experience. Andrea says

“in a way it is a site specific artwork. It had to react with its environment. It’s like a living organism, it grows. I decide I’ll hang this here, if its not working with rest, I have to take it away and hang it somewhere else. I wouldn’t dictate the structure, it needs to be alive and moving and that’s the way it is set up.”

Andrea’s work explores the space between her original German and adopted Polynesian cultures. Its about the energy in the unseen space between objects and the difference between natural and man-made materials and environment. Andrea moved to the small island of Aitu in the Cook Islands, (a seven hour flight from Sydney) in Polynesia twenty-eight years ago.

“I am interested in using natural materials and to leave them as natural as I can. But I like to see how far I can take them, I’m a bit of a control freak sometimes. It’s a balance between letting nature be nature and me controlling. I want to have a say.”

lace-0024-450x600.jpg

Detail from panel

Says Andrea:

“The idea is to give the viewer a physical experience. I hope visitors to the museum can visually experience an interaction between the panels. The idea of a boundary and the space inbetween. Japanese people have a word for it, the energy between. It is ‘Ma‘
Whereas Westerners think of the space in-between two objects as empty, the Japanese see energy from the interaction between the two objects. I like this idea because it’s not empty at all. I hope I can create energy between the observer and the objects.”

This is the second time Andrea has hung embroidered tapa panels.The first time was in Rarotonga in a 1830s stone cottage. She describes the experience:

“It was magical, the room didn’t have windows, it had French doors and we had to have them open. It was summer and really hot with strong winds. The panels are very light, they were moving and blowing up and turning around. Some people would be too scared to be inside the panels; others would walk straight in and interact with the panels and dance with them in the wind, and even singing!”

The installation process for thirty five pieces has been faster this time. Andrea has discovered new ways to hang the pieces from a metal grid.

Andrea spent two days in the Museum’s conservation department. She uses small swivel hooks that attach to each panel and to the metal grid. The overall effect is to anchor the works. She has also been able to use small perspex rods within the panels to help them hang correctly. With access to more materials and better facilities, she’s been able to install the work with more efficiency and accuracy. Andrea says “Each of the pieces is like my children, some are good, some are trouble.”

lace-0041-450x600.jpg

Andrea preparing to hang a panel

* Interview with Andrea Eimke and images by Anni Turnbull 21 July 2011

Love Lace International Lace Award and exhibition: behind the scenes

Published on July 20, 2011 by Kate Chidlow in Art, Fashion, Costume and Dress, Jewellery, Lace, Object of the week and sculpture. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .
MG_24551-450x407.jpg

'Cermony' by Noelle Hamlyn, Gowns (6) and bonnets (6): cotton and silk embroidery and smocking on Japanese gampi tissue, 700 x 570 mm (largest). Image Powerhouse Museum

Much work has been going on in the Conservation department in preparation for the upcoming Love Lace International Lace Award and exhibition. There are some wonderful pieces in the exhibition and the variety of materials is amazing. Each object requires its own special display support. Rebecca Ellis has been making supports for some very delicate paper christening gowns and bonnets that will be suspended off the display wall. The artist, Noelle Hamlyn, has created the gowns out of Japanese gampi tissue and decorated them with cotton and silk embroidery.

Love-Lace-blog-003-450x600.jpg

Conservator Rebecca Ellis filing the stainless steel support rods

Love-Lace-blog-004-450x337.jpg

The support rods with their padding, ready for hanging.

Ian Scott-Stevenson has made small, stainless steel hangers that will protrude from the display wall. Rebecca has covered the shoulder section of the hanger with dacron padding, covered in silk. This will protect the garment and give it extra support whilst it is on display. The bonnets will be displayed on moulded acrylic attached to a stainless steel rod.

Love-Lace-blog-009-450x337.jpg

A close-up of a very fragile sleeve of one of the christening gowns.

Gosia Dudek and Nadia McDougall have been working on another artwork called ‘One Echidna’ by Christine McMillan. The quills, which came from a road kill incident, have been made into a beautiful piece of art. Ian cut a piece of acrylic slightly smaller that the outside edge of the object. Gosia then hand drilled 60 sets of holes into the acrylic.

Love-Lace-blog-006-450x337.jpg

Conservator, Gosia Dudek attaching the echidna quill object to it's acrylic backing.

Gosia and Nadia secured the object to the acrylic by tying very fine nylon threads over the thicker echidna quills and through the drilled holes. Each thread was knotted four times and in case one stitch came loose, another thread was also used in the same set of holes. The process has ensured that the weight is distributed throughout the object, which allows it to be displayed upright.

MG_2446-450x423.jpg

Sculpture 'One Echidna' by Christine McMillan. echidna spines, linen thread and glue and an animation which records the image made by light passing through the work. 700 mm (diam), 3.05 min (duration) Image Powerhouse Museum

Hair in Museums

Published on April 28, 2011 by Anni Turnbull in ceramics, Fashion, Costume and Dress, Jewellery, Lace, Object of the week and sculpture. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .
cameroon-450x600.jpg

85/649 Shirt, man's, cotton / human hair, Cameroon, between about 1900 and 1925 Collection: Powerhouse Museum

Why does hair appear in the most unlikely places?
Like this man’s shirt from the Cameroons.

cameroon-detail-300x203.jpg

Detail 85/649 Collection: Powerhouse Museum

Or worked into this unique needle lace panel from the 1600s.

hair-lace-450x275.jpg

A5335 Lace panel, "Judith and Holofernes", needle lace, linen / silk / human hair, maker unknown, England, mid 1600s Collection: Powerhouse Museum

That hair has been readily available as a material is one answer.
Hair has also been an indicator of social status and religious function, a symbol of age and authority, a statement of style and an object of beauty and adornment.

In this lace panel it is used to add an element of realism to the figures.
The panel depicts the slaughter of Holofernes by Judith. Judith is the central figure as befits her heroic status. She is brandishing a sword in her right hand and holds Holofernes head by the hair in her left hand. Her maid holds a bag ready to receive the head. Behind Judith’s sword there appears to be a serpent. To her right Holofernes lies with silk ‘blood’ (once probably red, now pink) pouring from his severed neck. The hair on all their heads, and in Holofernes’ beard, is stitched with strands of human hair, a very rare occurence in lace making.

Growing it or depleting it, what we do with our hair has been a part of human grooming in many cultures and an important focus in rituals like weddings and funerals since ancient times.

Mourning or memorial jewellery has been worn since the middle ages and became popular in the 15th and 16th century in England. Until the 18th century it generally consisted of gold and black enamel with early examples in black and white often in the form of a skull.

During and after the Regency period 1795-1830 in England, chains ,rings, pendants and brooches were made from finely plaited hair from the head.

mourning-lock-450x544.jpg

2004/141/1 Mourning locket, gold / hairwork / seed pearls, made by John Wilkinson Jeweller & Silversmith, Leeds, England, 1826 Collection: Powerhouse Museum

Another gem in our collection that refers to hair is this piece by Alan Peascod. We can all identify with a bad hair day as presented by Alan Peascod (1943-2007), an Australian ceramicist usually known for his Islamic inspired creations. This porcelain piece is inspired by his childhood memories reflecting a day where nothing will go right.

bad-hair-450x570.jpg

97/282/1 'Bad hair day', porcelain, Alan Peascod, Bulli, NSW, 1997 Collection: Powerhouse Museum

Some have taken an interest with hair to the edge of obsession, or perhaps have teetered over the edge. Make up your own mind. There are two Museums I have seen dedicated to hair, one in America and one in Turkey. I have to admit I find both slightly unsettling.

New Giles Bettison commission for the Powerhouse Museum

Published on December 16, 2010 by Melanie Pitkin in Design and Designers, Lace, News and Object of the week. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , .
Vessel1-450x448.jpg

Giles Bettison's 'Lace 2010' glass vessel

With the continuing generous support of ADFAS, Ku-ring-gai branch, the Powerhouse Museum has recently acquired what is undoubtedly the most striking glass vessel from Giles Bettison’s ‘Lace’ series. Titled Lace 2010, the vessel was commissioned by the Museum in late 2009 following his exhibition ‘Connecting Journeys: Giles Bettison’ held at Sabbia Gallery in Sydney. Based in Adelaide, Bettison is one of the leading studio glass artists in Australia. Lace 2010 is a visually striking example of Bettison’s mastery in his contemporary interpretation of the traditional Venetian technique of murrini (cut glass canes) combined with the lesser known lace-making traditions of the neighbouring Venetian island of Burano.

What sets this particular vessel apart from earlier pieces in the ‘Lace’ series is its dramatic fusion of various murrini styles and arrangements. The lower third of the vessel is composed of bands of four petalled flowers below a more open pattern of bursting stars and stylised Venetian architectural forms and intersected by a densely patterned L-shape, reminiscent of a crocheted textile. The top part of the vessel consists of a floating composition of larger round lace rosettes composed of white murrini. Unlike earlier vessels, this example is also larger (approximate dimensions are H. 280mm W. 310mm D. 40mm), more experimental with its oblique, free-standing form and more elaborate with its free patterning.

Vessel2-450x676.jpg

Detail of Giles Bettison's 'Lace 2010' glass vessel

It is fitting that the Powerhouse Museum acquires a piece from Bettison’s ‘Lace’ series at the same time as judging takes place for the Museum’s International Lace Award. Approximately 140 works from this award in many new and surprising media will be showcased in a major temporary exhibition during Sydney Design 2011. To complement these works, it is intended Lace 2010 will also feature as a stand-alone signature piece from the Museum’s permanent collection, representing contemporary notions of blown glass and lace and its innovative application.

Of his ‘Lace’ series, Bettison says, “It was partly instinct to pursue the lace-glass connection, but it was also built on my interest in the cross-pollination of ideas between different people living in the same region and involved in small manufacturing and craft practices. Looking at similarities of patterning, it is clear that there has been a vital exchange of ideas between all the people living in the Venice lagoon for centuries.”

Vessel3-450x676.jpg

Detail of Giles Bettison's 'Lace 2010' glass vessel

Lace 2010 is the first and only example of Bettison’s ‘Lace’ series to enter a public collection and will complement other examples of his smaller and earlier work already in the Powerhouse Museum’s holdings. The Chairman of ADFAS Ku-ring-gai, Lawrence West, worked closely with Powerhouse curator Eva Czernis-Ryl on selecting the artist and preparing the brief and remained closely involved throughout the process. The result of this year’s ADFAS – Powerhouse collaboration is an outstanding new addition to the Powerhouse’s renowned collection of contemporary studio glass. The Museum would like to sincerely thank the committee and all members of ADFAS Ku-ring-gai for your generosity and foresight in helping the Museum to build an inspiring glass collection for the study and enjoyment of present and future generations.

This article was first published in the newsletter of the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society – Ku-ring-gai branch (October – December, 2010).