Social Fabric. Discovering Textiles at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.
The architectural blend of old and new is the first thing I admired in the physical structure of both of these public spaces. Centuries of architectural thought and practice merged to curate space and light and make room for their respective collections.
Frank Ghery's internal staircase at the AGO drew me on a circuitous route to the apex of the building in a celebration of design and simultaneously, contrast and uniformity. The view from the top of the building across the city echoed a similar merger of old and new.
As a painter, The AGO's Canadian galleries are always my first stop. On this visit, I took a small sketchbook as I was led through dedicated spaces mindful of mark-making. These brushstrokes belonged to Tom Thomson.
I love to view life in the details, to witness snippets of humanity, to experience marks made by another hand, sometimes centuries ago.
In the Indigenous galleries at the ROM, I was fascinated by patterns, culturally assigned. Embroidered utilitarian objects made by women featuring quillwork and beading were the first to grab my attention.
My morning journey through the galleries on this visit embraced pattern. I was wowed by the graphic nature of indigenous embroidery The contrast between hide and glass beads was emphasized by the geometric application of the beadwork on this jacket.
I resonated with the colour choices and the hand of the individual marking a moment of time with decorative labour.
The Egyptian Galleries at the ROM featured stone carvings in decorative bas relief as well as paintings, sculptures, and metal work that adhered to strict canons of design. Here I also discovered a floor cloth woven of stone beads and punctuated in turquoise, a relevant reference to fabric.
Fabric can require careful handling and storage so the fact we are able to witness fibrous artifacts at all is a wonder.
I resonated with the decorative ornament of this West Coast Haida hat.
These images are details from the temporary exhibit I saw, Swapnaa Tamhane: Mobile Palace where "Pattern and colour unlock the power of new perspectives".
"Tamhanes first solo museum exhibition features three large cotton cloth installations".. "drawing on India's rich textile history and Mughal and Ottoman tents" according to the ROM website.
I didn't have a plan when I began my curious journey through the ROM but I was easily drawn to the 2010 commissioned piece by Eli Anatsui, "Straying Continent."
Metal made into fabric is such an unlikely combination. The textile artist within me wanted to reach out and touch what appears to be such a delicate assortment of colours and textures turned into monumental fabric.
The cooperative industry of this collaborative project creates such a dynamic visual it takes a second glance to realize such a beautiful installation is comprised of recycled discarded elements of pop culture.
As I continued my joinery through civilization, roamed past the smooth marble surfaces of the second century, and came across ancient glass vessels: luminous, iridescent miracles of survival. This Flask from Syria or Palestine dates back to AD 200-300. Its simplicity wowed me. I read the luminosity on the surface is the result of decay and changes in humidity.
I may have travelled these halls through history and civilization solo but I was never alone during my visit. I felt connected to the past through the infinite number of marks made at a particular point in time by other creative souls. The creative output of makers, some known, many anonymous drew my attention as I wondered about the many spaces within these institutions. I wondered how many other visitors enjoyed the welcoming presence of this Cypriotic male votary from c.425BC, or even wondered how such a relic could have found its way through time intact.
The fabric of society was both literally and metaphorically around me on my cultural journey through art and architecture just off a busy Canadian street on the Thursday and Friday in July that I was lucky enough to visit. I left with inspiration and many questions. I am still wondering how the items that inspired me found their way behind glass and into my gaze. How many eyes have feasted on these handmade marks in so many mediums from so many far-flung corners of our world, through centuries of civilization and human industry? How many more lives will be touched by these miraculous survivors that tell the creative story of humanity?
I hope you find yourself questioning, exploring, and looking at the world from a different angle in your own city or places you visit this summer. May you be inspired by discovery and creativity and be wowed by the fabric of society, the ones we inhabit where we are as well as those from the past who share their creative talents with us in remnants like this Egyptian fragment of cloth miraculously preserved through the ages.
On behalf of Articulation Textile Group, Have a wonderful summer,
Amanda Onchulenko
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