4 THE TEXTILE MUSEUM 2011 ANNUAL REPORT
ON VIEW IN 2011 Exhibitions at The Textile Museum showcase textile art from around the world—both historical and contemporary— through presenting pieces from the museum’s permanent collection and other private and public collections. THE ART OF LIVING: TEXTILE FURNISHINGS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION February 12, 2010–January 9, 2011 Curator: Lee Talbot, Curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections COLORS OF THE OASIS: CENTRAL ASIAN IKATS October 16, 2010–March 13, 2011 Curator: Sumru Belger Krody, Senior Curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections Catalog: Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats (2010) by Sumru Belger Krody, in collaboration with Feza Çakmut, Mary M. Dusenbury, Kate Fitz Gibbon, Andrew Hale, Sayera Makhkamova, and Susan Meller
GREEN: THE COLOR AND THE CAUSE April 16–September 11, 2011 Many cultures traditionally associate the color green with nature and its attributes, including life, fertility, and rebirth. In recent years, green has become the symbolic color of environmentalism. This exhibition celebrated green as both a color and a cause, exploring the techniques people have devised to create green textiles, the meanings this color has held, and the ways that contemporary textile artists and designers are responding to concerns about the environment. Curator: Rebecca A.T. Stevens, Consulting Curator, Contemporary Textiles Accompanied by a special exhibition website: www.textilemuseum.org/green WEAVING ABSTRACTION: KUBA TEXTILES AND THE WOVEN ART OF CENTRAL AFRICA October 15, 2011–February 12, 2012 The textiles of the Kuba kingdom are among the most distinctive and spectacular works of African art. The first major museum exhibition in the U.S. to showcase the artistic inventiveness and graphic power of Kuba design, this show included more than 140 exceptional 19thand early 20th-century pieces, including
ceremonial skirts, “velvet” tribute cloths, headdresses, and basketry. Guest Curator: Vanessa Drake Moraga Catalog: Weaving Abstraction: Kuba Textiles and the Woven Art of Central Africa by Vanessa Drake Moraga SECOND LIVES: THE AGE-OLD ART OF RECYCLING TEXTILES February 4, 2011–January 8, 2012 Drawn from The Textile Museum’s collection, this exhibition highlighted the ways people in various cultures have ingeniously repurposed worn but precious fabrics to create beautiful new textile forms. Curator: Lee Talbot, Curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections THE TEXTILE LEARNING CENTER Permanent Activity Gallery Through hands-on touch stations, this gallery introduces visitors of all ages to the language of the textile arts. Visitors can learn about different techniques, materials, dyes, and more.
Top: Shigeo Kubota, Shape of Green II, 2009. Lent by the artist. Photo by Kouichi Nisimura. Left: Prestige and Presentation Baskets (igiseke and agaseke), Burundi, Tutsi people, 20th century. Private collection. Photo by Don Tuttle.