When you think about any textile from a particular place and/or a particular time, say the tapestries, Tapa cloth, mud-dyed, Belgian lace, Jacquard, Kente, Harris Tweed, whatever, whether they are in vogue or not, it's interesting to think about what accurate/ factual information we can gather, and how much of it is pertinent to making a (insert-style)-inspired cloth of our own, possibly far removed form the time or the space; how much a certain style of cloth needs to be made by people with connection to the place. I do wonder, though I don't suppose I'll reach any sort of a conclusion. Especially for someone who gets most information from books and the Internet.
The word "authentic" is being bandied around, especially by the New Age school. But what about "authentic cloth"? What does that mean to you? And what is our responsibility? Are we paranoid because of concepts of copyrights and political correctness, or do we take too much liberty just because we can? When does inspiration turn into appropriation?
you raise a lot of interesting points in these three consecutive posts
ReplyDeletewe'll have lots to discuss when we meet!
Happy to discuss, but, ahem, my specialty seems to become sitting on the fence, so I hope you don't mind. I'm trying to read more about Japanese aesthetics, iNdi@; a totally new experience.
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