Buttons, Books and Dorodangos

Week 36: Notes

Objects made by hand, some traditional, some unusual, some unexpected, and all show the ingenuity and dexterity of their makers.

Since 2007, Japanese Kiyoko Miki, has served as the head of a jury at an annual mud ball competition in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture. Dorodangos as they are called are made from soil and then painted. “It’s relaxing to touch round objects” Miki says. Kathleen Walkup, a US-American professor of Book Art shows some examples of women’s art book practices and how their aesthetic ideas correlate with the content of telling a personal story or making a political commentary. Gobelins are still woven today in the historic tapestry factory in Paris. The name Gobelin comes from a family of dyers, the Gobelins, who in the middle of the 15^th century,  settled in Paris, invented a scarlet dye and went on to found the Gobelin factory—as a general upholstery enterprise—in the 16^th century . Lotus flowers, often known as water lilies, are sacred to Hindus and Buddhists. Vietnamese Phan Thi Thuan who was born into a family of making and selling traditional silk during the French during colonial era, is considered a pioneer of lotus silk weaving in Vietnam. The technique itself is a Khmer traditional craft from Cambodia and Myanmar. Another traditional art is employed in producing heart defect saving devices delicately woven from wire by indigenous Aymara women in Bolivia. Gemma Nemer British-Jordanian textile and installation artist, dreamt up a magical meeting place full of handmade treasures from found or recycled objects. In contrast, Argentinian artist Mika Rottenberg, who is based in N.Y.  creates a place which, with its surreal ambience, looks brutally realistic. She describes her work as “social Surrealism” and “a spiritual kind of Marxism”.

Pearls, silk scarves or mud balls ­‒ should this programme have put you in the mood for some Xmas shopping, the Japanese salesgirls from a Department Store in Tennoji Osaka will wrap your gifts with the minimum of fuss.