I was in Frankfort yesterday, to see an exhibition of Hannah Ryggen’s tapestries before it closes. The exhibition was gorgeous, 25 monumental tapestries, with extraordinary colors, inventive and free compositions, political subjects. I stayed about three hours.
One can stand before one tapestry and get lost in it: so many meanings, patterns, faces, hands, myths, colors. While watching and photographying ( a lot), I noticed a thin boyish woman who sat in front of the tapestries and was making sketches. I had a glimpse at it, she was sketching faces and patterns. Another thin woman, grey hair, wonderful smile, Ines, talked to me then, she wanted to know why I was taking so many pictures. I explained to her that I was a tapestry weaver, and I was sorry that the catalog treated the tapestry like paintings. So I wanted to take pictures of as many details I could, to understand how the tapestries were made, and I wanted to share these pictures on social media with my weaving fellows from all around the word. Ines was taking pictures for her sister, a textile artist, who was not able to attend. And the sketching woman was her friend Lina, an art teacher. We ended having a late lunch or early diner in a cafe, chatting about our lives. What a great day!
J’ai passé le samedi à Francfort, Pour voir l’expo Hannah Ryggen avant qu’elle ferme. C’etait absolument splendide, des couleurs somptueuses ( des laines teintes par elle avec des ingrédients naturels), des compositions foisonnantes, ça fourmille d’images, de mythes, de motifs, et de narration, très souvent politiques. Ines, qui photographiait pour sa soeur, artiste textile qui ne pouvait pas venir, m’a demandé pourquoi je prenais tant de photos ( parce qu’il n’y a pas assez de details dans la catalogue, et pour partager avec mes amis en ligne). Elle m’a présenté son amie Lina, professeure d’Arts Plastiques, qui faisait des croquis des tapisseries, et on a fini toutes les trois autour d’un repas. Super journée!
Tissagerie 