Susan Brown
One window, three curtainsOn April 22 of this year, the Economic and Social Council Chamber (ECOSOC) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York was re-inaugurated after a renovation project. The original interior furnishings of the chamber were a gift from the nation of Sweden, and were designed by architect Sven Markelius. The focal point of the room is a 72 by 23 foot window facing the East River. Since the chamber’s opening in 1952, this window has been the site of three spectacular curtains by Swedish designers. Marianne Richter, Studio Märta Måås-Fjetterström, Sven Markelius, Ann Edholm, The United Nations |
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Silk and the CityThe cityscape is a natural subject for textile design—grid-based, repetitive and boldly geometric-- well, at least Manhattan after the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 30s. The Museum has numerous designs with the city as inspiration, including designs by Philip Johnson, Alexander Girard, Lydia Bush Brown, and Arthur Sanderson & Sons. (If you have a piece of Manhattan by Ruth Reeves you’d like to donate, we’d love to hear from you!) Clayton Knight, cityscapes, Manhattan, Stehli Silks, Kneeland Green, Edward Steichen, Helen Wallis, jazz, illustration |
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The Union ForeverToday marks the 148th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, which closed “With malice toward none, with charity for all… let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds...” This delicate design of floral wreaths encircling womanly hands clasped in friendship seems to embody the ideal of reconciliation set forth by the President as he entered his second term of office, just a few weeks before his assassination. Abraham Lincoln, abolition, Civil War, campaigns, Lincoln’s second inaugural |
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Flights of Fancy“Les coquecigrues” features in several French expressions, such as “á la venue des coqucigrues,” which has the meaning and something of the feeling of “when pigs fly.” But this enchanting fabric suggests another expression, “regarder voler les coquecigrues,&rdqu Oberkampf, coquecigrues, Mme. Jules Mallet |
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New DayOften called "England’s Eamses," Robin and Lucienne Day were a designing couple utterly committed to modernism. The unexpectedness and vitality of their postwar interior furnishings, particularly Lucienne’s pattern designs for textiles, carpets, wallcoverings, and dishware, shaped the look of modern England in the 1950s. Robin Day, Lucienne Day, Festival of Britain, Calyx, Paul Klee, textiles, textile design, england, 20th century, interiors |
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Extreme MendingWhen we talk about sustainability, why don’t we talk about mending? The Netherlands-based Platform 21=Repairing project and its offshoot, Repair Cafés, do just that. Platform 21=Repairing published a manifesto extolling the benefits of mending, and the Repair Cafés bring together skilled tinkerers and those with items in need of repair together in a free social space over tea and coffee. sampler, repair, sustainability, Dutch, Netherlands, 18th century |
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Building MovementAn interview with animator James Duesing. Susan Brown: The question I am most frequently asked as a curator is, “How long would it take to make something like that?” In trying to think of a contemporary form that is comparably labor intensive, animation came to mind. James Duesing, animation, modeling, mapping, Bernini, embroidery, motion capture |
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The sky is darkening like a stainDoes capturing the malevolent and mysterious quality of Rodarte’s fashions in contract fabrics sound like the impossible brief? Then extra credit is due to this collaboration among former National Design Award winners Rodarte and Knoll. Since their debut in 2005, Rodarte’s collections have been singled out for their intensive, often destructive textile treatments, which have included burning, sanding, and staining. Kate Mulleavy, Laura Mulleavy, Rodarte, Dorothy Cosonas, Knoll Luxe, W.H. Auden, window treatments, The Moderns, digital printing, National Design Awards |
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Object of the Month: Finnish HopThe Lindy Hop was a swing dance phenomenon, but the Finnish Hop? This lively design was produced by the artists’ collective know as The Folly Cove Designers, for its location near Gloucester on the Massachusetts coast. Many Finnish immigrants had settled there, attracted by skilled work in the granite quarries or the boat building industry. At least half a dozen Finnish immigrants or Finnish-Americans were members of the collective, including Eino Natti and Aino Clarke, who produced large numbers of textile designs. textile design, Virginia Demetrios, The Folly Cove Designers, Object of the Month, 20th century, American, dance |
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Object of the Month - February 2012: Knoll TextilesFor over seventy years, Knoll has been a leader in modern workplace furnishings and textiles. Cooper-Hewitt recently added forty pieces of Knoll textiles and furniture to the collection, most of which were recently seen in the exhibition Knoll Textiles: 1945–2010 at the Bard Graduate Center Museum in New York. Object of the Month, textiles, Knoll, workplace, furnishings, acquisitions |
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