Analysis - The Strawberry Thief (William Morris)
I chose The
Strawberry Thief to discuss for several reasons, the intricacy and complexity
of the design, the familiarity of the piece and the story behind the image.
The
Strawberry Thief is perhaps William Morris’s most well-known fabric design, it
was produced in 1883 by a method
called indigo-discharge. This was an ancient technique which Morris developed throughout the late 19th Century for his own textiles produced by his firm Morris & Co who specialised in furnishing fabrics & wallpapers. Whilst the company took commissions for interior designs, it also sold to the general public which was an important part of the Morris & Co.’s ethos - that good design should be available to all.
called indigo-discharge. This was an ancient technique which Morris developed throughout the late 19th Century for his own textiles produced by his firm Morris & Co who specialised in furnishing fabrics & wallpapers. Whilst the company took commissions for interior designs, it also sold to the general public which was an important part of the Morris & Co.’s ethos - that good design should be available to all.
The technique
of indigo-discharge means the fabric is dyed indigo and the colour removed from
the cloth by printing with bleach to create the design. Subsequent colours are
added by printing with blocks, the technique is time-consuming and costly but
results in great depth of colour.
Morris had
been working on this method for several years and finally achieved the outcome
he wanted with The Strawberry Thief design. Due to the printing method the
fabric was expensive however this did not deter sales and it became one of
Morris’s most popular designs.
The design
for the piece came from thrushes attacking the strawberry plants at Morris’s
house, Kelmscott Manor, where they were frequent visitors to the kitchen garden.
It is believed that the thrushes were drawn by Philip Webb, an architect and
fellow founder of Morris & Co, due to Morris’s inability to draw birds. It is a lovely scene of domesticity in
England which has become world re-known today and is still an extremely popular
print with The National Trust reproducing the design on to bags, tea towels and
ceramics.
The
Strawberry Thief has feeling of opulence created through the complexity of
design and depth of colour whilst being a piece of everyday life. There is no
desire for the image to be a exact replica of the act of strawberry theft
itself, the plants are stylized and carefully placed in the design to ensure
the success of the repeat of the pattern. The architectural qualities of the
plants are strong and their shapes create medieval emblems within the design.
The flow of their stems curve round to encompass flower heads which are a
strong feature to ensure a balance with the birds.
The pale
indigo is used in the leaves in the background to create an extra depth to the
piece as they interlock behind the flowers and stalks. The romanticism in the
piece allows the birds to be both the perpetrator of the crime and the hero of
the design, without them the image would have less of a story, the shape of
their bodies and their patterned feathers soften the design, the addition of
strawberries has the same effect.
The birds and
strawberries more naturalistic style complements the emblematic and architectural
flowers and leaves. The design has a strong medieval feel which is likely to
have been influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement, many of whom were friends
of Morris.
There is also humour when the birds manage to steal a couple of the berries in their mouths,
sneaking them away whilst their fellow birds provide a song.
Sources:
http://www.historicstyle.com/williammorris/wallpapers/strawberrythief.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Thief_%28William_Morris%29
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78889/strawberry-thief-furnishing-fabric-morris-william/
http://www.kew.org/plant-cultures/plants/indigo_crafts.html
http://www.william-morris.co.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Webb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Raphaelite_Brotherhood
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Thief_%28William_Morris%29
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78889/strawberry-thief-furnishing-fabric-morris-william/
http://www.kew.org/plant-cultures/plants/indigo_crafts.html
http://www.william-morris.co.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Webb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Raphaelite_Brotherhood
Analysis - Unikko (Marimekko)
One of my
favourite textile patterns is Unikko produced by Marimekko, the pattern is so
strong and simple it is used on anything from dress fabrics to ceramics.
The longevity
of the design is in its simplicity, designed in 1964 by Maija Isola employed by
the design firm Marimekko, the image is still fresh today and is seen on
stationery, bags and even hot air balloons.
Marion Hume from Time Magazine said of the design: ‘Unikko poppy
(1964), originally in red and in blue, which may be one of the most widely
recognized prints on earth.’ Hume, Marion
(April 9, 2008). "Time Magazine". Luxury
Source. Time Magazine U.S.
The different
colour ways are also essential to its popularity, whilst the red version is
perhaps the most iconic; the other colours ensure that different tastes can be
catered for. The two reds in the original version are challenging and unsubtle;
the scarlet-red petals border the orange-red in a clash of colour which creates
vitality and movement in the pattern.
The vivid
colours are off-set by the centre of the poppy and stalk which are in black.
The flowers are flat in both colour and shape however they tumble around the
repeat pattern in a fun care-free manner. The design is bursting with
exuberance. Some of the other colour ways are more subtle but whilst, depending
on the colours, can be more calming they still have strength in the design.
In the same
year Andy Warhol was creating several pictures and screen-prints based on
flowers which are abstract in their interpretation. Both Warhol and Isola
created flower images which were abstract representations rather than chintz
naturalistic drawings, these created strength in the flowers and made them the
focus and hero of the piece rather than an arrangement of softer flowing
blooms.
The pop-art
influence in Unikko is clearly evident in the flat colour and limited colour
treatment of the design. Whilst Unikko was very popular in 1964, the design has
remained the most purchased Marimekko pattern, proving its durability.
Isola
produced over 500 designs for Marimekko but she is most well-known for Unikko,
a design she created against the wishes of her employer (Armi Ratia)
who had expressly stated that the firm’s designs should not be floral. Isola’s
designs took influences from her travels and are often based on flora and fauna
but in a very abstract way.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maija_Isola
http://www.addonovo.com/index.php/maija-kristina-isola
http://www.finnstyle.com/marimekko-maija-kristina-isola.html
http://www.gallerywarhol.com/andy-warhol-flowers-1964-FS-II.6.htm
http://www.marimekko.com/products/interior-decoration/fabrics/cotton-fabrics/unikko-fabric-632
"Time Magazine". Luxury Source. Time Magazine U.S.. Marion Hume (April 9, 2008)
http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmag/bk_issue/2004/mayjune/feature4.html
http://www.addonovo.com/index.php/maija-kristina-isola
http://www.finnstyle.com/marimekko-maija-kristina-isola.html
http://www.gallerywarhol.com/andy-warhol-flowers-1964-FS-II.6.htm
http://www.marimekko.com/products/interior-decoration/fabrics/cotton-fabrics/unikko-fabric-632
"Time Magazine". Luxury Source. Time Magazine U.S.. Marion Hume (April 9, 2008)
http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmag/bk_issue/2004/mayjune/feature4.html
After
visiting the Bauhaus exhibition at the Barbican in May this year I wanted to
analyse a work from this school. The work the Bauhaus produced was and still is
extremely influential and I really wanted to look at one of the wall hangings I
saw there.
I chosen
Gunta Stölzl’s ‘Slit Tapestry Red/Green’ produced in 1927/8 as the
detail and colour are so fascinating and complex. At first the whole piece over
whelms the onlooker with a riot of colour and shapes but the intricate
interlocking weaves are mesmerising.
The piece was
produced after the Bauhaus had moved from Weimar to Dessau which is significant
in the improvements in the weaving facilities. When Stölzl’s enrolled at the Bauhaus some of the disciplines were
not available for women to study, she initially studied in the glass workshop
and painting, enrolling on Joseph Itten’s colour courses. Itten encouraged
students to combine colours to make patterns by interlocking shapes.
Stölzl was also influenced by other Bauhaus painters at the
time, Klee and Kandinsky. The wall hanging discussed owes a lot to the colour
palette of these two painters, they are not afraid to use contrasting and
clashing colours next to each other to achieve the look they required.
In 1927 when
she produced the wall hanging, Stölzl was a junior master at the Bauhaus
responsible for the Weaving Workshop. This was a financially viable concern
taking many commissions. The new facilities included jacquard looms and new
dyeing facilities. Stölzl wanted to move the image of
weaving away from a predominately female craft and to a form of industrial
design. She focused on teaching
techniques of using the loom and dyeing along with geometry and maths. In the
numerous sketches she made for ‘Slit Tapestry Red/Green’ the clear use of
geometric blocks can be seen.
The wall
hanging fits in with the ethos of the Bauhaus movement that crafts should be
functional but add artistic impression.
Stölzl wrote in her
article The Development of the Bauhaus Weaving Workhop, 1931;
‘Woven fabrics in a room are equally important in the larger entity of
architecture as the colour of the walls, the furniture and household equipment.
They have to serve their purposes, have to be integrated, and have to fulfil with ultimate precision the requirements
we place on colour, material, and texture.’
‘Slit
Tapestry Red/Green’ is filled with so many tightly produced patterns the piece
took several months to complete. The interwoven blocks of straight colour in
the middle of the piece almost look like a factory with the waves of a river
running beneath. The more the viewer looks the more imagery can be seen in the
piece which gives it more interest and depth.
Sources :
Bauhaus, The Barbican 2012
http://bauhaus-online.de/en/atlas/personen/gunta-stoelzl
http://www.guntastolzl.org
Gunta Stölzl - The Development of the Bauhaus Weaving Workhop, published in the journal "bauhaus", July 1931.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunta_Stölzl
Bauhaus, The Barbican 2012
http://bauhaus-online.de/en/atlas/personen/gunta-stoelzl
http://www.guntastolzl.org
Gunta Stölzl - The Development of the Bauhaus Weaving Workhop, published in the journal "bauhaus", July 1931.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunta_Stölzl