Pixels to Textiles Exhibit
"Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection (HLATC). An integral part of the academic program of the School of Human Ecology, the collection features 12,000 textiles and costumes representing countless eras, places, and techniques, making it one of the largest university textile collections in the United States. The size and scope of the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, along with its related programs, make it an outstanding resource for scholars, designers, students, and members of the community."
"The main joy in weaving is to watch the article grow under your hands, to plan the colour schemes and the patterns and to watch them develop from row to row, to watch one’s colours combine as a painter watches his pigment form on the canvas the thoughts and the vision of his eye, to watch the pattern develop as an architect watches his building rise story by story." - Helen Louise Allen, in a segment she wrote for WHA Radio. May 21, 1929
At a young age, Allen learned needlework and weaving from the women in her family. She acquired her first loom in the second grade and made what she recalled was “an olive green pot holder.” The daughter of a professor, Allen moved to Turkey with her family in the fourth grade where they stayed for many years. Here Allen began her fascination with textiles, frequenting a silk weaving shop.
From Pixels to Textiles such details as a Anedean headband, a cocoa bag, and, perhaps most interestingly, a hair wreath:
"Appealing to the tendency among Victorian women to incorporate the importance of friends and family into their work, hair served as a tangible remembrance of someone. Often, close companions exchanged hair as tokens of friendship. Hair was also sometimes taken after a person’s death as a means of honor and remembrance. For a woman whose local supply fell short, hair swatches could even be purchased from catalogs and stores. Hair wreaths were constructed almost entirely of human hair, which was manipulated to resemble a variety of flowers, floral sprigs, and leaves. The flowers placed together in a horseshoe-shaped wreath represent a common Victorian symbol for good luck displayed with the open ends up so as to 'hold the luck inside.' "
One of the most popular clothing profiles of recent seasons has been the kurta, and this exhibit section examines the form and meaning more closely:
"Although much of the imagery on the kurta is influenced by Persian Islamic designs, the placement of the motifs on the kurta is symbolically protective. A large boteh covers each breast and a decorative line connects to an inverted boteh, resting over the woman’s reproductive organs. These motifs help to shield against evil spirits likely to attack a woman’s body. Embroidery around the neck, hem and armholes further serves to protect bodily areas vulnerable to the entry of evil spirits."
"As a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Allen taught classes in the history of interiors and textiles as well as in weaving. She also conducted short courses on creative stitchery and embroidery. Many of Allen’s published works focused on the subjects of historical and ethnic textiles as well as weaving. In 1935, Allen authored a book called American and European Handweaving which was later revised in 1939. Knowledgeable in many areas of textile design including embroidery and knitting, Allen is perhaps best known for her weaving. As an expert in weaving techniques, Allen developed her own methods for creating texture and pattern. Allen’s historical and ethnographical perspectives on textiles oftentimes translated into her own work."
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