Tag: playlist
-
Sakaguchi – a New Zealand designer
Takaaki Sakaguchi, who passed away in 2023, was a Japanese designer who chose Ōtautahi Christchurch as his home. Originally from Osaka, the designer was from a cotton-weaving family that had become wealthy in the 1920s through exports. The young Sakaguchi loved art but graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Kinki University in Osaka…
-
Samba!
Brazil is known for its vibrant cultures and the samba is amongst the most well-known; Samba de Roda, a festival event from Bahia, is recognised as a unique art form in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Samba derives from the colonial period in Brazil’s history. At its foundation are the traditions and cultures of enslaved…
-
The extraordinary music from Malaita
Disclaimer: Please be aware that some of the links in this article may show images of human remains, currently in museum collections. The people of the Southern part of Malaita, the largest land in the Solomon Islands, are called the ‘Are’are. Until an ethnomusicologist called Hugo Zemp from le Musée de l’Homme in Paris recorded…
-
Mass in Blue
This weekend we went a concert in Ōtautahi Christchurch of Mass in Blue by Will Todd. The piece is a jazz version of the Latin Mass and was performed by the Christchurch City Choir with guest soprano and jazz trio. It is fantastic fun and has lots of energy and rhythm. If you have not…
-
Andora
Ten years ago, an auction of Soviet space memorabilia was offered for sale by auction. The collection belonged to Andora, a German artist who, becoming fascinated by space and its exploration, completed cosmonaut training. Andora painted a Proton rocket, at the request of the Russian space agency, that was shot into space in 1992. A…
-
Walter Oltmann’s Wire Tapestry
The South African artist, Walter Oltmann, is known for his exploration of prehistory through experimentation with materials. Oltmann uses various materials, including cloth, thread, wire and paint, to reveal hidden stories. The studio collection has an embroidery of a coelacanth, a favourite subject for the artist, and the art collection has two watercolours of people…
-
This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a playlist is curated to go along with the blog. The pieces on the playlist refer to articles on the blog, sometimes obviously and sometimes more obliquely. To listen, click on the player above. If you have a paid subscription to Spotify you will hear all the pieces uninterrupted. Free subscriptions will have…
-
Data and textiles
One of the joys of a textile practice is learning about the different uses to which textiles are put. Data visualisation is one of those. Data is a current trend in textile art. The use of cloths and fabrics, threads and yarns, embroidery, knitting, weaving, patchwork and quilting, is allowing new viewpoints to be seen.…
-
Update on the new studio
The new studio space in Māwhera Greymouth is slowly taking shape. Over the next few months we will be adding equipment, art and materials to the space. The plan is to be open in time for next winter with workshops and activities, all centred around textiles. Longer term we will be running residencies and stays,…
-
Yto Barrada
Yto Barrada is a Moroccan artist who lives between Tangier and New York. The artist uses, in her work, natural dyes and has created a garden estate, “The Mothership“, near Tangier, to explore dyeing with these materials. In a recent exhibition at the Pace Gallery in London, entitled “How to Plan a Garden”, Barrada made…