Monday 6 January 2014

Life is a Tapestry

As mentioned in my previous post, on Saturday this past weekend, I went to see an art exhibition in the company of my aunt and uncle, who were visiting.

This was neither at BorĂ¥s Art Museum, nor at the Textile Museum, nor at any of the smaller art galleries in town; but a private art museum founded some years ago by a married couple whose private collection of art had grown too large for their own home. They decided it deserved to be shown to a larger public, and started the Abecita Art Museum in the premises of a former textile factory. By now it has expanded to occupy three whole floors in the building. Besides works of art owned by the founders (or the foundation that they started), they also show temporary exhibitions by various artists. Their focus is on photography, graphics, and textile art.

Out of three current temporary exhibitions going on, the one that my aunt especially wanted to see was Tapestries by Swedish textile artist Annika Ekdahl (winner of the Nordic Award in Textiles 2013):

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This was my aunt’s favourite in the tapestry exhibition:

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Close-ups from the same:

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(From a brochure I learn that one square metre of a tapestry like this can take 240 hours to weave.)

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My own favourite among the big tapestries was this one:

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Looking at my photos of the tapestries, a song by Carole King came to mind (from her album Tapestry, 1971) :

My life has been a tapestry
of rich and royal hue
an everlasting vision
of the ever changing view.
A wondrous woven magic
in bits of blue and gold
A tapestry to feel and see,
impossible to hold.

~ Carole King ~

8 comments:

  1. I love art that you can look at for hours and discover something new. Great shots!

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  2. they are magical and I am with you, love the one with the piano in it... amazing art and gifted and talented artists.

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  3. With your title and the beautiful tapestries. I was reminded of Corrie Ten Boon and her explanation of Life as a Tapestry. She said, we see the back side, the strings, knots, colors that don't make much since, the deep black threads and the brilliant colors. But when you turn the tapestry over...and see the picture..you see the black threads were difficult times in your life, and the bright colors the good times, and it takes BOTH to have a love tapestry. So true. Thanks for the reminder that my life is a tapestry.

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    Replies
    1. Wanda, I think I've heard that simile before as well, but I did not know (or remember) that it came from Corrie ten Boom. I read her life story many years ago (I still have it).

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  4. Wow - gorgeous tapestries!

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  5. They're fantastic, I like the one with the lady playing the piano too.

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  6. Oh my, I've never seen anything like it!! So three-dimensional in spite of them being really only "flat" pieces of tapestry, incredible! 240 hours to weave one square metre of it - no kidding!

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  7. Those are absolutely FANTABULOUS!!!
    The work and time that went into those lovely creations....I am in awe.

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