Fashioning Felt Exhibit is an exhibit currently shown at Cooper Hewitt museum in New York. The exhibition focuses on felt that has been produced by traditional hand- or machine-felting processes. The pieces shown, range from clothing to furniture, from jewelry to felt installations.
The set up of the exhibit to me is in some ways interesting and inspirational, especially the pieces from the early 19th and 20th century from Japan and Turkey, also the video showing how felt is still being made in Mongolia. However I had hoped they would show more of the process of felting (both industrial and handmade felting methods), to give the viewer even more sense of what they are looking at. Another downside, is the fact that there is very little touching involved nor any of the raw wool available to see or feel. As a designer I have some knowledge of felting and the work that goes into it, but this is not something everyone knows, and thus can appreciate, if they are not educated. The catalogue of the exhibit however seems to give a clearer view on felt as a material.
The pieces selected for the show are a big mix, maybe even a bit random in a way, it ranges from pieces that are created out of scratch like Claudy Jongstra’s experience installation Inner Mood and Molo Design’s Felt Rocks and Christien Meindertsma’s Urchin Poufs as well as fully hand felted and died rugs from Afghanistan. Next to that there are pieces like Christoph Pillet’s Nouvelle Vague Chair and Louise Campbell’s Prince Chair as well as Stina Lindholm’s Bull Acoustic Tiles that are using felt as a medium within their design, the felt performs a certain function within their design, vs another material that performs another.
Another point I would like to make and maybe I am biased, being a designer and from the Netherlands, but the Dutch design represented in this exhibit is powerful. Their way of using color, form and the material in general is innovative and inspirational. I am especially thinking of Birgit Daamen’s Delft Blue Felted Necklace, fabrics made by Claudy Jongstra for Alexander van Slobbe that have popping colors. Also the way Christien Meindertsma’s Urchin Poufs are made using the wool of a particular sheep and the sheep’s identity remains known when you purchase the pouf (it has a tag with the sheep’s number on it). Not to forget LAMA’s floor coverings that incorporate LED’s which emit warm and friendly light. And Tord Boontje’s Little Field of Flowers carpet for Nanimarquina, which is made by looming the flowers into the woven base carpet.
All in all I feel that a lot of the pieces in the exhibit were based upon the fact that someone is a known felt artist/designer and therefore there should be a piece (or pieces) by this artist/designer in this show. I do not feel like the exhibit gave much of a vision about what felt is as a material, nor what has been done and is being done currently in the world of design, art and fashion with felt and wool as materials. It was definitely worth the visit, even if it is to start thinking about the next project or to get inspired and thinking about wool, this material that has been around for as long as we can remember.
Via: NY400.org
Text: Alissia Melka-Teichroew
