Textiles are one of my favourite mediums to study because they are historically understudied in the West because it is traditionally seen as a “woman’s craft” and thus not worthy of being seen as “high art.” However, it was neat that the production of textiles in the Andes was not exclusively for the women to partake in.
We haven't talked enough about textiles lately and, as you say, they are a central element in Peruvian culture. However, there seem to be two narratives around them (I say this without being an expert, of course): on the one hand, the sense of continuity in the techniques and designs in Indigenous communities is highlighted, although on the other there are regrets because of what has been lost in recent centuries, due to colonization. It seems to me that the Capitalist Market settles in those interstices, and takes advantage of narratives about textiles to legitimize its products.
Really cool reflections and insights on textiles and their function as utilitarian or otherwise. The questions you posed at the end have me thinking a lot about this tradition carried by women of ancient societies. I guess it's hard to really know where textiles are coming from - my best answer around modern indigeneity would be that if the mass consumption of 'Peruvian' sweaters allows communities to continue this art form and live in subsistence then it could in fact be an adapt version of indigeneity. All the while, I have the feeling that creative processes and patterning originate from a imagined design and motifs and therefore carry a meaning that is not truly touched by tourists choosing a colour scheme to fashion back home. But I'm curious how textiles still do mediate social exchange and such when 'traditional' dress is excluded to mainly spectacle events not private purposes. Anyways, I'm stoked to join a workshop to find out way more and just have a day in creative making.
I also love textiles and am very interested in their production and cultural uses and the designs themselves. These can tell you so much about the people making them and the culture and local beliefs. You can get a whole story played out for you. I am also wondering though if the designs are traditional ones or more commercialized ones for tourists who think they are getting the real authentic Peru in textiles that have been made to attract them "Inca" motifs. If you do go on a textiles tour of the city let me know I am so there!
Hey bae, love the blog. I also LOVE textiles, I'm an embroiderer hehe. I find textiles to be a really amazing commentary on a culture, especially regarding their uses for textiles and what their motifs represent. I am reminded of Paj Ntaub, a traditional embroidery/textile work of the Hmong people of SE Asia; Paj Ntaub is told to hold the secrets of the lost Hmong written language, and the motifs tell the stories of their secret histories. I love thinking about textiles as another form of storytelling, physical like a book but fluid like an oral telling. I agree that we MUST discover more about Andean textiles, and think deeply about their motifs and representations in the context of our course and what we have learned about regarding being skeptical of modern Indigenous representations.
We haven't talked enough about textiles lately and, as you say, they are a central element in Peruvian culture. However, there seem to be two narratives around them (I say this without being an expert, of course): on the one hand, the sense of continuity in the techniques and designs in Indigenous communities is highlighted, although on the other there are regrets because of what has been lost in recent centuries, due to colonization. It seems to me that the Capitalist Market settles in those interstices, and takes advantage of narratives about textiles to legitimize its products.
Hey Ana,
Really cool reflections and insights on textiles and their function as utilitarian or otherwise. The questions you posed at the end have me thinking a lot about this tradition carried by women of ancient societies. I guess it's hard to really know where textiles are coming from - my best answer around modern indigeneity would be that if the mass consumption of 'Peruvian' sweaters allows communities to continue this art form and live in subsistence then it could in fact be an adapt version of indigeneity. All the while, I have the feeling that creative processes and patterning originate from a imagined design and motifs and therefore carry a meaning that is not truly touched by tourists choosing a colour scheme to fashion back home. But I'm curious how textiles still do mediate social exchange and such when 'traditional' dress is excluded to mainly spectacle events not private purposes. Anyways, I'm stoked to join a workshop to find out way more and just have a day in creative making.
I also love textiles and am very interested in their production and cultural uses and the designs themselves. These can tell you so much about the people making them and the culture and local beliefs. You can get a whole story played out for you. I am also wondering though if the designs are traditional ones or more commercialized ones for tourists who think they are getting the real authentic Peru in textiles that have been made to attract them "Inca" motifs. If you do go on a textiles tour of the city let me know I am so there!
Hey bae, love the blog. I also LOVE textiles, I'm an embroiderer hehe. I find textiles to be a really amazing commentary on a culture, especially regarding their uses for textiles and what their motifs represent. I am reminded of Paj Ntaub, a traditional embroidery/textile work of the Hmong people of SE Asia; Paj Ntaub is told to hold the secrets of the lost Hmong written language, and the motifs tell the stories of their secret histories. I love thinking about textiles as another form of storytelling, physical like a book but fluid like an oral telling. I agree that we MUST discover more about Andean textiles, and think deeply about their motifs and representations in the context of our course and what we have learned about regarding being skeptical of modern Indigenous representations.