Matti Braun Untitled, 2003
Silkscreen on fabric, hand-colored
Siebdruck auf Baumwolle, handkoloriert
Siebdruck auf Baumwolle, handkoloriert
270 x 100 cm (106 1/4 x 39 3/8 in)
The traditional Indian Patola textiles, made in Gujarat, employ a method of weaving where the warp and weft are resist dyed. This process of precise tying and dying means that when the two threads are woven together they form a complete motif. Braun’s own version of the Patola circumvents this labor intensive method of production by using the more modern technique of silk screen printing.
Historically, many Patolas were designed and made entirely for export, their geometric patterns catering for the specific tastes of the country that they were being sent to. There they were used in different ways. In some places they were symbols of royalty, imbuing rulers with supernatural authority, in others they were assumed to have healing powers.
Woven fabrics have a long tradition in India and Indonesia. Especially the Patolas, where each single yarn is partially colored and woven by using the double-ikat technique, are very precious. For this very complex technique, which requires a lot of time to prepare, more than the weaving itself, the arrangement of the colored yarns is being calculated before weaving. Horizontal and vertical yarns – warp and weft - are being arranged very exactly, combining the technical process of weaving and the traditional pattern in the moment of production. Matti Braun’s fascination for the Patolas lies within their very complex method of production, which is supposed to have magical powers, and especially in the symbiosis of highbrow processes, technical perfection and mystical inscription.
The artist's interest is strongly connected to the family history of Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), a leader of the Indian space shuttle program Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission. In the figure of Sarabhai a number of modernist themes coalesce. He is considered a symbol of Indian progress, albeit one usually equated with the achievements of Western culture. But this narrow reading does not fully take into account the interweaving of Sarabhai's biography in a web of tradition and modernity. Thus Sarabhai's family, descending from a long line of wealthy textile manufacturers in Western India's Ahmedabad, was instrumental in the founding of the Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad, housed in the family's former residence.
Matti Braun reports in an essay based on his personal experience: „In cool, spacious halls with floors made of marble marqueterie is presented an impressive and large collection of mainly Indian textiles, sculptures, architectural elements and miniature painting. This very focused presentation merges different styles, modern as well as seemingly typical Indian, which rather could be defined as pan-asian.“ The complex and cultural interwoven life of the Sarabhai family is reflected in the museum presentation. In the 1920s Maria Montessori was invited to educate their eight children. Later they initiated together with Charles and Ray Eames the foundation of the The National Institute of Design in Ahmenabad. In the surrounding of the Calico Museum of Textiles there is another small museum, where works of John Cage are exhibited. The artist and Merce Cunningham visited the Sharabhai family once and staged a performance. Last but not least Le Corbusier built a villa for the family at the property where also the museums are located.
Sharabhai´s life and work challenges to develop another understanding of modernity such as the knowledge of the complex development of the Patolas do not allow the reduction to a purely folkloristic reading. For Matti Braun the Patolas are rather objects exemplifying the broad network of inter-dependencies for the genesis of cultural and personal Identities and the implementation of conceptual ideas of hypothetical possibilities.
Historically, many Patolas were designed and made entirely for export, their geometric patterns catering for the specific tastes of the country that they were being sent to. There they were used in different ways. In some places they were symbols of royalty, imbuing rulers with supernatural authority, in others they were assumed to have healing powers.
Woven fabrics have a long tradition in India and Indonesia. Especially the Patolas, where each single yarn is partially colored and woven by using the double-ikat technique, are very precious. For this very complex technique, which requires a lot of time to prepare, more than the weaving itself, the arrangement of the colored yarns is being calculated before weaving. Horizontal and vertical yarns – warp and weft - are being arranged very exactly, combining the technical process of weaving and the traditional pattern in the moment of production. Matti Braun’s fascination for the Patolas lies within their very complex method of production, which is supposed to have magical powers, and especially in the symbiosis of highbrow processes, technical perfection and mystical inscription.
The artist's interest is strongly connected to the family history of Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), a leader of the Indian space shuttle program Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission. In the figure of Sarabhai a number of modernist themes coalesce. He is considered a symbol of Indian progress, albeit one usually equated with the achievements of Western culture. But this narrow reading does not fully take into account the interweaving of Sarabhai's biography in a web of tradition and modernity. Thus Sarabhai's family, descending from a long line of wealthy textile manufacturers in Western India's Ahmedabad, was instrumental in the founding of the Calico Museum of Textiles in Ahmedabad, housed in the family's former residence.
Matti Braun reports in an essay based on his personal experience: „In cool, spacious halls with floors made of marble marqueterie is presented an impressive and large collection of mainly Indian textiles, sculptures, architectural elements and miniature painting. This very focused presentation merges different styles, modern as well as seemingly typical Indian, which rather could be defined as pan-asian.“ The complex and cultural interwoven life of the Sarabhai family is reflected in the museum presentation. In the 1920s Maria Montessori was invited to educate their eight children. Later they initiated together with Charles and Ray Eames the foundation of the The National Institute of Design in Ahmenabad. In the surrounding of the Calico Museum of Textiles there is another small museum, where works of John Cage are exhibited. The artist and Merce Cunningham visited the Sharabhai family once and staged a performance. Last but not least Le Corbusier built a villa for the family at the property where also the museums are located.
Sharabhai´s life and work challenges to develop another understanding of modernity such as the knowledge of the complex development of the Patolas do not allow the reduction to a purely folkloristic reading. For Matti Braun the Patolas are rather objects exemplifying the broad network of inter-dependencies for the genesis of cultural and personal Identities and the implementation of conceptual ideas of hypothetical possibilities.