Tuesday, August 6, 2013

PAISLEY AND THE ART OF HOME ECONOMICS

PAINTING ON A WOODEN SLAB  PLUS PAISLEY FABRIC. ARTIST  JOLIE STAHL REFERENCES THE KEELING HOUSE, VIRGINIA BEACH,  CIRCA 1740.

After the first appearance of the woven paisley shawl in 17th century Kashmir, some citizens of the Middle East expanded shawl usage for the home.  They hung shawls as wall coverings for warmth and beauty, placed  them over windows and doors as shelter from the sun and used border strips to accent shelves .Shawls were spread on the ground for lush banquets.  In the late days of  the 19th century, retailers sourcing The East India Trading Company,  developed an Empire cache by popularizing paisley upholstery and wall covering. And  of course, there was the ubiquitous shawl that got draped over the grand piano.

Now, working artist Jolie Stahl , has incorporated  bits of a fine paisley-printed scarf fabric into one of her house paintings-and-found-object collages being prepared for an exhibition titled Home Economics. It will be held at New York's Hudson Guild Gallery in Chelsea, starting March 20, 2014. Stahl is also curating the show that will include the sculpture of Tom Otterness.

Here, Stahl shows a home referencing the American Colonial period circa 1740, not that colonials had a lot of paisley to work with..  It took another century for  both Queen Victoria and Napoleon to create a full-on paisley-at-home trend in Europe with their sharp eyes for local fabric industries.

Stahl says that the dismal home foreclosure figures of the past seven years prompted her to focus on the future of the American home and what the dramatic changes might mean to our culture.  The artist is also director of Ddora Foundation which is dedicated to preserving applied arts. JP