Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design
Gallery Exhibit: Exotica into Americana
The
“exotic” is an idea, a perception of some object or motif as being from far
away-something different and strange. The
exotic appeals because it is perceived as residing at a distance.
Fashionable western objects express exoticism through the imitation,
adaptation and direct borrowing of silhouettes or garment parts, and textile
techniques and patterns from a host of “far away places.”
The
most prevalent type of exoticism in western textiles and dress is known as
Orientalism. In the late eighteenth
century the term “Orientalism” referred to the British policy in India,
including the study of Indian culture to facilitate British administration of
their colonies. Orientalism also
describes a specific kind of exoticism in paintings using Middle Eastern and
North African subjects. In addition,
it characterizes the influence of the East, including Asia,
on patterns, textiles, ceramics, furniture and building styles.
More recently, Edward Said’s book Orientalism
critiqued western manipulation of oriental imagery in written texts and art.
He argued that such borrowing shaped the way the west perceived the
orient and thus oppressed people in those regions of the world.
Richard Martin, Harold Koda and others have defended orientalism and all
cultural borrowing in art and dress saying that it plays a significant role in
changing artistic canons within the west and the east.
Primitivism
is a second idea associated with exoticism.
The current definition of primitivism is the interest of modern artists
in tribal art and culture as revealed in their thought and work.
Art historians have considered primitive art only since World War II,
however, explorers and travelers have returned home with decorative objects from
tribal cultures for centuries. Artists
at the end of the 19th century, stifled by the salon art of the day,
used words like “primitive” and “savage” in an admiring way to describe
non-western art which ranged from that of Egypt, the Aztecs, Japan, Persia,
India, Java,
Cambodia,
to Peru. The international
expositions in Europe
and America in the late 19th century, intended as showcases of
western colonial power, displayed people and their cultures.
Interest in these people and their art grew among western artists and
filtered into their work. Artists
like Picasso, Matisse, and Gauguin of the early 20th century
eventually adapted elements that became a part of modernism, including
abstraction, flattened forms, and subject matter.
Westerners
come into contact with the exotic through trade, colonization, recreational
travel and the immigration of peoples into the west from exotic lands.
Once they have contact with exotic dress, they interact in a myriad of
ways. They might copy a textile
motif directly or wear an unchanged piece of clothing.
They might borrow elements from the garments, like the kimono sleeve, but
not address the rest of a kimono. Over
time they might integrate the exotic so completely into familiar uses that the
influence is disconnected from the exotic context.
In other words, the exotic element acculturates into western vernacular
dress: the bandana exemplifies the
Americanization of an exotic textile.
The themes in this exhibition display Exoticism through a variety of imitations, adaptations and borrowings. Resist textile techniques demonstrate how popular and personal exotic textile practices can become. Objects from and inspired by Africa and the Near East illustrate how orientalism and primitivism can coexist and intertwine. Tourist trade objects demonstrate how traditional motifs often are adapted to western garments, accessories and textile forms. Designer blouses from the late 20th century incorporate the printed structure of scarves built around exotic textile motifs. The popularity of Asian motifs, silhouettes and aesthetics since the 18th century is displayed through textiles, shoes, menswear and women’s apparel. The recent history of the now ubiquitous American bandana is shown through two early 19th-century examples and an array of contemporary garments and accessories.