The Textile Museumannual report2 0 0 2

Cover image: Coat (detail), Central Asia, Kazakh, Late 19th early 20th century, TM 2002.5.1. Gift of Caroline McCoy-Jones.Above: Tapestry fragment (detail), Peru, Huari-style, TM 2002.20.1. Gift of an anonymous donor.

Photo credits: p. 6: Jennifer Heimbecker; p. 8: Brigitte Dubois; p. 9: Sheila Galagan; p. 10 (top): Mehmet Biber; p. 10 (bottom): Sumru Belger Krody; p.14: Sheila Galagan; p. 15 (top and bottom): Stone Photography; p. 17: Oya Bain; p. 18: Sheila Galagan; p. 19: Jennifer Heimbecker.

Edited and written by Rachel Bucci and Sara Trautman-YegenogluDesigned by Sarah C. McPhie, Cutting Edge DesignColor printing courtesy of Charter Printing, Alexandria, VAThe Textile Museum 2002 Annual Report 2003

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table of contents

exhibitions 6

public programs 8

publications 11

collections 12

volunteers 13

board of trustees 15

advisory council 15

contributors 16

financials 20

staff 22

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The Textile Museum is dedicated to furthering the understanding of mankinds creative achievements in the textile arts.

As a museum, it is committed to its role as a center of excellence in the scholarly research, conservation, interpretation and exhibition of textiles, with particular concern for the artistic, technical and cultural significance of its collections.

The mission is pursued through development and maintenance of col-lections, records and a library, as well as through scholarly research, exhibitions, publications and educational programs.

In all of this, the standard of excellence established by the Museums founder, George Hewitt Myers, will be maintained.

Tent band, Central Asia, Turkmenistan, TM 2002.13.2. The Janeen Kerper Collection.

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dear friendsAlthough I live outside the Washington, DC area, I frequently attend events and programs at The Textile Museum, both in my capacity as Board President and to satisfy my inter-est in collecting textiles and learning more about world cultures. My personal travel has taken me from Rajasthan to Myanmar corners of the world where The Textile Museum is known and admired. In speaking with TM members in Washington, DC and elsewhere, I try to learn what attracts them to the Museum. Inevitably their re-sponses are as varied as their locations and interests. The textile interests of TM members who are found in all 50 states and 56 countries are varied: from pre-Hispanic textiles to Oriental carpets, and from backstrap weaving to my own first interest, weft twining. Many have discovered the Museum through our world-class exhibitions and programs, others through our programs for youth and families. Our unparalleled Arthur

The year 2002 highlighted The Textile Museums commitment to furthering scholarship in the textile arts. Our exhibitions reflect both research and innovative approaches to textile study. Technology as Catalyst: Textile Artists on the Cutting Edge garnered praise from the media and drew new audiences to the Museum. Hidden Threads of Peru: Qero Textiles allowed us to introduce the col-orful woven textiles of the isolated indigenous Qero culture to our visitors. The Classical Tradition in Anatolian Carpets posed new theories in regard to the sources and transfer of designs from court to village rugs. All three of these exhibitions were accompanied by fully illustrated exhibition catalogues. A second area of focus in 2002 was the enrichment of The TMs collections. Of our most significant acquisi-tions, I highlight a heart-stopping embroidered suede coat from Central Asia, a gift of longtime TM friend Caroline McCoy-Jones. An anonymous donor gave the Museum an impressive, although fragmentary, Huari-style tapestry panel that was likely for ceremonial use. This gift was accompanied by funds to cover the cost of photography and creating a special mount for the textile. Also of special note is a collection of 48 pre-Hispanic textiles from Charles E. Llewellyn III that includes many

D. Jenkins Library, with its rich resources on textiles and cultural history, provides a portal to world cultures like no other. Friends of the Museum often cite the research assistance of Library staff as a determining factor in their involvement in The TM. For collectors and scholars with specialized interests, there is no greater pleasure than the opportunity to view collection items in a study session. Some have found the Museum through our Web site. That in turn has led them to information concerning how to rid textiles of pests by freezing, or the opportunity to access over 600 book titles through our Museum Shop. In 2002 The TM literally opened doors for members through travel tours to Japan, Iran, and St. Petersburg. There are many portals into The Textile Museum. The wonderful thing about the Museum is that its subject matter and programs span so wide a spectrum that there is ample opportunity for people of many interests to find their niche here. As you read through this Annual Report for 2002, I think you will concur.

David W. FraserPresident, Board of Trustees

rare textiles, including several Chancay-style loincloths and an Ica-Inca tunic that was included in our 1991 exhibition Fabrics of the Inca Empire and in Ann Rowes article in the 1992 TM Journal. The Museums focus on research has been bolstered by the appointment of Dr. Walter B. Denny as the Charles Grant Ellis Research Associate for Oriental Carpets. The leading scholar in Oriental carpets, Seljuk and Ottoman art, and curator of The Classical Tradition in Anatolian Carpets, Walters formal association with the Museum will prove an asset as we plan future exhibitions and publications. Our commitment to expand The Textile Museums influence in scholarship is reinforced by a plan initiated in 2002 to electronically catalogue the holdings of the Museums Arthur D. Jenkins Library and make them available online. We continue to explore options for relocating all or a portion of the Museum to a site that better serves our public and our collections. This process of deliberation and debate continues to evolve as we consider alterna-tives and iterations to find the best solution. My thanks to all TM members for your support, with particular appreciation to those whose names are high-lighted in this report. It is you who enable us to open avenues into textile art for audiences worldwide.

Ursula E. McCrackenDirector

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As one of the 30,000 visitors to the Museum in 2002 put it, This is a superb museum. I am so glad I came. Especially at this time in our world, we need to have an understanding of world culture and history. A fine way is through the arts. As this visitor attests, Textile Museum exhibitions stimulate the mind and eye, and open new avenues of inquiry by placing textiles within a cultural context. In 2002 we presented a series of exhibitions de-signed to enrich our world view and introduce a growing audience to the many aspects of the textile arts. We also extended our reach beyond the Museum walls publishing three companion catalogues that presented new research in historical textiles and explored the use of digital technology in contemporary textile art.

Deceptively Simple: The Complexities of Plain WeaveNovember 21, 2001 June 2, 2002The simple interlacing of warp and weft over one, under one can produce exquisitely com-plex textiles. Deceptively Simple explored the range of effects that can be achieved through this basic textile structure. With objects selected from across the Museums collections, the exhibition featured examples of tapestry weave and discontinuous warp, and highlighted the many ways weavers can pattern plain-woven textiles through the interplay of color, texture, and materials. Photomicrographs showed a highly magnified view of the textiles structure, giving visitors an opportunity to closely examine the complexities of plain weave.

Technology as Catalyst: Textile Artists on the Cutting EdgeFebruary 15 July 28, 2002Whether in traditional or contemporary form, textile techniques continually evolve. Technology as Catalyst explored how contemporary fiber artists are responding to and using new technologies as tools for expressing their ideas. Free from many of the physical demands of textile production, textile artists working with new technology can work quickly, create maquettes, expand or contract their ideas, and work from diverse sources, including photographs or their own drawings. This intercon-nection between hi-tech equipment and handwork has stirred artists imaginations, allowing them to create innovative, cutting-edge art that builds on

Exhibitions

Exhibitions

The Classical Tradition in Anatolian Carpets

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traditional textile concepts without abandoning the handmade medium. Curated by Rebecca A.T. Stevens, the exhibi-tion featured the work of artists Susan Brandeis, Lia Cook, Junco Sato Pollack, Cynthia Schira, Hitoshi Ujiie, and Carol Westfall. Named by The Washington Post as one of the Top 10 exhibitions in Washington, DC during 2002, Technology as Catalyst traveled to the North Carolina State University Gallery of Art & Design, and will be on view at Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum at California State University, San Bernardino in 2003. Accompanied by a full-color catalogue with essays by Rebecca A.T. Stevens, Bhakti Ziek, and R. Alan Donaldson, the exhibition was supported in part by Friends of Fiber Art International, North Carolina State University, The Rau Foundation, and Duron Paints.

Hidden Threads of Peru: Qero TextilesMarch 21 August 18, 2002Hidden Threads of Peru featured 19th- and 20th-century textiles that displayed techniques unique to Qero, a remote community perched high on the eastern flanks of the