Rebecca
SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Mary Brooks: Forgotten fibres. Work in progress towards a cultural
history and conservation analysis of man-made pre-World War II textile
made from unusual sources.
We invite you to join us for the following presentation at the GCI:
August 20 2002 (Tuesday), 4:00 pm
GCI Scholars Forum
Getty Center, East Building, Herculaneum room (L3 level)
With war efforts threatening to reduce greatly the availability of wool
and silk for clothing and other domestic textiles in Europe and America,
the 1930s and 1940s saw an upsurge of interest in creating textile fibres
derived from common animal and vegetable products. Researchers explored
the potential of gelatine, milk, feathers, eggs, fish, corn, peanuts and
soybeans to form viable fibres. The hope was to make a regenerated protein
fibre that would be a substitute for wool in the way that rayon fibres,
made from regenerated cellulosics such as wood pulp, had become
substitutes for silk. Women's dresses, hats, and military scarves as well
as blankets, upholstery fabrics and carpeting were commercially
manufactured from some of these fibres and advertised directly to the
consumer. However, few surviving artefacts have yet been recognized and
identified in museum collections.
This presentation will review the cultural context that led to the
development - and apparent disappearance - of such fibres. Evidence from
contemporary patents and documentation is currently the main source for
understanding the nature of these fibres and attempting to predict their
long-term behaviour. The fibres themselves and some of the garments and
accessories made from them will be described. An unexpected aspect of this
research has been the discovery that textiles are again being made from
milk, corn and soybean and some contemporary examples will be presented.
An informal reception will follow the presentation, together with a
viewing of a video about "Stop the Rot: An Exhibition of Museum
Conservation." This exhibition, held at the York Castle Museum in England
in 1993-94, was curated by Mary Brooks and Simon Cane. It received the
International Institute for Conservation's first Keck Award for promoting
public awareness of conservation.
Mary M. Brooks is currently a Conservation Guest Scholar at the Getty
Conservation Institute. She is Head of Studies & Research and Convenor
for a Museum Studies MA as well as a Senior Lecturer for the MA Textile
Conservation at the University of Southampton's Textile Conservation
Centre. Much of her textile conservation research has focused on the
implications of manufacturing techniques and the application of
conservation analysis to understanding textile degradation processes. She
has a special interest in the use of object-based research as a means of
enriching art historical understanding and believes that conservation has
a vital role to play in helping people to appreciate artefacts and their
significance more fully.
LOCATION: The talk will be held in the Herculaneum meeting room, on Lower
Level 3 (L3) of the East Building. Reservations are not needed - if you
will be arriving from outside the Getty, please identify yourself as being
with the "GCI Scholars Forum" group and enter via the East Building
Reception area on the Plaza level of the Getty Center.
history and conservation analysis of man-made pre-World War II textile
made from unusual sources.
We invite you to join us for the following presentation at the GCI:
August 20 2002 (Tuesday), 4:00 pm
GCI Scholars Forum
Getty Center, East Building, Herculaneum room (L3 level)
With war efforts threatening to reduce greatly the availability of wool
and silk for clothing and other domestic textiles in Europe and America,
the 1930s and 1940s saw an upsurge of interest in creating textile fibres
derived from common animal and vegetable products. Researchers explored
the potential of gelatine, milk, feathers, eggs, fish, corn, peanuts and
soybeans to form viable fibres. The hope was to make a regenerated protein
fibre that would be a substitute for wool in the way that rayon fibres,
made from regenerated cellulosics such as wood pulp, had become
substitutes for silk. Women's dresses, hats, and military scarves as well
as blankets, upholstery fabrics and carpeting were commercially
manufactured from some of these fibres and advertised directly to the
consumer. However, few surviving artefacts have yet been recognized and
identified in museum collections.
This presentation will review the cultural context that led to the
development - and apparent disappearance - of such fibres. Evidence from
contemporary patents and documentation is currently the main source for
understanding the nature of these fibres and attempting to predict their
long-term behaviour. The fibres themselves and some of the garments and
accessories made from them will be described. An unexpected aspect of this
research has been the discovery that textiles are again being made from
milk, corn and soybean and some contemporary examples will be presented.
An informal reception will follow the presentation, together with a
viewing of a video about "Stop the Rot: An Exhibition of Museum
Conservation." This exhibition, held at the York Castle Museum in England
in 1993-94, was curated by Mary Brooks and Simon Cane. It received the
International Institute for Conservation's first Keck Award for promoting
public awareness of conservation.
Mary M. Brooks is currently a Conservation Guest Scholar at the Getty
Conservation Institute. She is Head of Studies & Research and Convenor
for a Museum Studies MA as well as a Senior Lecturer for the MA Textile
Conservation at the University of Southampton's Textile Conservation
Centre. Much of her textile conservation research has focused on the
implications of manufacturing techniques and the application of
conservation analysis to understanding textile degradation processes. She
has a special interest in the use of object-based research as a means of
enriching art historical understanding and believes that conservation has
a vital role to play in helping people to appreciate artefacts and their
significance more fully.
LOCATION: The talk will be held in the Herculaneum meeting room, on Lower
Level 3 (L3) of the East Building. Reservations are not needed - if you
will be arriving from outside the Getty, please identify yourself as being
with the "GCI Scholars Forum" group and enter via the East Building
Reception area on the Plaza level of the Getty Center.