ARTES MAGAZINE

John James Audubon. The name brings to mind the majestic beauty and grace of a vast collective of wildlife portraiture. However, it is crucial to remember Audubon’s detailed scientific observations as well, for his work in that capacity is still valid today. Fascinated by the natural world around him, Audubon’s ability to capture image and [...]

The history of Paris porcelain (known familiarly in France as vieux Paris) began around 1770 and refers not to a single manufacturer, but to more than thirty porcelain sources, based within the City of Paris between the mid-1700s and the end of the Second Empire in 1870. The term was not actually used until the [...]

 Two recent exhibitions looked at the multiple stories woven into textiles. Navajo Textiles: Diamonds, Dreams, and Landscapes was a year-long exhibition in three themed rotations held at the University of Colorado’s Museum of Natural History in Boulder, Colorado (May 31, 2009 – May 31, 2010). Trading Cloth and Culture was the spring exhibition at the [...]

 The Exquisite Corpse has lived many lives!  But first, a brief explanation is required…  The early 20th century was an era of experimentation in the visual arts, music, literature, design and architecture—particularly in Europe. The world was swept up in scientific and industrial innovations of the period. Many believed that civilization stood poised on the [...]

  The Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811 — when King George III was deemed insane and unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent — and 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father. The [...]

Michigan native and artist, Clifton Monteith, feels at home in Japan, understanding the subtle complexity and silent social consciousness that links custom and culture there. This affection is rooted in his earliest memories of a much-admired Japanese silk embroidery and a Chinese rosewood cradle in his grandparents’ home and in the exercise of his craft, [...]

Little did Michael Aram know the role that providence would play in his life while on a trip to India twenty years ago. As a recent college grad with a degree in fine arts and a care-free style, a trip to New Delhi to visit a sister and some friends seemed like a splendid idea. [...]

In the 1990s, I recall watching Sister Wendy Beckett, the reluctant celebrity spokesperson for a popular PBS series on art appreciation. This sequestered nun, who for decades had lived under a vow of silence, had gained notoriety for her views on famous works of art and now stood in her nun’s habit waxing vociferously before [...]

As the movers and shakers of the handmade rug industry, the interior design trade plays a pivotal role in shaping the end consumers’ purchasing decisions. After focusing on the greenness of the handweaving process from the manufacturers’ standpoint (See “Special Green Report—Handmade Rugs—The Original Green Floor Coverings,” ARTES (Oct. 13, 2009), this article takes a [...]

With the explosion of the green movement affecting everything from automobiles to furniture, rug importers and manufacturers are taking a fresh look at their production methods only to discover that their industry has essentially been green all along. Others are developing ways to enhance the green credentials of their handmade rugs in terms of dyeing, [...]