Dr. Elena Phipps, (UCLA)
Extraordinary Things: Conceptual Structures and the Making of Andean Textiles
Andean textiles—beautiful and complex—are full of aesthetic and technical marvels whose features are created through processes that link to conceptual ideas. The most basic concept of weaving a cloth with four finished edges, without cutting from the loom, underlies the primary textile traditions of the region. This requires the idea of intent: something made to be what it is intended to be, with forethought and planning. And this begins before weaving, before warping, before even spinning the yarns that will be used. This talk will be based on the work that led to a recent publication for the Banco de Crédito del Perú called Arte y Saber del Textil (Textile Art and Knowledge), in which I had the opportunity to explore some of the basic underlying ideas around the making of Andean textiles. Focusing on key elements that provide a glimpse of significant conceptual choices, we will look at some of what I consider to be extraordinary things.
Elena Phipps has her PhD (1989) in Precolumbian Art History and Archaeology from Columbia University. She worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for thirty-four years as a textile conservator as well as co-curator for two major textile exhibitions: The Colonial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork 1430-1830 in 2004 (whose catalogue was awarded the CAA Alfred Barr Jr. Award and the Mitchell Prize) and The Interwoven Globe: Worldwide Textile Trade in 2013. Elena has focused her professional work on the study of the history of textile materials, materiality, and techniques in cultural contexts. She has published widely, including Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color (MMA, 2010), Looking at Textiles: A Technical Terminology (Getty, 2013), The Peruvian Four-Selvaged Cloth (Fowler Museum, 2013), “Woven Brilliance: Approaching Color in Andean Textile Traditions” (Textile Museum Journal, 2020), “The Color Purple in the Andes” (DHA, 2024), among many others. She is co-editor and author of Arte y Saber del Textil (Banco de Crédito del Perú, 2024). In 2011–2014, she was the President of the Textile Society of America. Since 2011, she teaches textile history, techniques, and cultures in the Fowler Museum as part of the Department of World Arts and Culture/Dance at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Thursday, April 3rd, 2025
6:30 pm, EST
in Schermerhorn 934
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