One can only rejoice at the release of a new, expanded edition of one of the world’s best books on weaving. “On Weaving” is an absolute masterpiece written by Anni Albers, one of the most talented and creative artists of the 20th century. Printed several times since its first publication in 1965, this new version features full-cover photographs instead of the book’s original black-and-white illustrations, as well as an afterword by Nicholas Fox Weber, executive director of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and essays by Manuel Cirauqui and T’ai Smith.
Weber writes in the afterword that Albers “took the art of textiles into realms that are glorious guideposts for all people for all time.” Albers revolutionized the way people looked at textiles, she also gave weavers and designers whose inspiration was stifled a breath of fresh air. She opened new channels of creativity, suggesting unforeseen possibilities, new ways of combining visual and structural work in thread, art and design.
“How do we choose our specific material, our means of communication? Accidentally, something speaks to us, a sound, touch, hardness or softness, it catches us and asks us to be formed. We are finding our language and as we go along we learn to obey its rules and its limits,” Albers once said.
And indeed, Albers found her medium, weaving, by accident. In 1922, at the age of 23, Albers was accepted into Bauhaus, a pioneering school in Germany whose mission was to teach the role of functional art and design to everyone, regardless of wealth and class. Bauhaus provided courses in various specialties, such as woodworking, metal, wall painting and glass. Most women at the time chose to enter the weaving workshop whereas Albers preferred to study the art of glasswork. However, Walter Gropius, who founded Bauhaus, believed that it was not advisable that women work in the heavy crafts areas, such as carpentry and he said: “For this reason, a women’s section has been formed at the Bauhaus (School), which works particularly with textiles, bookbinding and pottery.”
Ambitious and eager to know more about the history of textiles, Albers visited ethnological museums in Berlin and Munich and read “Les Tissus Indiens du Vieux Perou” by Marguerite and Raoul d’Harcourt, which introduced her to the ancient textile art of Peru. She would eventually consider the Peruvian weavers as “her greatest teachers” because nearly all the existing methods of weaving had been used in ancient Peru.
During her early years as an artist, Albers was profoundly influenced by Paul Klee who repeatedly insisted that the ultimate form of an artistic work was not as significant as the process leading to it. Klee also introduced her to his use of formal experimentation and graffiti-like markings, which he believed could nurture the subconscious. Albers adopted this concept and integrated it into her abstract tapestries.
This book takes the reader on a journey of discovery of an ancient craft, one that has remains essentially unchanged to this day. The book’s first chapter, “Weaving, Hand” is in fact the entry about weaving that Albers wrote for Encyclopedia Britannica: “One of the most ancient crafts, hand weaving is a method of forming a pliable plane of threads by interlacing them rectangularly. Invented in a pre-ceramic age, it has remained essentially unchanged to this day. Even the final machinery has not changed the basic principle of weaving.”
Weaving is one of the oldest surviving crafts in the world and goes back to Neolithic times, about 12,000 years ago. “Beginnings are usually more interesting than elaborations and endings. Beginning means explorations, selections, development, a potent vitality not yet limited, not circumscribed by the tried and traditional,” wrote Albers.
The artist used to take her students back in time to understand how it all began. The hides of animals are probably the closest prototype to fabrics. They are flat and versatile and can be used for many purposes. They can protect us from the weather and also shelter us as roofs and walls. Perhaps it all began when someone had the idea of adding a flexible twig to fasten the hides together. This manner of using both a stiff and a soft material was found in the 5,000-year-old mummy wrappings excavated in Paracas, Peru.
The wrappings extracted from the tombs were like “rushes tied together in the manner of twining… stiff materials were connected by means of a softer one to form a mat pliable in one direction, stiff in another,” wrote Albers.
These rushes are closer to basketry than fabrics. In fact baskets made using a similar technique were found in the same burial site. Twining is a method that appears to have evolved into weaving and this, according to Albers, might explain one of the origins of textile techniques.
Knotting, netting and looping resemble twining. Crocheting and knitting are said to have been invented by the Arabs. The oldest specimens have been located in Egyptian tombs from the seventh or eighth century.
Tapestry weaving is a form of weaving that dates back to the earliest beginnings of thread interlacing. One of the earliest pictorial works was found in a tomb located in northern Peru. Along with cave paintings, threads were the earliest transmitters of meaning, according to the book.
Albers developed “pictorial weaving” between the 1930s and 1960s. Her woven pictures are unique works of art in which colors, sounds, abstract forms and pictures are embedded in the fabric. Thanks to a unique and sophisticated technique combining history and innovation, an unbridled imagination and unrestrained energy, Albers weaved masterpieces. Her tapestries celebrate not only the wonder and dynamism of fiber, but also the beauty and mystery of life itself.
Book Review: Unraveling the history of weaving
Book Review: Unraveling the history of weaving
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies of North America’
- “Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects
Author: ED LAM
Dragonflies are large and beautiful insects, diverse in color and pattern. This premier field guide provides all the information you need to identify every male and female dragonfly found in North America, whether in the field, in the hand, or under the microscope.
The extensive illustrations are the heart of the book. Close-up color portraits of each species, often several times life size, show the best possible specimens for close examination.
“Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects.
What We Are Reading Today: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
- Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal
Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is an intricate, mesmerizing novel that weaves together the ordinary and the surreal, creating a tapestry of existential questions, hidden truths and unexpected journeys.
First published in 1994, the novel is often regarded as one of Murakami’s masterpieces, encapsulating his signature blend of magical realism, psychological depth, and cultural introspection.
At its heart is Toru Okada, an unassuming and somewhat disaffected man whose mundane life takes a sudden and dramatic turn when his wife, Kumiko, disappears. What begins as a straightforward search evolves into a labyrinthine journey, leading Toru to confront not only the mystery of Kumiko’s absence but also the darker forces of history, memory, and his own psyche.
Along the way, he encounters an eclectic cast of characters, each with their own enigmatic role to play in the unfolding story.
Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal. The novel’s structure mirrors this duality, as Toru navigates his increasingly strange reality while descending into dreamlike underworlds, mysterious wells, and symbolic landscapes.
These moments are imbued with Murakami’s distinctive sense of unease, where the boundaries of the tangible and intangible blur, leaving the reader questioning the nature of reality itself.
One of the novel’s great strengths is its ability to juxtapose the deeply personal with the historically and culturally significant.
While Toru’s story is intimate and introspective, it is interwoven with threads of Japanese history, particularly the atrocities of the Second World War. These historical narratives, told through the recollections of various characters, deepen the novel’s scope, turning it into a meditation on the lingering wounds of the past and their impact on the present.
“The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” also delves into themes of connection and alienation, power and vulnerability, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels inexplicable. Toru’s journey is not just a physical quest but a spiritual and emotional odyssey, forcing him to confront the unseen forces that shape his life and the lives of those around him.
Murakami’s use of symbolism and recurring motifs — cats, wells, and the titular wind-up bird — adds layers of mystery and interpretive richness to the novel. These elements, coupled with the novel’s nonlinear structure and surreal interludes, create a reading experience that is both immersive and disorienting, drawing readers into a world that is as unsettling as it is beautiful.
For longtime fans of Murakami, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is quintessential, showcasing the author’s ability to blend the banal with the extraordinary. For new readers, it offers an expansive introduction to his universe, though its complexity may require patience and reflection.
Ultimately, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is a profound exploration of the human condition — its mysteries, its contradictions, and its quiet beauty. It is a novel that refuses to offer easy answers, instead inviting readers to embrace its ambiguities and immerse themselves in its layered, dreamlike world. Murakami has crafted a story that is as haunting as it is enlightening, leaving an indelible mark on those who dare to journey into its depths.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Galápagos’
Authors: John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin
Galápagos is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and profusely illustrated natural history of this spectacular archipelago.
Offering much more information than identification guides, the book provides detailed accounts and more than 650 color photographs of the islands’ habitats, marine life, reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants, making the book a virtual nature tour of Galápagos.
Galápagos experts John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin have thoroughly revised the original text, bringing all the taxonomy up to date and adding a wealth of new information.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘A Well-Ordered Thing’ by Michael D. Gordon
Dmitrii Mendeleev (1834–1907) is a name we recognize, but perhaps only as the creator of the periodic table of elements.
Generally, little else has been known about him. “A Well-Ordered Thing” is an authoritative biography of Mendeleev that draws a multifaceted portrait of his life for the first time.
As Michael Gordin reveals, Mendeleev was not only a luminary in the history of science, he was also an astonishingly wide-ranging political and cultural figure.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’
Author: Shirley Jackson
“We Have Always Lived in the Castle” is a gothic novel by Shirley Jackson, first published in 1962.
This haunting masterpiece stands as Jackson’s final and perhaps most accomplished work, offering a mesmerizing exploration of isolation, family loyalty, and societal persecution.
The narrative follows Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood, an 18-year-old girl who lives with her older sister Constance and ailing Uncle Julian in their family estate.
The Blackwoods exist in self-imposed isolation following a tragic incident six years prior, when arsenic-laced sugar claimed the lives of most family members during dinner.
Through Merricat’s unreliable narration, Jackson crafts a Gothic tale that masterfully blends psychological horror with social commentary.
The protagonist’s voice is both childlike and unsettling, marked by obsessive rituals and protective magic that she believes keeps their diminished family safe from the hostile outside world.
The story’s genius lies in its layered exploration of themes.
On the surface, it is about two sisters living in seclusion, but beneath runs a deeper current about societal persecution, female autonomy, and the price of being different.
The arrival of Cousin Charles, who threatens their carefully maintained isolation, sets in motion events that reveal the true nature of the sisters’ bond and their relationship with the outside world.
Jackson’s prose is precise and atmospheric, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere that mirrors the sisters’ physical and psychological isolation.
The novel’s examination of how communities treat those they deem different remains painfully relevant.
The townspeople’s treatment of the Blackwood sisters serves as a sharp critique of mob mentality and social ostracism.
“We Have Always Lived in the Castle” offers a deep dive into the human psyche’s darker corners.
It is a short tale about survival, love, and the lengths people will go to protect their own version of happiness, no matter how twisted it might appear to others.
This enduring classic continues to captivate readers with its unique blend of horror, mystery, and psychological insight, cementing Jackson’s reputation as one of American literature’s most distinctive voices.
