where the vertical warp threads of the ground
cloth are hand dyed and woven on the loom and then stretched over a frame. A further application of gestural acrylic paint onto the finished surface results in an opaque ‘floating’ foreground in contrast to the linear woven ground. This added step merges the ‘soak stain painting’ technique of the Abstract Expressionist movement with a Bauhaus vision of art making through craftmanship. This combination of techniques creates a dynamic three-dimensional play on the real definition of what painting arguably is: it is a textile.
This raises, once again, what is the relationship between weaving and painting? What is a painting if not a piece of woven cloth with pigment applied to it? As a dyer and weaver, I am uniquely able to control the moment of intervention. The colour can be added before, during, or after the threads are woven. The hand-woven cloth forms the exquisite canvas on which to paint. It is the moment when pigment intervenes (i.e., pigmentation) that defines the difference between textile and fine art.
Consider, for example: if a painter takes a machine-woven piece of canvas and adds paint or pigment onto its surface, it’s considered a ‘painting’ – a ‘fine’ artwork; if a weaver constructs a piece of cotton cloth from hand dyed threads – threads that are dyed before they are placed on the loom – the pigment intervention is occurring ‘before’ the cloth is woven (a variation of ikat), which in turn creates a ‘canvas’ that is hand woven, situating itself in a space described as craft or design or textile. There is, however, a third option (as described above) where the threads are dyed, woven, and stretched before paint is added on top of the cloth – consequently, combining both textile and fine art painting traditions onto the same surface. It seems the intervention of pigment (again, pigmentation) can take place before, during, or after the act of weaving; and, perhaps, it is this sequence that ultimately could define a new methodology. For me, it signals another 30-plus years of research and art making; but ultimately this pursuit of ‘Significant Colour,’ through thread and paint, remains utterly captivating.
To watch a Vimeo video of Ptolemy Mann at work, which was produced by Made by Third, click on the following link:: https://vimeo.com/255041227
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You can learn more about Ptolemy Mann by visiting:
www.ptolemymann.com