Summary
Lili Blumenau (1912–1976) was an American fiber artist. She was a pivotal figure in the development of fiber arts and textile arts, particularly weaving, in the United States during the mid-part of the 20th century.
Lili Blumenau | |
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| Born | November 28, 1912 Berlin, Germany |
| Died | September 6, 1976 (aged 63) Bronx New York |
| Known for | Textile art |
Early life and education edit
Blumenau was born on November 28, 1912 in Berlin, Germany.[1] Blumenau is a graduate of the Akademie der Künste (Berlin), the Académie scandinave in Paris, and was the first woman to graduate from the New York School of Textile Technology.[2] She also studied at Black Mountain College.[3]
Work and career edit
After her education, Blumenau went on to become an instructor in several schools in New York City including Columbia University's Teacher's College, where she started a weaving workshop. She founded the weaving department at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Design in 1952.[2] In addition to maintaining her own weaving studio on Tenth Street in Manhattan, she served as the curator of textiles at Cooper Union Museum from 1944 to 1950.[2]
In 1955 Blumenau authored the text The Art and Craft of Hand Weaving, Including Fabric Design,[4] which had a significant impact on her field. This text provided technical details and patterns for loom weaving as well as a conceptual approach to the methodologies of hand weaving as "engaging, fully-human, and life-giving".[2] Her work provided inspiration to the Catholic Worker Movement, a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics to whom she taught weaving to several members at the Peter Maurin Farm.[5] In 1975 Blumenau was awarded Fellow of the Council by the American Craft Council.[6] Blumenau died on September 6, 1976 in the Bronx.[1]
Collections edit
Lili Blumenau's works are in the permanent collection at the Cooper Hewitt Museum[7] and the Museum of Arts and Design.[8]
References edit
- ^ a b Falino, Jeannine (2011). Crafting modernism: midcentury American art and design: [exhibition Crafting modernism. Midcentury American art and design, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, October 11, 2011 - January 15, 2012; Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, February 27 - May 21, 2012]. New York: Abrams. p. 270. ISBN 978-0810984806.
- ^ a b c d "The Art and Craft of Hand Weaving--Lili Blumenau". Boreal Weaver: An Online Diary. March 11, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Koplos, Janet; Metcalf, Bruce (2010). Makers: a history of American studio craft. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina press. p. 235. ISBN 9780807834138.
- ^ Blumenau, Lili (1956). The Art and Craft of Hand Weaving: Including Fabric Design. New York: Crowne Publishers.
- ^ "Rediscovering the Sacramentality of Things". Boreal Weaver. February 15, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "College of Fellows". American Craft Council. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. "Lili Blumenau". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ^ "Casement Cloth". The Museum of Arts and Design. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
Additional sources edit
- Adams, Alice. "Lili Blumenau." Craft Horizons v.22, no. 2 (March 1962) p.16-20.
- Blumenau, Lili. "Experiments in Sample Weaving." Craft Horizons v.17, no. 2 ( March 1957) p. 18-22.
- "Lili Blumenau, 1912-1976." Craft Horizons v.37, no.1 (February 1977) p. 10.