Modernist Textile Pattern Work by Emil Pirchan

Illustration: Emil Pirchan. Woven textile design, c1909.

Emil Pirchan is perhaps better known for his work in the German theatre, particularly in set design, much of which was produced during the early part of the twentieth century. However, as with many artists and designers of his period, Pirchan was also involved as an educationist and as a designer in a number of disciplines, including textiles.

The illustrations produced in this article show a variety of both printed and woven textiles produced by Pirchan in about 1909. They are an interesting example of some of the results that he achieved in direct geometrical pattern work, similar to the results of many of his contemporaries who were producing sometimes quite radical textile design work across Central Europe, and particularly in Germany, during the first decade and a half of the twentieth century, before the start of the First World War.

Illustration: Emil Pirchan. Woven textile design, c1909.

Although Pirchan was born in what is now Brno in the modern Czech Republic, he spent much of his career first in Vienna and then in Munich and although he was involved primarily within the theatre, his work in textile design is a good example of some of the leading developments in contemporary textile design and pattern work during the early twentieth century. Pirchan's examples, although by no means singular, do show the capacity of the creative designer to embrace the aspirations and ideals of the new century while also reflecting the real and tangible results of the contemporary as seen in mass production methods, modular architecture and fine art abstract development.

The particular interest that Germany seemed to have in the acknowledgement of the contemporary within the decorative arts can be seen in some of the work produced by Pirchan during this period. There was a an interest, even fascination, with the ideal of the machine and its capacity for the unswerving and unchanging reproduction through the industrial process. Rather than taking the stand, as many in England did, of seeing the idea of mass production as the enemy of creativity, many German designers tried to understand and acknowledge the place that the industrial process held in a contemporary society. By recognising, even conceding, that the machine could not be removed or discarded as regards the production of contemporary textiles for example, this then allowed the designer to embrace the practical and technical aspects of production. In turn this then helped to fuel a different kind of design and pattern that would both compliment the process of mass production, while also allowing contemporary innovation to be seen in the end product.

 Illustration: Emil Pirchan. Printed textile designs, c1909.

By embracing the practical technology of mass production, textile design work in Germany during the early years of the twentieth century was often, although not always, aligned with the strictness of the geometric. Woven fabrics were particularly sensitive to geometry as they were largely constructed from fibres arranged on the horizontal and vertical. This allowed the woven fabric to naturally follow a simple geometrical pattern of right-angles as can be seen in some of the examples produced by Pirchan. That these were also then taken across to printed textiles which did not have the same technical constraints as the woven process, shows perhaps the expansion of interest in both the structure of the highly limited but often hypnotically captivating appearance of the seemingly unlimited repetitive quality of the pattern work, along with the imposed geometrical and its increasing alliance with the idea and ideal of the contemporary as seen by those living in the first couple of decades of the twentieth century. This was a century after all, that was seen by many within the design field as one with a huge potential for fundamental change in all avenues and not just that along the lines of a redefinition of pattern and decoration.

 Illustration: Emil Pirchan. Printed textile designs, c1909.

That there were sometimes obvious compromises made within this highly structured geometric format perhaps goes without saying. Although some pattern work during this period closely followed the remit of a simple and sometimes brutal appearing repetition, other designers took elements of both, the implication of mass production as well as that of artistic individualism, mixing the two sometimes effectively, sometimes not. However, the often uncompromising look of geometrically inspired pattern work was a stand taken by the contemporary world, often against quite substantial opposition from critics and designers, many of whom had spent much of their careers in the previous nineteenth century. Although it is too simplistic to paint a them and us scenario between the older and younger generations of designers, this form of near abstract pattern work formed an interesting and quite important development within the history of the role of pattern in European textile design that was to have an effect on the future of the direction that the decorative arts were to take, at least in Central Europe.

Illustration: Emil Pirchan. Woven textile design, c1909.

Many of the features that were to eventually become recognisable as the Bauhaus style, particularly amongst their textile production, can be seen in Germany within these early years and in some respects the textile design work produced by such individuals as Pirchan could be seen as a form of pre-Bauhaus because of their close alliance, at least in appearance, but also in their sympathy with the contemporary world and its reliance on the available technology along with its production methods, which was to an extent, to guide mass production textile pattern work for some time to come.

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A Celebration of Textile Art

Some may remember the series of articles that The Textile Blog produced on a number of contemporary textile artists. I thought it a timely reminder not so much to reflect on the articles themselves, but the idea of textile art as a title. Many still see the impossibility of the words 'textile' and 'art' being in the same sentence, at least without being derogatory. It is often thought that textile art is a branch of craft, and while techniques used by textile artists do often derive from a craft foundation, whether that be through quilting, embroidery, printing, weaving, tapestry, knit, lace, felt and others, it does not negate the conceptual thought that often goes into a textile art piece.

Happily for many, we have come a long way from the idea that textile art should be considered a lesser subject than fine art. In fact, it is just one of the many tools that an artist can use as a form of self-expression. It is also a discipline that is loaded with complex and diverse forms of making and shows an extraordinary capacity for self-perpetuating individualism and the unique qualities that can only be found within the textile genre.

Textile art is growing strongly, and in many of the traditional craft skills that are often assumed near-dead, individuals have breathed new life into tried and tested formulas, often completely breaking the rules of tradition, producing new and innovative ideas that are then pushed on by others. Interestingly and happily, there is no real centre to contemporary textile art. It can be found from Alaska to New Zealand, and can reflect the flavour of local heritage and culture or can project outwards a truly international aspect.

In many ways, as the title of this article suggests, this is a celebration not only of textile art itself, but how far it has come and how healthy seems its journey ahead. There are many artists, who have now become established names in their own right, and there are new generations of artists, some of whom approached textile art from the wide textile craft base, but interestingly there are also those that are approaching textiles from a fine art background.

One thing that I have always noticed about the textile art world is how enthusiastic, supportive and accommodating it is to a whole range of diverse approaches. All seem accepted, the professional, the amateur, the traditionalist and the contemporary and this is surely how it should be. There should always be room for creative free-expression. One of the great strengths of textile art is the fact that so many techniques are involved and can be so on one individual art piece. The skills base itself is extraordinary with textile artists being proficient often in a whole range of traditional as well as highly contemporary techniques and ideas. As long as textile artists can project themselves into the modern world, in many respects they keep the traditional skills of quilting, embroidery, printing, weaving, tapestry, knit, lace, felt and so many others, alive and self-refreshing. In this way the hand-produced textile disciplines can be passed on to new generations, who will hopefully re-evaluate and then project a new identity to those traditions.

Textile art is a fascinating world full of possibilities. It often involves a cross-disciplinary assumption that is not always favoured by all members of the creative world. However, textile artists themselves often produce work that is layered with both meaning and identity. That the layering can also be an accumulation of a diverse technical ability, can often be seen as a liberation rather than a betrayal of craft or art roots. Either way it appears obvious that textile art is both an important part of the contemporary creative world, as well as expanding and maturing into a discipline that counts.

The mosaic illustration that goes with this article shows the work of all 38 artists that were featured on The Textile Blog. They can all be found on the Textile Artists page by pressing the tab just below the main header of the blog, or you can follow this link.

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