Designing Dynamism - by Vanessa Drake Moraga & Stephen Burks & Annie Carlano & Joel Smeltzer (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The textile designs of the Kuba people of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo are outstanding examples of dynamic pattern design and inventive textile technologies. The historic textiles were made for tribute, funerary offerings, and ceremonial attire, expressing wealth and status, by members of various groups in the multi-ethnic Kuba kingdom. Exceptional in their graphic sophistication, geometric abstractions, and predilection for asymmetry and discontinuous surface design, they were created for Kuba aristocracy and high-ranking title holders. Western dignitaries admired the sumptuous surface of the textiles that were acquired for both liturgical and royal collections. By the late nineteenth century Kuba textiles appeared on the market in Europe, and by the early 20th century were acquired by artists such as Henri Matisse, Suzanna Valadon, and Sonia Delaunay. Designing Dynamism will feature the most technologically complex and visually potent of all Kuba textiles, the prestige squares. Woven by men and boys of raffia fibers, the cloth is then covered with flat embroidery stitches or cut pile, resembling velvet, by women. The rhythmic offbeat register of the pattern motifs is enlivened by the strong contrast of the dark and light natural colors. Included in the exhibition will be examples of women's overskirts, a ceremonial skirt, two Kuba beaded belt designs, a carved pigment box, and a few examples of modern and contemporary textile designs influenced by the Kuba aesthetic will also be included, such as those by Wesley Mancini, Charlotte based textile designer and collector. The exhibition will be accompanied by a scholarly and lavishly illustrated catalogue by D Giles Ltd, edited by Annie Carlano, with a major essay by independent scholar Vanessa Drake Moraga and contributions by Carlano and by designer Stepen Burks, who will also design the exhibition and interactive space"--

Book Synopsis

A dynamic, bold, exploration of the breadth of the Kuba design aesthetic and its lasting impact on early twentieth-century modernism through to the present day.

The textiles of the historic, multi-ethnic Kuba kingdom, (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), represent the most intact and cohesive tradition in the region, and are exceptional for their artistic caliber, graphic sophistication, and complexity of style. The written story of Kuba cloth begins with encounters in the early sixteenth century between the coastal Congo kingdoms and European explorers who were impressed by the elegance and intricacy of Congo weaving. In the early twentieth century the Kuba improvisational abstract aesthetic captivated the Western avant-garde, influencing fashion, fabric design, and the decorative arts.

In addition to presenting full colour plates of up to fifty pieces, Designing Dynamism features illustrations of modern European textiles, contemporary woven Wesley Mancini fabrics and an illustrated introduction to Kuba textiles. The volume also includes an essay on Kuba design and its influence on modern and contemporary designers, and an essay by the only African American to have won the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Product Design. A brief illustrated section focuses on the embroidery techniques of prestige cloths.

Accompanies an exhibition at The Mint Museum, NC.

About the Author

Vanessa Drake Moraga is an independent researcher, curator and writer specializing in the textile arts. She is the co-author of African Textiles (2022).

Annie Carlano is senior Curator of Craft, Design & Fashion at The Mint Museum, NC.

Stephen Burks is an award-winning designer and a professor of architecture at Columbia University.

Joel Smeltzer is the head of School and Gallery Programs at The Mint Museum, NC.