Viewing page 39 of 51

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

Fm. Betty Werther, Paris
SHEILA HICKS MOROCCAN WALL RUGS
The highly original thread constructions being made by a talented group of international artists are among the most important and exciting developments on the current art scene. Sometimes termed "wall hangings" or "textile sculptures" for want of a more specific denomination, these still fall into the tapestry category although they bear little or no resemblance to the flat, decorative composition based on a painted cartoon. Very often abandonning the loom altogether, the new artists use a variety of thread, both natural and synthetic, and, combining ancient techniques with modern technology, create the mural reliefs, the free standing or hanging forms which are being so widely used by modern architects as antidote to their functional and utilitarian materials.

The contemporary individuality of these constructions also offers fertile areas for expansion to developing countries where a traditional handicraft industry forms a vital sector of the national economy.

To prove the point, the Moroccan government recently invited American artist Sheila Hicks, one of the principle leaders of the movement, to help revitalize part of their highly reknowned but strongly traditional rug industry in order to broaden their European and North American markets by reaching an increasingly design conscious clientele.

Virtually all attempts to modernize even a small sector of Moroccan rug production have failed in the past. Handwoven by some 60,000 artisans (mechanically made versions are prohibited by law), Moroccan carpets are steeped in religious and social significance. For the nomadic Arabs, they comprised the most important and sometimes only furnishing in the tent. They were symbol of status and