Symposium Black Sheep, 1 Dec 2024, Moravian Gallery in Brno
Symposium Black Sheep: On the (Im)possibilities of Preserving Wool Crafts in a Local Context, Including the Art Protis Technique
1 December 2024, 10:00–15:00, Moravian Gallery in Brno, Pražák Palace
The symposium will take place at Pražák Palace in Brno as part of the accompanying programme of the Jindřich Chalupecký Award 2024 exhibition and is organised by the Faculty of Fine Arts of Brno University of Technology.
The symposium will showcase the locally unique Art Protis technique. Production of these tapestries began in the 1960s and, after a “golden era,” has since undergone several declines, both in quality and ideology. This 60th anniversary year is dedicated primarily to technical and technological challenges. We are interested in when the preservation of a craft or tradition ceases to be an individual concern and becomes institutionalised in its field. What past attempts have been made to sustain this technique? Art Protis is originally firmly tied to sheep's wool, a currently debated material. At the same time, the existence and future of the wool industry in our country rest in the hands of a few enthusiasts, breeders, and producers. The symposium aims to raise awareness about the issues associated with the production of local wool, which has unique qualities. Wool is not only Merino; it is an umbrella term for an incredibly diverse material with many forms and specific characteristics. An essential theme of the symposium is to provide a comprehensive view not only of Art Protis itself but also of the material from which it is made. In an Art Protis piece, themes of the textile and wool industries, local breeding of wool sheep breeds, and artisanal or artistic processing are intertwined. Can sheep's wool be a sustainable, functional, and aesthetic material of the future? The purpose of the symposium is to discuss the current state and the (im)possibilities of reviving the Art Protis technique and the local wool industry.
Introduction / Presentation of participants: Judita Levitnerová & Kateřina Žák Konvalinová
Session: CRAFT (10:00-12:00)
This session will focus on local conditions of design and craft practice. Contributions will address building the necessary infrastructure. It will include examples of personal projects with public outreach, addressing issues of preserving and updating traditions. Speakers will discuss how the craft is thriving in our country and what they consider crucial for its further development.
– Refreshment break / Tři Ocásci –
Session: SUSTAINABILITY (13:00-15:00)
This session will address the issue of long-term knowledge preservation through mutual learning, sharing, and collaboration. The presentations will deal with taking on responsibilities that often exceed individual capacities. Sustainability in this context is understood as environmental, labour, and a temporal horizon of the usefulness of traditional methods and materials.
Speakers:
– Světlana Ruggiero Kulíšková: Art Protis in Italy
Designer, artist, and teacher at SŠUD in Brno. She is the creative director at the Archa Foundation and works for Low-Beer textiles. She has popularised Art Protis. By experimenting with materials other than wool, she has created collections for world fashion brands.
– Ivo Brzobohatý: ART-DOMUS
Mechanical engineer and Art Protis veteran. Former director of ART-DOMUS, which privatised the Art Protis machine. He currently maintains the machine at SŠUD in Brno.
– Andrea Březinová: Absence of a Textile Museum in Brno
Curator of the textile collection at the Moravian Gallery.
– Linda Kaplanová: Textile and Wool in Interior Design
Textile designer, head of the Textile Studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, and co-founder of the Geometr Studio. During the summer semester of 2024, the textile studio, in collaboration with the K.O.V. studio led by Tadeáš Podracký and Romana Drdová (now Kateřina Jirsová), focused on the theme of wool and its processing. The results of this joint art-research project, VLNA, were presented at Dutch Design Week 2024. Wool and its processing is also a key theme in the current international cooperation established with universities in Eindhoven and Stockholm.
– Linda Havrlíková: Local Wool Processing from Scratch – from Fleece to Fabric and Wool Garments
Textile designer and small-scale sheep breeder. By processing local wool, including that from her own sheep, she creates timeless, bespoke fashion and designer fabrics, for which she received the prestigious Peter Bruckner Prize in 2024. She addresses sustainability issues in textile production, slow fashion, and circular principles in garment design.
– Filip Kubák: Issues Associated with Maintaining Tradition and Craft in a (Family) Medium-Sized Business
Head of the family business Tkalcovna Kubák Strmilov. This weaving mill has a long tradition dating back to 1870 and now primarily produces designer home textiles. Only 100% natural materials are used in production, including wool, cotton, and linen. They process Czech wool from fleece to the final product (blankets, throws, yarn, etc.).
– Eva Vobrová: Systematic Support for Local Craft Wool Processing
Runs the website and e-shop dobrodej.cz, offering everything for creative and craft processing of sheep wool, as well as other materials and tools for traditional textile crafts, particularly spinning, weaving, and dyeing. She is a member of the Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders, where she is active in the Wool Processors' Club. She organises various textile-craft courses and holds wool celebrations at Toulcův dvůr in Prague. She has long been involved in the sustainability of textile crafts and their systematic support. In her own work, she currently focuses on artistic yarn.
– Vladimíra Křenková: Processing Wool in a Small Family Enterprise (Minimill) and Suitable Sheep Breeds for Local Conditions
Member of the Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders and the Club of Processors of Wool and Other Natural Materials. Together with her husband, she runs a small farm in the Jeseníky Mountains, where they breed the original Valaška breed. Besides washing and processing wool, they are also engaged in open restorative grazing around Praděd and Petrovy Stones. Through the Jesenické vlnění project and the Stránské Civic Association, they are building a small raw wool processing facility and organising various craft courses.
The symposium was created at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Brno University of Technology, as part of the project “WOOL IN CONTEMPORARY ART AND ARCHITECTURE," funded by targeted support for specific university research provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in 2024.
| Author | Mgr. Tímea Vitázková |
|---|---|
| Published | |
| Short URL | https://www.favu.vut.cz/en/students/news-and-calls/f26745/d268456 |
Responsibility: Hana Křížová