Untitled Noren Partition (23)

2009

Rowland Ricketts

(American, b. 1971)

Culture

America

Medium

indigo dyed antique mosquito netting in plain weave, paste resist

Measurements

Overall: 170.2 x 184.2 cm (67 x 72 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of The Textile Art Alliance 2012.50

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Ricketts grows, harvests, and processes all of his indigo dyes naturally.

Description

Ricketts designs textiles using the same techniques Japanese indigo workers perfected over centuries. The doorway curtain, or noren, first appeared in Japan during the Heian Period (794–1185). These colorful curtains often adorn the outside of shops and buildings throughout Japan and signify to the customer what types of goods or services are inside. Ricketts subverts the use of noren as an object that separates spaces by using his weaving and dyeing process to connect himself and his viewers to thousands of years of traditional crafting.