Foreword
This book surveys works produced by We Make Carpets over the past six years. The artists, who have backgrounds in art and design, came together in 2009 when they created their first collaborative piece, made up of a collection of forest pine needles and pinecones, for Dutch Design Week. Since then, no object has been off limits for We Make Carpets: stationery items, foodstuffs, toys, party decorations, hardware, bricks, straws, gravel and even paper cups filled with different strengths of coffee have been the raw materials used in abundance to create spectacular mural-sized patterned surfaces. The practice of We Make Carpets is informed by a great appreciation for form and colour, as well as design simplicity. However, a tension exists within their work, perhaps due to the fact they have made the choice to work with mass-produced objects rather than highend design materials. These are objects that co-exist with us in our fast-paced everyday lives, objects made for our modern world. These functional items, usually considered to have no aesthetic value, are transformed into beguiling decorated surfaces, in front of which we pause and find ourselves transfixed, enjoying moments as our eyes trace complex patterns. I am particularly struck by Straw Carpet (2014), a symmetrically patterned floor piece made
up of thousands of disposable drinking straws that turns the lengths of straws into an illusion of beautifully embroidered threads trimmed with a tassel-like border. Equally engaging is Pencil Carpet (2017), made using 11,000 drawing pencils of the same type. This reduction of design variants disciplines the eye to find unique design properties within the object. Rows of deep red pencils form rectangular shapes, and placed at different angles, fine lines of yellow and pink emerge from the pencil’s yellow band and pink rubber tip. The work of We Make Carpets has taken them to different parts of the world, including the city of Melbourne, Australia, where, in late 2017, I first met them at the National Gallery of Victoria. I was constantly impressed with their commitment and work ethic. The work is physically demanding and requires strong technical knowledge; the simplicity of the materials belies the complexity of the actual installation. This publication features 28 site-specific works made by We Make Carpets since 2014. There is much to discover and consider as you view and read. Many of the works are intentionally ephemeral, created to last a very short period. This publication serves to document We Make Carpets’ innovative work and perhaps, in a way, also honour some of the humbler objects of our time.
Tony Ellwood, Director, National Gallery of Victoria – Melbourne, Australia
Contents
Delft the Netherlands
8
38CC
Amsterdam the Netherlands
12
NDSM
Houston U.S.A.
14
Moody Center for the Arts
Eindhoven the Netherlands
22
MU
Tokyo Japan
26
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT
Oss the Netherlands
32
Museum Jan Cunen
Singapore
38
National Gallery Singapore
Middelburg the Netherlands
42
Zeeuws Museum
Jerusalem
54
Jerusalem Design Week
Amsterdam the Netherlands
60
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Montreal Canada
66
Diagonale
Aarhus Denmark
74
LYNfabrikken
Melbourne Australia
76
National Gallery of Victoria
Amsterdam the Netherlands
102
Room on the Roof
Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
108
Qasr Al Hosn Festival
Index
116
Delft the Netherlands
Amsterdam the Netherlands 12
David Krueger, Preparator, Moody Center for the Arts
In 2018, I was asked to help We Make Carpets with the production of Crêpe Paper Carpet. We first needed to find a distributer that could deliver 35,000 sheets of crêpe paper in the colours and quantities specified by the artists. Next, the support system designed by the artists had to be built and installed in the gallery. Once a sufficient quantity of paper was ready, We Make Carpets began to process it. Here, using a cutting knife designed by and specifically manufactured for the artists and a 22-tonne clicker press, began the long process of horizontally cutting the 35,000 sheets in half. This knife left both pieces with a fringed edge like those found on piñatas and a long slit to a 3-centimetre round hole. Seeing the artists process this vast quantity of paper was like watching a well-tuned machine on a fast-moving assembly line. Although the artists might vary their tasks from day to day, a typical day often went like this: a constant supply of whole sheets of crêpe paper was brought in. One person would line up a stack of three sheets in a row of three, making a total of nine onto the knife. The other would then cover this with another board, put in the press, operate the press, move the die forward, then operate the press again.
This double press was necessary to ensure that the fringe cut and the hole were made properly on both halves. Finally, someone would take the two halves, make sure the centre hole had come free, and restack them so the fringed edge was facing the same way. They would then box them up so they could be transported to and organised in the gallery where the exhibition was being held. This process began in the morning and often lasted until 5:00 PM or later. It struck me how similar the process was to traditional handcrafted carpet making: the support structure functioning as the warp, the paper as the weft, and the design being repeated through a selection of colour and counting, much as one would do with yarn. The installation was incredibly labour-intensive, but We Make Carpets was surprisingly relaxed given the enormity of the project. For me, what I found most exciting was taking such a lightweight, ephemeral material like crêpe paper and turning it into a soft, stable, substantial, geometric block of vivid colour. It was with great sadness for everyone when the exhibition ended, but that sadness was tempered by being able to donate all the crêpe paper used in the project to the Houston Independent School District for use in art classes throughout the city. 14
Houston U.S.A.
15
Eindhoven the Netherlands
22
Page 8 – 11 Straw Carpet (2014) 38CC Delft the Netherlands
Page 40 Tube Carpet 3 (2018) National Gallery Singapore Singapore
Page 12 – 13 C-Chain Carpet (2017) NDSM Amsterdam the Netherlands
Page 41 Tube Carpet 4 (2018) National Gallery Singapore Singapore
Page 16 – 21 Crêpe Paper Carpet (2016) Moody Center for the Arts Houston U.S.A.
Page 46 – 47, 51 Mussel Carpet (2017) Zeeuws Museum Middelburg the Netherlands
Page 23 – 25 Gravel Carpet (2014) MU Eindhoven the Netherlands
Page 48 – 49, 50 Razor Clam Carpet (2017) Zeeuws Museum Middelburg the Netherlands
Page 28 – 31 Hook Carpet (2016) 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Tokyo Japan
Page 50, 52 – 53 Shell Carpet (2017) Zeeuws Museum Middelburg the Netherlands
Page 32 – 37 MDF Carpet (2016) Museum Jan Cunen Oss the Netherlands
Page 57 – 59 Pencil Carpet (2017) Jerusalem Design Week Jerusalem
Page 39 Sponge Carpet 3 (2018) National Gallery Singapore Singapore
Page 61 – 65 Pin Carpet (2016) Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Amsterdam the Netherlands
116
Page 68 – 71 Paperclip Carpet 2 (2016) Diagonale Montreal Canada
Page 92 – 93 Tube Carpet (2018) National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia
Page 72 – 73 Rubberband Carpet 2 (2016) Diagonale Montreal Canada
Page 94 – 97 Tube Carpet 2 (2018) National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia
Page 74 – 75 Carpet Carpet (2015) LYNfabrikken Aarhus Denmark
Page 98 – 101 Velcro Carpet (2018) National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia
Page 80 – 83 Rope Carpet (2018) National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia
Page 103 Cocktail Carpet 2 (2015) Room on the Roof Amsterdam the Netherlands
Page 84 – 85, 87 Shuttlecock Carpet (2018) National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia
Page 104 – 105, 107 Stirrer Carpet (2015) Room on the Roof Amsterdam the Netherlands
Page 88 – 89 Peg Carpet 2 (2018) National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia
Page 106 Umbrella Carpet 2 (2015) Room on the Roof Amsterdam the Netherlands
Page 91 Sponge Carpet 2 (2018) National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia
Page 108 – 115 Woven Pavilion (2019) Qasr Al Hosn Festival Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
117
We Make Carpets is
Marcia Nolte Stijn van der Vleuten Bob Waardenburg www.wemakecarpets.nl info@wemakecarpets.nl
Texts by
Tony Ellwood Shira Glick and Eitam Tubul Chloé Grondeau Caroline Krouwels David Krueger Tatsuya Maemura Kate Ryan Anouk Swart Ivo van Werkhoven Tim Zeedijk
Translations by
Julie Miracle
Design by
sssssst – Julius van der Vaart & Peter van der West
Typefaces used
Maison Neue, Noto Sans JP
Printed on
170 grams Sappi Magno Volume (inside) 300 grams Munken Polar (cover)
Produced by
Graven 13
In an edition of
1.000 copies
ISBN
978-94-6226-385-7
Photography by
We Make Carpets except for Page 26 - 31 by Amy Kouwenhoven Page 54 - 59 by Tomek Dersu Aaron Page 96 and 98 - 99 by Ewout Huibers Page 97 and 100 - 101 by Gert-Jan van Rooij
Published by
Lecturis Galileïstraat 2 5621 AE Eindhoven
Supported by