Conservation Responsibility: It is not surprising that the huge lace map panel cannot be hung permanently, due to stress from gravitational pull and the limitations of the design (not strong enough). The map is even larger than the slopes that some museums build for rotating exhibits of quilts. Both lace and quilts tend to be hand-worked in several directions (bias), and it becomes quite pronounced within a short time of being exhibited vertically. The heavier the piece, the more distorted it becomes. Ignored, the textile will rip apart at the weakest points. This is a major reason that handmade lace curtains have not survived in great numbers. Slopes are like huge wooden boxes, placed open-side-down on the floor, with the top elevated (maybe up to 9 or more feet) and the front edge about a foot from the floor (Think of a bed with no legs at the foot edge, but hiked up at the end with pillows.) They have a museum-quality cover, usually some sort of textile, to protect the artifact from the off-gasing of wood-born acids. Even so, a exhibit change should be made every 3-4 months. The special artifact needs to rest in storage, away from light and dust particles, and with more easy-to-manage temperature/humidity controls than are available in a museum gallery. No responsible museum shows such large items permanently. It would be totally irresponsible and disrespectful to the makers. This is a basic lesson to learn about conservation of textiles - it falls into the category of "First, do no harm". The lace map will (hopefully) be shown on rare and special occasions. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
In a message dated 5/7/2011 4:55:09 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, sueba...@comcast.net writes: Sadly it is no longer displayed in the theatre : Apparently they stopped using it about a year ago. As far as I understand they had been having dif ficulties in keeping the lace taut, and so decided to stop displaying it. This was a huge piece of bobbin lace worked in Puerto Rico - a map of the world - The curtain was a collaboration between Antonio Martorell, one of Puerto Rico's most noted visual and graphic artists and a collective of tejedoras (lacemakers), the Borinquen Lacers. The curtain was a collaboration between Antonio Martorell, one of Puerto Rico's most noted visual and graphic artists and a collective of tejedoras (lacemakers), the Borinquen Lacers. The curtain was a collaboration between Antonio Martorell, one of Puerto Rico's most noted visual and graphic artists and a collective of tejedoras (lacemakers), the Borinquen Lacers. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
