Today I will have the great fun of giving a lecture on Frida Hansen’s tapestry, Sørover [Southward], to a LIVE audience at Peter Pap Oriental Rugs in Dublin, New Hampshire. I’ve given two webinars and four other lectures to various weavers guilds about Frida Hansen and her work in the past couple of years, but all via zoom. I realized last night at the rug show opening that it is so marvelous to talk with people in person, to see their reactions to the tapestry, and to answer the questions they have about the image, the artist, and tapestry technique. The lecture is at 4 pm.
An extra feature: Today at 2 (eastern time), I will show the tapestry via Instagram Live: @robbie_lafleur. My friend, the excellent tapestry weaver Kristin Kelley-Munoz, will be joining me. I can show you the tapestry as an old friend; Kristin will see it for the first time. This is my first attempt at Instagram Live. (Be kind with your criticisms.)
We’ll chat just a bit during Instagram Live. If you would like to see more of Frida Hansen’s work, and learn more about the rediscovery of Southward, watch these webinars sponsored by Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.
Frida Hansen: A Norwegian Art Nouveau Artist in Wool
The Mystery of the Missing Swans and Maidens: A Frida Hansen Tapestry Tale
Many articles about Frida Hansen and Southward are found here: https://norwegiantextileletter.com/sorover/
This is the second time I have seen the tapestry at Peter Pap’s gallery, before and after cleaning. If you remember, I was bowled over by the color of the tapestry the first time I saw it. I had only sen a fuzzy black-and-white photo before that. But even if the colors in the two photos are not exactly the same, you can see the difference that removing more than a century of dust makes!
More photos later! The gallery is like a candy store for textile lovers.