By Carol Huset Colburn
Originally published in Norwegian Folk Art: The Migration of a Tradition, Marion Nelson, Editor. New York : Abbeville Press, 1995.
Read the essay here: https://norwegiantextileletter.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/colburn.pdf Additional folk costume photos here: https://norwegiantextileletter.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/folk-dress.pdf
Carol Colburn looked back on the exhibit and the essay she wrote 25 years ago in this Q and A, May 2020.
Q & A – Robbie LaFleur and Carol Colburn
Robbie: Would you like to say something about your memories of the exhibition and/or the book?
Carol: Marion Nelson and Lila Nelson were important mentors early in my career. In the mid-1970s, Marion asked this question of all his Art History students at the University of Minnesota – “What do you want to do with your life?” At that time, my answer was a bit ambitious – “Save the world’s textiles.” Hearing that, he suggested starting with Norwegian textiles and arranged an internship at Vesterheim Museum in Decorah, where he was also Director. There I began studying the collection while delving into a textile conservation project with Lila, Registrar and Curator of Textiles at the museum. With inspiration and guidance from Marion and Lila, I began to do research more specifically on Norwegian-American immigrant clothing, hoping to answer questions that arose from studying that collection.
Almost 20 years later it was a late night 1993 when I was awakened by a phone call from Marion, calling from NYC. Having completed meetings at the Museum of American Folk Art, the plan for a traveling exhibition Migration of a Tradition was coming together. For the catalog, he needed a commitment immediately for contributing an essay on Norwegian folk dress in America. I had most of the research already, from my work in the archives at Vesterheim and at the Norwegian American Historical Association. Marion and Lila would both help with editing and focusing my article to address themes Marion intended to explore in his curation of the exhibition.
Viewing the exhibition in three of the museum venues reinforced for me the central theme of migration of folk art. Different perspectives on this theme emerged as it was presented and received in Minnesota, New York City and Oslo – more or less in reverse order of emigration from Norway. Marion’s curatorial focus on the people (the folk in folk art) who made this art hit home to me – each piece reflects an artisan’s aspiration, reaching across geography and time.
The exhibition opened first at the Minnesota Museum of American Art (Landmark Center location) in St. Paul. The Midwest is home for many of the contemporary artisans represented in the exhibit, so the opening was well attended by those folks, along with the eager public. Later that year at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City, an international seminar offered the opportunity for everyone involved in developing the catalog and exhibit to gather and to expand on our topics in public presentations. At the opening of the exhibition at the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo, I remember the reception spilling out from the galleries into the open air museum grounds, accompanied by musicians and tables of traditional foods. What could be better?
Aagot Noss wrote the essay which precedes my essay in the catalog, and I felt honored to be in the same publication. I am indebted to her work, which illuminates the translation of the language of clothing that happened in America. In the years between 1992 and 2011, I made about 15 research trips to Norway, always visiting with Aagot to discuss current projects. In her long career as Curator and then Head Curator at the Norsk Folkemuseum, she gave us knowledge of the history and meanings of Norwegian rural folk dress traditions with oral histories, film, collecting, and writing. A prolific author since the 1970s, after the summary essay written for this catalog, she went on to publish seven additional books between 1996 and 2012, documenting her detailed knowledge of the dress of specific Norwegian regions.
Looking through the catalog again, now I am aware of what is not there. There is no essay specifically about woven textiles, although the items chosen for the exhibit included a rich selection of historical and contemporary weavings. Weaving in America and Norway is discussed within the essays by Marion Nelson and Albert Steen respectively. Lila Nelson would have been the logical author for an essay on weaving, but in this catalog what we have instead is her strong presence and knowledge of the Vesterheim woven textile collection as it is represented in illustrations and captions. Her fostering of weaving in the contemporary community of weavers has been recognized through her teaching at Vesterheim for many years, and included in the exhibition and catalog is an example of her own Vestfold weaving from 1987.
Robbie: Do you have comments on changes in the use of folk dress since you wrote the article?
Carol: In Norway and America my observation has been that interest in historical folk dress, Norwegian national costume, and each regional folk dress and bunad has increased in the last decades and remains strong in the 21st century. On both sides of the Atlantic, on the individual and family level, and still within heritage organizations in America, these handmade garments are treasured for the art and craft involved in their making, as well as the history and cultural associations embodied in wearing them. Increased ease of travel has increased awareness among Americans. For some, this travel throughout Norway leads to visits to Husflid (home craft) shops in Oslo or in small towns, where purchasing materials or completed garments is easy, if expensive. Expert embroidery and sewing instruction is available back in America. I have come to realize that “Saving the world’s textiles” can also mean passing on the skills required in their making. The recent flourishing of the teaching of craft in folk schools across the country provides an environment where these skills are sustained.
Robbie: Any follow-up that happened as a result of the publication?
Carol: I will relate a recent family story, which brought to mind the ideas in this article, and led me to understand the historical record in a very personal way. Heritage on both sides of my family is from Norway, but I’ve never seen any old photographs of relatives wearing traditional dress, and I’ve known of no textile items that were handed down. Then in 2017 I received a question from my second cousin. Among her mother’s things she found a red wool women’s vest and two beaded pieces stored together, but it was not clear how they might fit together.
Breastplate owned by Daisy Rood. Photo: Carol Colburn.
The vest had a hand-written label with the name Daisy Rood, our great aunt, born in 1891. In two generations, the recognition and meaning of this Hardanger-style set of pieces belonging to a Norwegian national costume had been completely lost. In fact, the three pieces together reflect very closely the garments depicted 1890s post card pictured in color at the start of this article. The vest, beaded breastplate and beaded belt were treasured enough to be handed down in the family, but their story was lost.
Postcard from Norway illustrating national costume, Ca. 1890s. Color postcards of this kind could have been an inspiration to Norwegian Americans who made their own costumes. The decorative designs in the beadwork appear to be drawn on the photograph for clarity. Carol Huset Colburn.
Although I can’t know for sure if my great aunt Daisy looked at this post card to make her Hardanger national costume, clearly she had worn the vest and beadwork together, perhaps for folk dance, or for other festive occasions. The Rood family was active in South Minneapolis Norwegian-American organizations such as Valdres Samband (a bygdelag organization), and Sons of Norway. I won’t know all the answers – but it was rewarding to piece together this small family puzzle, and to share this essay with my cousin. Maybe the essay will answer questions others have about the significance of dress as a reflection of heritage, among Norwegian-Americans or in the broader context within the mosaic of immigrant cultures in America.
Thank you Robbie and NTL for this project of re-publishing the catalog essays and photographs representing textiles and clothing from the exhibition. Now I am going to re-read the other essays in the catalog, revisiting the themes explored with a 21st century perspective.
Recent resources to explore:
Digitalmuseum.no A free database of artifacts from Norwegian and Swedish museums. Contains many images of folk dress, national costume, and other folk art.
Magasinet bunad (“The Bunad Magazine”) A publication in Norwegian language, issued twice yearly. Beautifully illustrated articles and ads showcase historical folk dress and current bunad traditions. Subscription available through Vesterheim Museum Store.