Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum Webinars
Exploring Sami Coastal Handcraft, with Hege Nilsen. Sunday, June 4, 2023. 1:00-2:00 pm CT. Cost: Free
Join folk artist and culture-bearer Hege Nilsen for a conversation exploring the traditional handcraft of the Coastal Sámi. From leatherwork, to pewter thread braiding and embroidery, to mica embellishments, you will learn about the folk art still made by this segment of Scandinavia’s indigenous people.
Natural Dyeing: Historical Handcraft as a Living Art, with Lesley Darling. Saturday, June 10, 2023. 1:00-2:00 pm CT. Cost: free
Has the growing popularity of natural dyes made you curious about the process? Join textile artist and educator Lesley Darling for a webinar on the history of natural dyes across cultures, ideas to start saving your own dyes, and how you can learn more about the process. Lesley will also talk about how plant based dyes are making waves across the planet, from fashion labels and Nordic traditions to naturally dyeing dresses for an internationally celebrated drag artist.
The Mystery of the Missing Swans and Maidens: A Frida Hansen Tapestry Tale with Robbie LaFleur (Originally aired on April 2; now on the Vesterheim YouTube channel)
Back in 1903, Norwegian-born socialite and tapestry teacher Berthea Aske Bergh was determined to show Americans the brilliance of Norwegian billedvev, or tapestry. She traveled back to Norway and purchased Sørover (Southward), a tapestry of swans and maidens with shimmering threads from the famous Art Nouveau artist Frida Hansen.
Southward was an important, often-displayed monumental tapestry, so when the curators for the blockbuster show, Scandinavian Design in the United States, 1890-1980, sought key textiles, Frida Hansen’s tapestry was top of mind. But where was this 11 x 10 foot weaving now? Only a few grainy black-and-white photos and many glowing descriptions remained.
In January 2021, nearly 90 years after Southward was last displayed publicly, noted rug dealer Peter Pap opened a Tupperware container in a storage building in Maine. He unfolded a woven treasure in dusty, but pristine condition, and with a quick google search, he learned it was a long-lost Frida Hansen tapestry.
The veil of mystery, as well as the dust of decades, has been removed from Southward. The Frida Hansen masterpiece was restored to the world in time to add to the Scandinavian Designexhibit during its recent run at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and at the Milwaukee Museum of Art, showing March 24-July 23, 2023.
Join Robbie LaFleur for this timely webinar to celebrate the life and work of Frida Hansen and, especially, to hear about the Southward tapestry mystery as it unfolded.
Lecture on Swedish Folk Art in Duluth
“Tulips and Roses,” with Ulla-Karin Warberg. April 18, 2023, 6 pm at the University of Minnesota Duluth Solon Campus Center, Room 120 — AND — April 19, 2023, 1:30 pm at the Nordic Center, Duluth. (pdf poster here)
“Tulips and Roses,” by Ulla-Karin Warberg, is an exposé about Swedish Folk Art and its pattern traditions. She will use the folk art patterns as a starting point to show how they were adapted and used in different parts of Sweden. Learn how vernacular art was influenced by economics and geography. Observe older paintings and watercolors from the permanent collection of Stockholm’s Nordiska Museet. See works that show farmsteads, painted furniture, textiles, betrothal gifts, paintings and minor handicrafts.
Ulla-Karin Warberg is a curator at the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm and a lecturer at Uppsala University in Sweden. She has curated numerous exhibitions and has a distinguished publication record. She has also presented gallery lectures to UMD students as part of the Nordic Art and Design Study Abroad program.
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