Woolen Textile 1940

This woolen textile was made by Archie Thompson, though we don’t know exactly when. Look at how the colors interact: purple with hints of brown and green. It's like he's not just picking colors, but creating a whole mood. Up close, you see how the texture of the wool creates a kind of built-in grid, like the warp and weft is part of the design itself. Notice the way the purple bleeds into the other colors, creating a sense of depth. It's almost like looking at an abstract painting, where the materials themselves are doing the talking. The frayed edges give it an unfinished, raw quality, like the piece is still in process, still becoming. This reminds me a little of Anni Albers. Like her, Thompson seems interested in the possibilities of color and texture. For me, this textile exists in that in-between space of craft and art, where the rules are bendable.