Printed Textile c. 1941

Joseph Lubrano made this printed textile, probably in the late 20th century. I am seeing a muted palette of blues, reds, and creams. The image is built up using lots of small marks in tight combinations. It must have been such a patient process to make the printing block, or perhaps the design was digitally composed and printed all at once. The textile creates an all-over field of dense foliage. A pair of birds nestle amongst the leaves and flowers in a design that manages to be both busy and calming. What was Lubrano thinking as he laid out this design? Was he trying to create an idyllic scene or perhaps tapping into a long tradition of floral textile designs? This artwork has a lot in common with William Morris's dense, all-over patterns, but it also reminds me a bit of outsider art, too. Artists are in constant dialogue, aren't they? They exchange ideas across time and space, which allows them to inspire one another's creativity. A piece like this embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations rather than pinning down one fixed reading.