Jennifer Sanchez: Andean Tunics

Tunic of Stepped Pattern, ca. 500–650
Peru, possibly Arequipa area, late Nasca style (?)
Camelid hair; plain weave, discontinuous warp and weft; 39 1/2 x 56 in.

went to the Met on thursday to see this and the Alexander McQueen show in particular. (i won't be posting about the McQueen show, but check out the met's website for it.) hopefully this week i'll get around to seeing some other shows there that are on my list. no surprise that i'm interested in the patterns on the tunics in the show The Andean Tunic, 400 BCE–1800 CE. yesterday i tried recreating the stepped pattern above on a panel piece - TOTAL FAIL! it looks simple, but i couldn't wrap my head around it. the pattern was confusing me and i made a mess of marks on my painting. i switched over to graph paper and changed my proportions and i finally got it - sort of. some interesting notes from this exhibition:

tunics were folded in 16th's. this was the customary way to store them.
the Inkas used the hair of all of the camelids—alpaca, llama, vicuña, and even the wild guanaco
Inka tunics are imposing and positively austere in their clarity of design
In the technique used here, known as discontinuous warp and weft, both the horizontal and the vertical yarns are turned at the edges of each color area. It is a more laborious process than tapestry weave but creates a thinner fabric that drapes more gracefully over the body.
Tunics became even more important under Inka domination; they were commissioned as a form of taxation and were worn by members of the Inka ruler’s household, by his entourage, by nobles, and by warriors. Treasured items in gift exchange, they were put to political and diplomatic purposes and given as gifts to allies and subjected peoples, to leaders and to followers. They had ritual functions as well, used as offerings to sacred places, to powerful deities, and to the honored dead.
Persons clothed in garments of a heroic pre-Hispanic time and representing Inka identities became worrisome to both church fathers and colonial administrators in the 1780s, and the wearing of such garments, particularly tunics, was prohibited. (bastards!)

this show along w/Sonia Delauney's at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum have given me a lot of inspiration that's you'll see soon in my paintings.

Child's Tunic with Faces and Hands, ca. 750–800
Peru, south highlands, Wari style
Camelid hair, cotton; tapestry weave; 21 1/4 x 21 in.

Banded Tunic with Proliferous Patterns, ca. 580–680
Peru, probably Arequipa area, Nasca-related style
Camelid hair, cotton; tapestry weave; 41 x 62 in.

Tunic with Crescent Headdress Figures and Felines, ca. 1460–1540
Peru, north coast, late Chimu style
Cotton, camelid hair; tapestry weave; 23 1/2 x 44 1/2 in.