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Liubov Popova Untitled Textile Design on William Morris Wallpaper for HM

Print
2010 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This print is one of 100 Mabb has made as a fundraising exercise for the journal Historical Materialism.

For some years now, David Mabb has been engaged in a kind of posthumous collaboration with William Morris, using Morris fabrics and wallpapers as sources of inspiration, and also using them as grounds for paintings or incorporating them into printed works, as here. Mabb's interest in Morris focuses not only on the design of his patterns but also the inherent contradictions between Morris's political beliefs - he was a campaigning Socialist - and his practice as a designer and business-man - he made his living creating luxury goods that were affordable only by the upper middle-classes.

In this print Mabb contrasts the political philosophies and design practices of two artists who held Socialist views and produced designs intended to enhance the lives of the labouring classes. Each used pattern design as a medium to promote different forms of socialism and utopian enterprise. Morris's designs were hand-printed (and thus labour-intensive and costly), and his patterns were invariably flower and foliage designs suggestive of a nostalgia for rural life; Liubov Popova (1889-1924) was a member of the Russian Constructivist group of artists who promoted a radical socialism and produced a number of textile designs which were to be machine-printed (and therefore cheap), with simple abstract motifs. Mabb unites the craft aesthetic of Morris with the machine aesthetic of Popova.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLiubov Popova Untitled Textile Design on William Morris Wallpaper for HM (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Screenprint on wallpaper
Brief description
David Mabb, Liubov Popova Untitled Textile Design on William Morris Wallpaper for HM 2010. Screenprint on wallpaper.
Physical description
A sample of William Morris 'Vine' wallpaper (a modern reprint) overprinted with a repeated red and black striped/geometric motif.
Dimensions
  • Height: 70cm
  • Width: 52cm
Copy number
98/100
Marks and inscriptions
David Mabb 98/100 (Signature; edition number; both in black ink, lower right hand corner.)
Summary
This print is one of 100 Mabb has made as a fundraising exercise for the journal Historical Materialism.

For some years now, David Mabb has been engaged in a kind of posthumous collaboration with William Morris, using Morris fabrics and wallpapers as sources of inspiration, and also using them as grounds for paintings or incorporating them into printed works, as here. Mabb's interest in Morris focuses not only on the design of his patterns but also the inherent contradictions between Morris's political beliefs - he was a campaigning Socialist - and his practice as a designer and business-man - he made his living creating luxury goods that were affordable only by the upper middle-classes.

In this print Mabb contrasts the political philosophies and design practices of two artists who held Socialist views and produced designs intended to enhance the lives of the labouring classes. Each used pattern design as a medium to promote different forms of socialism and utopian enterprise. Morris's designs were hand-printed (and thus labour-intensive and costly), and his patterns were invariably flower and foliage designs suggestive of a nostalgia for rural life; Liubov Popova (1889-1924) was a member of the Russian Constructivist group of artists who promoted a radical socialism and produced a number of textile designs which were to be machine-printed (and therefore cheap), with simple abstract motifs. Mabb unites the craft aesthetic of Morris with the machine aesthetic of Popova.
Collection
Accession number
E.12-2011

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Record createdJanuary 11, 2011
Record URL
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