Customer Reviews

Chihuly's Pendletons: And Their Influence on His Work

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Chiluly's Pendletons is an interesting book. It shows the early career of Dale Chiluly-who has become one of the pre-eminent artists in America. Chiluly's trademark is his flamboyent, contorted glassworks, which are displayed around the world.

This book consists of two parts: The first part shows pictures of trade blankets. The second part shows how Chiluly incorporated ideas from his interests in Native American Arts into his early work...during his starving artists phase.

Chiluly was interested fiber arts, he could not afford the expensive native American blankets; so he collected indian trade blankets...the most enduring trade blanket manufacturer being the Pendleton Woolen Mills. As his fame and fortune grew; so to did his collection.

This is a very good book for people who wish to study how artists evolve in their work. You have a nice juxtaposition of indian art, photographs of native Americans, and pictures of Chiluly's earlier works.

What the book is not: It is not an adequate scholarly treatise on trade blankets (it has a lot of nice pictures). The book shows his earlier works. These are all well done, but not quite as large and flamboyent as you might see in his later periods.

All in all, I give the book high marks. Chiluly fans will enjoy this coffee table book. It helps you see the influences on this artist. It will also get you interested in trade blankets.

If you want to know about Native American trading blankets your money would be better spent on Kapoun's book titled "Language of the Robe" which tells it more like it is. I believe that Chihuly purchased the Kapoun's collection and became an overnight authority on the subject, if you catch my drift!
I have photographed Pendleton blankets for years, and Chihuly and Lohrmann should be more accurate in their detailing of what is and isn't made by the Pendleton Woolen Mills. The photos are good, but there is still room for someone to do a thorough and interesting book on this very important topic. This isn't the one to waste money on, in my opinion.

If you're a Dale Chihuly glass fan, you may appreciate this book, but if you're an Indian blanket collector don't waste your time and money. Memo to authors Chihuly and Lohrmann - HELLO!!, most of Chihuly's Pendletons AREN'T Pendleton blankets and so it's of absolutely no value to blanket collectors seeking accurate information. It's painfully obvious neither he nor co-author Charles Lohrmann has any idea what Chihuly has been collecting all these years! Chihuly's a wonderfully innovative glass artisan, but nobody did their homework here. It's just too bad the blanket information is as twisted as Mr. Chihuly's glass forms.

My comments to distinguish what this book plays in the world of contemporary art, is not my intent. Rather I wish to acknowledge the sheer beauty and aesthetic warmth I get from the pages of this large sized book by Dale Chihuly. The rich and colorful geometric patterns that record the decoration and simplicity of the Pendleton Blankets is understood and achieved with out the necessity of additional text in the images. The unpretentious or incidental record that these black and white photographs of the American Indian provide as a documentary technic blends well together with sheer beauty of the American Trade blanket designs. The enchantment and functional magic of glass with it's extraordinary range of form and color linking past to the present, is uniquely profound as well. Chihuly brings to this mix of history and art by acknowledging the reader to move effortlessly from textile to photography, to glass. As an artist, Chihuly takes the fundamental and intangible and blends each together in his truly extraordinary glass cylinders to enrich our eyes and spirit. It's quite simply, a beautiful book.

great shape very good illustrations colorful and informative book. a must for dale chihuly fans and Pendlelton blanket collectors.a perfect gift

This 252-page large format book is a wonderful overview of the history, use and collection of Indian "trade blankets", the most famous of which are those made by Pendleton Woolen Mills. Although seemingly a coffee table book, it is also a good reference for many blanket patterns.

From the earliest says of interactions between Europeans and Native Americans blankets played a major role in trans-cultural trade. The manufactured woolen blankets were thicker, warmer and more colorful than traditional Indian blankets laboriously made from woven animal hair. The colorful patterns became particularly important to the Indians who relied on the blankets as "robes" or overcoats for social occasions and ceremonies. The Indians draped the blankets over their shoulders and held them in place by clasping the edges together with one hand. Antique blankets that were actually used by an Indian will be heavily worn at the location where the edges were grasped.

The trade blanket is a rare instance of a positive, mutually beneficial collaboration between European Americans and Native Americans. The Indians received a superior product that enhanced their lives and the Europeans responded by developing patterns derived from, but not really replicating, traditional Indian decorative themes. Pendleton still manufactures these blankets and nearly half are still purchased by Native Americans.

The book contains 60 full-page or two-page color photographs of classic trade blankets, presumably from the collection of Dale Chihuly, the famous Seattle glass artist. There are also 24 classic black and white photographs that show Indians wearing trade blankets in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And there are large color photographs of wonderful trade blanket-inspired glass art Mr. Chihuly created.

The text includes essays by Mr. Chihuly on collecting blankets and how the blankets influenced his art. There is also an essay by an historian on the history of the blankets, their manufacturers and trading them with the Indians from the 1600s to the present.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in Native American history or folk arts in general. There is an outstanding image-keyed index to the blankets, classic photos and glass art.

Dave Chihuly is an American artist known for his physics-defying shapes: Chihuly's Pendletons explores the creations which inspired some of his work, focusing on American Indian blankets and weavings and providing chapters which present the artist's reflections on how Indian works influenced his productions. The full-page color photos are revealing, while the first-person insights are important.