Monday 17 May 2010

Textile pattern and Girard


I have always been really interested in pattern, especially when it hand finished or woven textile. Those garish and hideously kich train/tube/bus seat covers really ignited triggered a reaction in me from an early age and I have a fondness for them. Embarrassingly, although I've always wanted one I have never compiled a series of reference photos documenting the different colour swatches and patterns of transport seating. I could see myself getting really into an ongoing project like that. taking the longer way round because i want to ride the obscure line which has the most interesting seat patterns, the awkward looks I'd get from passengers as they watch me photographing empty seats on the night bus. in my experience the lowly mini bus or coach often have the most "out-there" designs, looking like a kind of generic woven lsd experience, if there is such a thing. I came across the textile work of Alexander Girard recently and he really does pattern fabric properly..
I can see now that clearly a great deal of the seat designs I've enjoyed over the years have been greatly influenced by this 60's legend. Always bold and crisp in definition with a highly vivid colour palette girard represents the zenith of patterned fabric design for me.

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