Practical Information
Where: The lecture hall (foredragssalen) at Norsk Folkemuseum
Language: English
The talk is in collaboration with the Artisans who resides in the Old Town inside Norsk Folkemuseum.
Robbie LaFleur on the legacy of Frida Hansen
Weaver Robbie LaFleur has immersed herself in the art of Norwegian pictorial tapestry ever since attending a folk art school in Fagernes in the 1970s.
In this talk, she takes us back to Frida Hansen’s time, into the very tapestries themselves, to the people who became Hansen’s supporters, and to those who opposed her.
- Learn more about Robbie LaFleur: Robbie LaFleur
Image from digitaltmuseum.org Frida Hansen and the Development of Norwegian Pictorial Tapestry
Frida Hansen achieved international breakthrough at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris. There, she presented her self-developed technique for transparent pictorial tapestry, and her work was hailed as new art.
Hansen played a central role in reviving and reestablishing a Norwegian tapestry tradition. But to the nation-builders of her time, she seemed too international in outlook, and the great success she enjoyed on the Continent sparked resistance at home.
Nevertheless, she persisted, first as head of Det Norske Billedvæveri, and later from her own studio. She oversaw the entire process, from the original sketch to plant-dyeing the yarn and weaving the finished piece. Many women trained under Frida Hansen, and until the 1920s, transparent weaving was a popular form of artistic expression.
- Learn more about Frida Hansen: Portière – Tidsrom
- Explore museum objects connected to Frida Hansen and her followers: Frida Hansen and followers – DigitaltMuseum