I was poking around doing some research on the Maryland Toile we found the other day, and came across a whole underground movement of subversive toiles.
Richard Saja of Historically Inaccurate , is the leader of the pack. I wrote about meeting him about a year and a half ago, here. 
Here’s another artist’s before and after, with a power line, an upside-down grocery card, a bottle of booze and a milk bottle floating in the water.
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Another artist has taken to colouring in the pictures with neon-bright high-lighters. 
I rather like the idea. It would make an interesting accent to have a small piece/section in a subversive mood, with the majority unadorned.
ReplyDeleteReally great to see the effort kept by the creator...would like to see much more....
ReplyDeleteOkay, now, this is just too, too good!
ReplyDeleteOne of your best postings ever! Thanks for sharing...would love to see more on this if you have it..K
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Sheila Bridges's Harlem toile!
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I don't like Toiles. But these I like! They aren't so hummm drum - they become more thought provoking. :-)
ReplyDeleteSubversive tioles - love it! Yes, I go for juct about anything embroidery - but this makes you stop and look twice.
ReplyDeletePlease excuse the typo -- meant toiles -- typing fingers and brain on different wave lengths this morning!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, but a little scary.
ReplyDeleteGet's your brain going. I feel like I am back in art school again. So fun to look at and think about.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lovely New Orleans toile found at Hazelnut, which is a shop owned by Bryan Batt from "Mad Men".
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of taking a magic marker to toile! Why didn't I think of that?
ReplyDeleteI’ve always admired toiles. Something satisfying about the monochromatic simplicity of them. Toile reminds me of Staffordshire transferware, with which it pairs very nicely.
ReplyDeleteWe tend to think of toile as depicting 18th century pastoral scenes, but there are many other vintage toiles with scenes such as ships and seascapes, prospects of Egypt and other exotic places, chinoiserie, equestrian scenes, sports, historic events, and other interesting themes. I like the North American theme toiles. I’ve also seen Canadian toiles with scenes of French explorers such as Champlain. I wish those were still in production.
Toile is terrific for our more casual lifestyles. It is easy to live with, economical, easy to clean, classic, and often scholarly. It looks unpretentious in a way that fine silk, brocade, or damask cannot. Toile isn’t quite as popular as it was 10-15 years ago when there was a bit of a revival, but it always comes back. Like so many time tested classics.
Great selection of images showing interesting ways to use toile. Thank you.
Subversive, the kissing cousin of the Sexy Toiles out door too!
ReplyDeleteHope you can come to New Orleans to see the toile at Commanders in person.
xo xo
So sorry I am late to the party.
ReplyDeleteThis my first visit to your Blog and, oh my! what a post. This is stellar.
I have two rolls of Brunschwig & Fils 'West Indies Toile' that is a colorway that just wasn't working for me. Until now. I have a healthy supply of gouache (thank you Craigslist) and a head full of dreams.
I also love your Toile de Baltimore of 8/14/10.
Regards