The first German dictionary compiled by the Brothers Grimm inspired a large textile installation at the new Grimmwelt museum in Kassel, which honours the brothers’ work. Ursula Wagner collaborated with design agency TheGreenEyl and the TextielLab to create the imposing piece measuring 4 metres high and 25 metres long.
The newly built Grimmwelt museum is dedicated to the life and work of the brothers Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm and was opened in 2015. The building is a modern-day interpretation of the brothers’ beloved fairy tales. The installation designed by TheGreenEyl consists of an interactive table (game) and a curtain that displays a chain of words. Hanging from the ceiling in a wave-like shape, it creates a soft space.
The curtain’s woven text begins with the word ‘Wort’ and ends with ‘Arbeit’. Wortarbeit ventures into the complexity of the most comprehensive dictionary of the German language in existence – the Deutsches Wörterbuch, initiated by the Brothers Grimm in 1838. For the installation, the designers traced the relationship between ‘Wort and ‘Arbeit’ through 46 other dictionary entries. These entries are connected by comparative formulae used frequently by the Brothers Grimm in their work: ‘... is derived from …’, ‘... is in the first instance the counterpart of …’, ‘... is used as ….’ Thousands of words from the digital version of the dictionary were translated into a new binary code that also follows the logic of weaving.
In the TextielLab, Wagner incorporated 13 different yarns in complex multi-layered bindings to create a dynamic textured fabric full of contrasts: shiny and matt, fluffy and smooth, supple and stiff − the fabric is as dynamic as language itself.
The path the visitors were to follow played an important role in the design. Visitors first saw the outside of the installation from a distance, which is why this side of the weave was created to be enticing. The rough, wavy structure made of anthracite mohair yarn and viscose bast resembles layers of graphite on paper. The inside of the installation has a lighter, softer structure, with colour tones that blend into the black of the ceiling.
Artist, textile designer and researcher Ursula Wagner divides her time between Berlin, Germany and Providence (RI), USA, where she is Assistant Professor for Textiles at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She studied textile and surface design at the Weissensee Academy of Art Berlin and Hiroshima City University in Japan. In her work, she explores the interplay between material, technology and aesthetics, especially the sculptural and three-dimensional aspects of textile construction. In 2012, she attended the European Textile Trainee Programme at the TextielLab and has since then come back to Tilburg to develop her projects here.
