TAPESTRY AS AN IMAGE

Tapestry as a form of decorative art has long been known. The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary defines it as "a handmade carpet on which a painting by a famous artist is partly reproduced with colored wool or silk". In addition to silk, threads of silver and gold were also woven. Today, synthetic and artificial fibers are used.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, tapestry served both aesthetic and practical functions. From an aesthetic point of view, it was a work of art, reproducing scenes from mythology, historical and heroic events. From a practical point of view, they insulated the rooms of the very wealthy, as these tapestries were quite expensive. Often, these scenes were presented as a diptych or triptych. Today's artists working in this genre use modern technologies and materials to create a stylistic language of communication with the viewer without departing from the canonical form.

German artist Margret Eicher brought her work to Baku - "Handmade carpets". Her exhibition was presented at Yay Gallery. Her exposition - this is the message to the audience, having discovered critical and political painting. Tapestry artists - this is a message to the contemporaries which through the coded language of metaphors and symbols expresses her relationship with the modern world.

"Eastern Idyll"

Framed by ornamental symbols, with Atlas on the right and left supporting the vault of the heavens on his shoulders, and above the heap of the underworld beneath are a trumpeter mounted on his steed and a soldier holding the horse's bridle. The scene is a throwback to the historic past depicting the relationship between Europe and the East for 150 years. And perhaps more. The image appears as if projected on a screen. This is also a tribute to the present. The screen is a thread connecting the past and present. As well as a message to the future. An indivisible connection of time. And this thread is continued by the bottom line of news bulletins, reports on the current state of relations between East and West. Warplanes circling above an ancient city. Life on earth between the crosshairs of an army weapon: architectural monuments, people, ruins. And another gift for the East - animals with feminine forms: a zebra and kangaroo lazily sipping juice through a straw. The Liberated West made its own contributions to the temporary structure of values...

"Heroes 2"

In the foreground is someone who looks like Khodorkovsky. Behind him, inside the arch of a rainbow, are his material dreams. The twilight sky does not welcome his thoughts, his dreams. He looks with forlorn upon the pastoral scenes of the past and the very recent present. There lies the Hellenistic idea of harmony of body and soul, man and nature. And also the idea of a utopia of equality and fraternity. Destroyed ideals. They are in the past. The future is bleak and inharmonious. It is vague, unreliable, as if not there at all. What remains? Lying between the past and future is the keeper- not the source, but the body. She does not look upon this world. She is not interested in him. The fingers of her right hand rest on the trigger of a huge gun. She is ready for battle. Always ready. But for what?

"Heroes 1"

In the foreground of the window is a group of people. Young men and women. Behind the window is a city spanning countless blocks. Houses, inscribed in geometric space. A theater curtain lies crumpled in the left corner. It separates the people and the world outside. The division creates the sense of a theatrical stage. And it is clear from the city and the people, its inhabitants that this is a play of a lifetime. The life of each one of them. "All the whole world's a stage! And all the men and women merely players. And everyone plays their part…"

In the right corner is the warrior of the metropolis. The sharp blade, which she squeezes with both hands, rests on the shin of the young man sitting on the floor. Her gaze is ironic and slightly disdainful. She is absorbed in herself. The reclining young man is not interested in her with long hair. Neither is he interested in any of the others. Lying on pillows and the fallen curtain in the left corner is a modern-day Danae. She is semi-nude. She has a look of dreary detachment. She is also a warrior. But of a different sort. For her, men are a means to an end. It does not matter what the goal is. And there are four types of men: brutal, metrosexual, straight and romantic. He is naked, and he is clearly uncomfortable in this world. He shows no immunity to the destructive cynicism that a modern metropolis offers. Yes, indeed, the whole world…

"Diana in her natural surroundings"

In Roman mythology, she is the goddess of flora, hunting, femininity and fertility. Portrayed with a crescent moon perched on her head, with a torch in hand and in a long dress. In the modern myth of Diana, she is also a huntress. But somewhat different. The hunt for fame, popularity, money and men. She knows her worth and the value of their desires. She is in a red bathing suit. An aggressive color, a signal of danger. And she truly is dangerous in her own summoned beauty, transformed into a weapon. In battle, reminiscent of an Indian, painted, with colored feathers like arrows protruding from behind her. She is not shy to be the focus of the camera lens, a lot of men surrounding her in beach outfits. These are her perfectly natural surroundings. She is a genetic link in the chain of the human genome, extending through time and the ages.

"Killed animals"

What is the perfection of the world? In its beauty? Or in whatever else? For example, in mankind's enthusiasm for the destruction of its smaller brothers? If primitive man killed animals, turned their skin into clothing to keep the body warm, then modern humans destroy animals for their fur. Such natural fur coats that are so wanted by the beauties of the world. Light flowing fur, elegantly cascading from her shoulders, living warmth enveloping female figures. But did this only start today? Man of the past also knew how to transform his own aspirations for prosperity into a mutually beneficial barter with his own kind. Again a theater curtain. And a podium. Beauty, complicit in destruction, displayed as ostentatiousness. The problem of the preservation of many species of animals is a very serious one. Just as is the question of the survival of life on the planet. As well as the problem of the violation of the harmonious balance between man and the world.

"Players-1"

This tapestry is reminiscent of a TV screen. And if you look closely, you can probably identify the names of the players by their faces. Avid fans will likely not find it too difficult. The photograph-like accuracy of the dynamics of the players' movements, the expression on their faces is a tribute to modern media. Fans in the stands behind the players are also depicted with photographic detail. And at the bottom on the lower line in the ornamental part of the tapestry we see close-ups of fans passionately cheering their players: men, women... Game! The sports game is equated with a political game. Many things are at play: the interests of the supporters, and the interests of the teams, and the ambitions of the players. Game, passion, emotion, adrenaline, money.

"Regime of Images" is the name given to the exhibition of Margret Eicher's works. Mode, meaning the conditions for the existence of something. For example, work or activity. The work of Margret Eicher is an attempt to rethink the regular sequence of transforming the world: the moral, material, physical, intellectual. By encoding their messages for humanity in artistic symbols and metaphors, they connect the legacy of the past and the present in the fine arts. But most important is the desire to engage in an open dialogue with the world and make it think about the fact that destructive processes may become irreversible if not stopped in time...