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Märta Måås-Fjetterström och främlingarna i hörnet: En studie om textila signaturer och det kollektiva konstverket

Lind, Vera LU (2026) KOVK03 20252
Division of Art History and Visual Studies
Abstract (Swedish)
Märta Måås-Fjetterström’s textile career was largely based on a collective effort. As a textile artist in her own workshop, she drew patterns that she let employed weavers weave. Together with a few other artists, she helped elevate the craft – the carpet – to the realm of art, by signing her works early on. After Märta Måås-Fjetterström’s death, Barbro Nilsson took over the role as artistic director of the workshop and introduced dot colors, which are small woven color fields in the upper right corner of the carpet where the colors represent the weaver who has done the work. The aim with Linds thesis is to examine the development of the tradition of the signed, swedish, modernist carpet, which Måås-Fjetterström was an early adopter of,... (More)
Märta Måås-Fjetterström’s textile career was largely based on a collective effort. As a textile artist in her own workshop, she drew patterns that she let employed weavers weave. Together with a few other artists, she helped elevate the craft – the carpet – to the realm of art, by signing her works early on. After Märta Måås-Fjetterström’s death, Barbro Nilsson took over the role as artistic director of the workshop and introduced dot colors, which are small woven color fields in the upper right corner of the carpet where the colors represent the weaver who has done the work. The aim with Linds thesis is to examine the development of the tradition of the signed, swedish, modernist carpet, which Måås-Fjetterström was an early adopter of, and how it was further developed with the help of Barbro Nilsson, as well as to make visible the conditions of production and the weavers behind the carpet, doing so with the following research questions: What role did Märta Måås-Fjetterström play in the development of the constitution of carpets as a woven collective art form during the 20th century? and How do Barbro Nilsson and the dot colors contribute to the development of the woven collective art form? The theoretical basis for the study of the work is marxist with an art sociology method, with particular emphasis on T.J Clark, Terry Smith and Pierre Bourdieu. The conclusion of the essay highlights the importance of the idea of the art, as well as its production, as a joint effort. Lind also points out the importance of the joint performance as to be understood in relation to position and social class, and the dot colors to be crucial for establishing an understanding of the carpet as a collective work of art. To develop a clearer understanding of Märta Måås-Fjetterström’s and Barbro Nilsson’s influence on the 20th century textile art, further research is suggested. (Less)
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author
Lind, Vera LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Märta Måås-Fjetterström and The Strangers in the corner: a study of textile signatures and the collective work of art
course
KOVK03 20252
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Märta Måås-Fjetterström, Barbro Nilsson, Gregor Paulsson, William Morris, mattor, konsthantverk, konstindustri, marxism, konstsociologi
language
Swedish
id
9225736
date added to LUP
2026-04-24 13:17:53
date last changed
2026-04-24 13:17:53
@misc{9225736,
  abstract     = {{Märta Måås-Fjetterström’s textile career was largely based on a collective effort. As a textile artist in her own workshop, she drew patterns that she let employed weavers weave. Together with a few other artists, she helped elevate the craft – the carpet – to the realm of art, by signing her works early on. After Märta Måås-Fjetterström’s death, Barbro Nilsson took over the role as artistic director of the workshop and introduced dot colors, which are small woven color fields in the upper right corner of the carpet where the colors represent the weaver who has done the work. The aim with Linds thesis is to examine the development of the tradition of the signed, swedish, modernist carpet, which Måås-Fjetterström was an early adopter of, and how it was further developed with the help of Barbro Nilsson, as well as to make visible the conditions of production and the weavers behind the carpet, doing so with the following research questions: What role did Märta Måås-Fjetterström play in the development of the constitution of carpets as a woven collective art form during the 20th century? and How do Barbro Nilsson and the dot colors contribute to the development of the woven collective art form? The theoretical basis for the study of the work is marxist with an art sociology method, with particular emphasis on T.J Clark, Terry Smith and Pierre Bourdieu. The conclusion of the essay highlights the importance of the idea of the art, as well as its production, as a joint effort. Lind also points out the importance of the joint performance as to be understood in relation to position and social class, and the dot colors to be crucial for establishing an understanding of the carpet as a collective work of art. To develop a clearer understanding of Märta Måås-Fjetterström’s and Barbro Nilsson’s influence on the 20th century textile art, further research is suggested.}},
  author       = {{Lind, Vera}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Märta Måås-Fjetterström och främlingarna i hörnet: En studie om textila signaturer och det kollektiva konstverket}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}