Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1076820
she created jewelry inspired by pre-Columbian treasures but made from unexpected materials such as paper clips and faucet washers. She was one of the most forward-thinking and avant-garde artists of her generation — but one who happened to be working in textiles. In 1957 when Temple Emanu-El completed its new Howard Meyer- designed synagogue on Hillcrest Avenue in Dallas, there would have been no more prestigious choice than Anni Albers to design the ark coverings for its sanctuary. The eight 20-foot-high panels slide open to reveal Torah scrolls, used in some of the temple's most sacred rituals and ceremonies. She based the green, blue, and gold color scheme on the sanctuary's stained-glass windows, designed by Hungarian sculptor György Kepes. Published works describing the ark panels are unclear as to how she made the fabric, but Dallas-based textile conservator Heather Reichstadt, who repaired the panels in 2010, says the fabric was woven entirely from colored Lurex yarns, a mid- 20th-century invention that Anni would have embraced. "It was considered cutting edge for the era and exactly the type of material Anni Albers was experimenting with," Reichstadt says. The panels, which have been in constant use for 63 years, are as functional as they are beautiful. Extra material left at the temple was kept, and the original hues, though now a bit faded, are breathtaking. The panels were so dazzling in 1957 that the temple's building committee initially objected to the design and requested they be toned down. When new fabric couldn't be woven in time, the committee relented, and the panels were installed. The controversy was soon quelled, however, as Life magazine featured the ark panels in its November issue that same year. Last fall, London's Tate Modern mounted a show on the work of Anni Albers and included studies for the Temple Emanu-El ark panels. London-based textile design studio Christopher Farr Cloth, which has an ongoing collaboration with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, has recently released two new fabric designs based on Anni's archives: Orchestra, drawn from a series of works of the same title and inspired by Anni's visits to the Berlin Opera as a child, and Temple, developed from the original ark panels that she created for Temple Emanu- El. The fabrics are screen-printed on Belgian linen at Christopher Farr's artisan print house in London. Christopher Farr Cloth, to the trade at ID Collection, Dallas Design Center, 1025 N. Stemmons Freeway, Suite 745, interiordesigncollection.com. Anni Albers with textile samples in her New Haven home, circa 1950–60. Custom gate designed by Aaron Rambo and made by San Miguel artisans Chair upholstered in Christopher Farr Cloth's Temple. Temple, from Christopher Farr Cloth. TOP RIGHT: PHOTO, NEW HAVEN REGISTER. COURTESY OF THE JOSEF AND ANNI ALBERS FOUNDATION 63