Mediterranean Folk Costumes

Mediterranean Folk Costumes 

Folk costumes are different from one country, a region or tribe to another. From costumes we can learn the history and about the people of a country. Costumes could have a meaning or tradition. Certain costumes were made especially for dancing movements.  Material like cotton and gabardine and more expensive fabric like silk  and wool are used in many costumes.                                                                

Many of the Mediterranean costumes have similar clothing and accessories such as colourful materials, embroidery, sashes, ribbons, buttons, designs and patterns.  Dresses, skirts, tops, shoes and hats are also similar.

                                                           Maltese Costumes

In the olden days Maltese women use to wear skirts known as ghonnella which later be came the name for the head covering. The culqana which was a head covering from head to the hip, a head scarf, gezwira which was a type of skirt with one side open tied with ribbons at the side which was worn on an other skirt. The apron was worn on top of the gezwira.

A Maltese Peasant By Sebastiano Ittar

A Woman of Gozo by Sebastiano Ittar

The men wore cotton shirts with a vest, loose fitting trousers and a coloured sash around the waist.The milsa was worn on the hair made out of a long tube of knitted different coloured dyed wool or cotton with tassle on either end.The tube is folded from the middle and one of the two ends was inserted into the other thus forming a double walled cap.The cap is worn either at the front or hanging down behind reaching to the shoulder. Terha was worn on the waistline instead of a belt. It is made from a long narrow rectangular-shaped fabric bordered with fringes along both the narrow edges. Terha has a weave structure from a tabby weave woven with cotton yarn. There are two types terha it is made out of cotton and bushakka is made out of silk.

Male Country Costume 

Male  Country Costume

The Ghonnella or Faldetta  was a type of  head covering or hooded shawl used only by women from Malta and Gozo . It was made from cotton or silk usually black. Coloured  and white Ghonnella were also used by the noble or wealthier women. The Ghonnella covered  the  head and did not cover the face. The top part was starched and had a rounded shape by means of a whalebone or cane. Once worn, it was left to hang by the sides or held with the right hand when walking. These costumes are not worn nowadays. They are only  worn during folk activities.

Faldetta worn during Folklore event

Painting of Faldetta of Ghonnella by Edward Carauna Dingli

Sicilian Costumes

The Sicilians wear the costumes during festivals. There are two types of costumes. The truly Sicilian and the ones coming from Albania.

The women wear full skirts of red blue, pink yellow or black with bands of coloured ribbons on the bottom part in some places aprons are worn. bodices are worn over the blouse with a around neck and full sleeves.

The men wear breeches of black or dark blue fastened at the knee with buttons or red braid. There is a long sleeve black jacket or coloured sleeveless waistcoat which is worn over a white long-sleeved shirt which is tied to the neck with a red bow. A red sash is worn around the waist and white socks and black shoes.

These two have a striking and colourful costume found in Sicily. It is from Piana degli Albanesi, near Palermo.The Albanians came from their country to escape the Turks.The women in the picture is wearing a full skirt made of heavy silk taffeta and decorated three broad band of gold embroidery. The skirt is embroidered with a gold floral design. The red sleeveless top is decorated  with gold embroidery.

The men is wearing a thick white trousers narrowed at the bottom of the ankles and there is a black or braided stripe bottom of the seams. The waistcoat and jacket sleeves are both covered in a fine gold braid or embroidery.

                                                                     


Morocco

Enrique Iglesias inspiration of the Djellaba for his video

In Morocco clothes are different from the towns and the villages. The women in the cities wear the Djellaba in white grey or blue made from cotton or gaberdine. This form of dress is long up to the ankles and has a  hood attached. The caftan is also worn by both men and women. It is mostly worn indoors.

Clothes vary from one region to the other. The material, design, ornaments and accessories mark the different clothes from one tribe to an other. Headdresses range from simple straw hats to long white or black fringed scarves knotted at the back.

Hood clothing

                                                                   Algeria

The most popular form of dress in Algeria is a long hooded, Djellaba could be blue, white or grey the costumes away form the capital city known as the mellia a long piece of materiel is draped around the body and fasten on the shoulders with two fibula pins. These pins are very decorative and even have decorative chains joined across the chest.  A belt or sash is worn  around the waist . Head dresses vary from region to region and also among the tribes. 

                                                                            Tunisia

Tunisian ladies drape over  their head a loose cotton type of cloth around the body  known as the safsari or sifsari.  White is for a younger women and black for the older. In winter it is made from wool.  In the villages the safsari could be bright colours. It is worn to protect the clothes under it from dirt and dust.

The Sifsari is similar to the Maltese Culqana the Maltese women do not  cover their face.

Men wear the burnous. It is a type of cloak or cape made from dark wool or camel hair. A hood is attached to the burnous.

                     

This costume is similar to the Maltese one. The sash over the shoulder and round the waist. The trousers are narrow not as wide  as Tunisian.

Harvard system

Book
Harrold R and legg p (1978). Folk costume of the world. 2nd ed. Uk: Blandford press
De Piro ,N & Ann Cremona, V (1998). Costume in Malta - A History of Fabric, Form & Fashion. 2nd ed. Malta: Patrimonju Publishing Ltd. 
Bonavia,C (2012). Country Folk Costumes In Malta And Gozo Description and Patterns. Malta: Heritage Malta. 
Gambin K(2012). Peasant Costumes Insights Into Rural Life and Society . Malta: Heritage Malta.

Essay Art- Artist Dominique Ciancio

Dominique Ciancio was born in 1983 Sliema, Malta. He started drawing and painting in his early teens when he was 12/13 years old. He studied History of Art  and Philosophy at the University of Malta. In 2004 he got a degree. He also has a four year Diploma in fine Arts from the School of Art.

 He worked on back drops for film companies such as Universal Pictures and productions with film director Steven Spielberg filming in Malta. When he was the age of 22 he travelled to Northern Europe mainly Scandinavia. For a few years he studied and painted full time while living in Oslo, Norway . In 2010 he decided to move to Gozo. Specializing in oil painting he took commissions and exhibitions. 

Ciancio admires a variety of artists, film directors and paintings of the old masters. His favourite subject to paint is people . when he paints portraits he trains himself .He depicts life models during a 2 hour sitting. Then he uses his imagination and always using a mirror for guidance.

I asked Ciancio if he was inspired by local scenery but he prefers more universal themes and is inspired by films. He also experiments with sound which he had experimented with other artists in England. He creates projects combining picture and sound.

In his paintings he tries to create a story using his own life experience. He mostly uses oils and  buys and mixes his own quality pigments with oil. He prepares his own canvas. He also uses Jute as the base for his paintings.  He likes to create certain vibrant colours with glazes and  he scratches the paint using tools to create texture and expression.  Most of his paintings are finished with varnish.

He has exhibited abroad and locally. Some local exhbitions include,The Curious 2010, Silent Pulses  2011, The Mirror Works  2012,  Unpack  2014,  Semartilma - Dissolving Borders 2014/15 and his current exhibition Ditto- Approaching portraiture  2015.

In his latest exhibition Ditto he focuses on portraiture.His studies, texture and the final output. He used mixed media not just oils. He used, pastels,pen and ink,watercolour and acrylic. 

I chose Dominique Ciancio because he has original works.

Self -Portrait

Travelling Glows, oils on canvas
Private Collection

This painting is one of his works. It depicts three girls, two old men and an old woman travelling on a ship  Maybe they are hoping to find a better place for them. As you can see a teenager is holding a lamp. It shows a glow on their faces The background shows the sun, clouds, sky and the sea. The setting  sky is dramatic and the sea shows different types blues from light to dark.

Age

In this painting a curious baby is crawling looking at a screen painting of an old man feeling sad and his eyesight are looking down, on the right hand side is a teenager looking a the old man. when I look at it I see the baby looking at the screen like that what I am going to look like or else he is looking at his father and his grandfather. It depicts light on the baby and on the screen the texture of the painting is different with colours of golden yellow and brown and greyish colours.

The Balancer

The Balancer depicts a man balancing on the wire holding a stick in his hands. He seems to be balancing above roof tops  with  the city below in the distance. The sky is a night scene full of darkness with hues of blacks and blues. 

These images are the exhibition called ditto of 11th till 29th April 2015 in Gozo, Victoria.

Sandra & Romina
Oil on canvas

This painting is a private collection. Two ladies are posing and sitting down. On the left we can see she is sitting on a chair and the other one on the chest. blue and red curtains form a background. The light is coming from above.

Studies on prepared linen
Mixed media on linen

This painting depicts two teenage girls.This is a sketch on linen. There is a lot of texture in this painting.

Harvard reference

 Dominique Ciancio. 2000. Dominique Ciancio paintings. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.ciancioart.com/index.html. [Accessed 17 April 15].

Camilleriparismode - Design

I visited Camilleriparismode at Rabat. It is a family- run business which developed from selling fabrics to selling furnishings and lifestyle products.
They had a wide range of high quality products from fabrics to household accessories and indoor and outdoor furnishings. The products were beautifully displayed and I found it challenging to choose the items I wanted to research.

Anglepoise

Anglepoise produce lamps which are energy efficient and are practical for use in the home and commercial use. The Anglepoise was invented by George Carwardine in 1931. He developed an idea of balancing weights using springs, cranks and levers. He created a lamp which combines flexibility with perfect balance.
They are produced in various sizes and colours.

Lloyd Loom Weave Furniture

 Lloyd Loom  is a name that given to a method and technique. It is made from twisting and winding by Kraft paper,around a fine steel wire. Lloyd loom weave exited since 1917 and it is strong and durable. Lloyd Loom Furniture is made for both outdoor and indoor use. You can find different styles and colours.

This is called The Rondo Storage it is a circular side table and a storage box in one. It is made in Lloyd Loom Style. Storage version has a 60 side table it’s easily removable oak top and has space below. It can be chosen from a selection of painted colours they were included in three gorgeous pearl colours. 

Wall hanging

This product is a creative wall covering. It is made by the French company called ELITIS. It is made from abaca fibres . Once they are dry they are softened, dyed with natural pigments and finally either woven or pasted onto the backing. 

Vertigo Small Pendant Lamps

Vertigo is a word the designer gave for a ‘’den lamp’’ This lamp is called a pendant lamp. When I look at it I see a wavy movement and a graphical straight line made out of metal. It has a light fibre glass structure and stretched with velvety polyurethane ribbons. When the lamp is lit  it reflects a pattern showing on the surroundings. Due to its extreme lightness,  it comes to life swaying with the soft air current around it.

I think it is a fascinating piece. It comes in two sizes big and small and four colours Black,Blue,White and cooper.  

Essay Design - Fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier

One of the most famous fashion designers, Jean Paul Gaultier, was born on the 24th April 1952 in Arcueil, France. As a child he was not interested in sports or activities but he was interested in fashion. When he was seven he created a bra from newspaper for his own stuffed bear.When he turned the age of 13 he started designing a collection of clothing for his mother and grandmother. At the age of 15 he created a coat with a bag sewn into it which shown his creativity. He got his inspiration from magazines, television, films and popular fashion designers and started creating his own designs.

 Gauilter sent sketches to popular Paris designers looking for a job and when he turned 18 he was hired as an assistant for  Pierre Cardin.  His sketches were published in a French magazine called Mode International. He also worked for Jacques Esteral and Jean Patou . In 1976 he released  his first design clothing line for a company called Mayagor. He became very famous and iconic with designs such as the male skirt, corsets and undergarments worn as outerwear and tattoo-printed body stockings.  He launched a secondary line, Junior Gaultier and started creating perfumes. His styles were more focused on street wear and popular culture.

In 1987 Jean Paul received the French designer of the year award.  New York's Metropolitan Museum hosted an exhibition titled Bravehearts: Men in Skirts. It was sponsored by Jean Paul Gaultier and various designers and fashion houses took part . It showed designs inspired by males in skirts such as the Romans, Greeks and Scottish. He also created costumes for films such as, The Fifth Element. Showing his creativity and originality there was an exhibition in Paris at the Fondation Cartier titled 'Pain Couture' showing clothing made out of bread.

In 1990 he was the designer for Madonna's Blond Ambition tour. She wore under garments as outer garments  and a salmon-pink corset with conical bra cups. Gaultier created costumes for Kylie Minogue's  X Tour in 2008.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier : From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk is an exhibition touring across the world. It is another of Gaultier's one of a kind event. It shows his inspiration of a mixture of cultures, traditions and religions. It is now showing at the Grand Palais in Paris.

I chose Jean Paul Gaultier for this essay because he is an original fashion designer. I enjoyed looking at his creativity and iconic designs such as the costumes made like under wear such as the conical bra. His designs are all different inspired by world cultures. What I found original were the Couture designs  made out of bread. I believe Jean Paul Gaultier is a great Artist of this century. 

Himself dressed in his iconic kilt and Breton strip sweater  

Past designs

A bra for his own stuffed bear

Jean Paul Gaultier -Created a coat with a bag 

Jean Paul Gaultier's Children's collection - Junior Gaultier

One of Jean Paul Gaultier's perfumes

Tattoo-printed body stockings

Madonna's blonde Ambition tour salmon-pink corset with conical bra cups

.

 She appeared on stage wearing a cone shaped bra under a men's style suit with strategic slashes in the front.

Madonna - Sketches for 'Blonde Ambition' 

Kylie Minogue - sketch

 One of Kyile Minogue's X Tour costumes 

These four sketches are costumes for 'The Fifth Element'

Gaultier first started creating sketches then creating costumes

 Jean Paul Gauilter and the two models wearing his costume design for 'The Fifth Element'

These two images are clothing made out of bread from the Pain Couture

                      The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier : From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. 

i

This design is entitled Skin Deep from his exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier : From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. It is inspired as skin involves a trompe-l'oeil of muscles onto a garment.

'The Odyssey' displays such as sailors with Breton stripes, mermaids and religious iconography. 

Gaultier mixes and matches the influences in Bedouin, Orthodox, Jewish, Chinese, Flamenco, Russian, Bollywood, and Nordic

Website

bio. 2015. Jean Paul Gaultier Biography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/jean-paul-gaultier-9307775. [Accessed 16 April 15].

Fashion Time. 2011. JEAN PAUL GAULTIER FASHION BIOGRAPHY. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.fashionintime.org/jean-paul-gaultier-fashion-biography/. [Accessed 16 April 15].

James Philips. 2007. Jean Paul Gaultier - Controversial Designs. [ONLINE] Available at:http://ezinearticles.com/?Jean-Paul-Gaultier---Controversial-Designs&id=760469. [Accessed 16 April 15].

Encyclopedia.com. 2004. Jean Paul Gaultier. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404702409.html. [Accessed 16 April 15].

Exhibition Carmelo Mangion - Art

 Carmelo Mangion 

Visions of a Maltese Master

Casino Maltese

6th -27th March 2015

I visited Carmelo Mangion's exhibition 'Visions of a Maltese Master' at the Casino Maltese. I was invited to the opening on 6th March by his daughter Adrienne Cassar. He was a husband,a  father, a friend, a teacher and an incredible artist, who silently revolutionized art in Malta.  The collection of his works display consists pieces in various media, gouache, watercolour, oil and etching.  In this exhibition there are family portraits, landscape, seascape, still life, biblical paintings, etchings and abstract compositions.  

     

Title : The Bathers

Media:  Oil on Masonite

In this painting I see the beach. In the foreground there are two ladies in the nude. One of them is laying down, the other one sitting down they are looking at the people and the environment. The painting gives a calm and relaxed mood.  In the foreground the artist used warm colours and cold colours in the background. The oil paint is diluted and he scratched the hair and some areas with the wooden handle of the brush.  The artist uses pure white for the sea or  he left the primer showing. The artist seems to have worked quickly and from the imagination. It reminds me of an Impressionist painting.

In my opinion the painting looks simple, not complicated.

       

                         Title :  Methodist Church Floriana

          Media: Oil on Masonite

This painting is the Methodist Church at Floriana. . The painting depicts a night scene. The road looks slippery and wet probably it was raining. The church reflects on the ground. The building is not straight. The distortion  makes the painting very interesting. He uses  red, blues, black yellows, greys, orange and white. The reds are mainly on the church and the shades of grey and blue around it.

 If it was my work, I would include a figure wearing a coat and holding an umbrella in the painting to make it more interesting.

     

        Title :  Dead end street

          Media: Gouache on paper

The painting depicts buildings next to each other in a dead end street. The road has a distorted perspective.It is painted from high floor of a building. The two street lamps shed lights forming a triangle in the street. The sky is red with greys and blues which makes it looks like a sunset. The red of the sun is seen on the church in the distance. It looks like a fast sketch.  

In my opinion the buildings in this painting are too crowded. It looks like a children's drawing.

           Title :  Boats at Msida

 Media: Etching

This is an etching. It shows a seascape at Msida. There is a Church and buildings in the background, boats in the background and foreground. His style has a certain roughness especially the boat and the floor in the foreground. The buildings although in the distance they have certain detail. Only reflections indicate the sea. A few lines gives the sky a dramatic effect. The darkest area are the boats in the foreground and the ship in the distance. The paper is stained due to its age and maybe improper storage.

I would depict people riding on a boat, people fishing or else people swimming in the sea but I would not change the etching because it is perfect the way it is.

   

    Title :  Salome

             Media: Oil on Masonite

Mangion uses his wife as a model for Salome. Salome is seated dressed up elegantly in a blue dress wearing a necklace, earnings,  a bracelet on her wrist, a ring on her finger and on her right hand holding a glass of wine. She looks as if she is very proud and calm.  She looks at the 'vision' of Saint John the Baptist's head bleeding on the plate. The colour of the head and the blood contrasts with her pale skin. It is a modern version of the story of the bible.