50. Bwalavwih

The shape of these combs resembles the human hand in an atavistic way. Their craftsmanship is exquisite: a series of 12 polished wooden points made from the interior of the tree fern (mau vwilih), arranged hierarchically and symmetrically by length, in a triangular disposition. In this particular pair, the wooden points are held together by woven hemp cord (bwele rava), although in other similar objects it is burao (coconut fiber) what is used for binding purposes. These combs are from Pentecóte Island in the New Hebrides –an archipelago in the South Pacific known today as Vanuatu- and are an extinct object of sorts, since it is reported that this particular style of comb making died in the early 1900s. The few remaining combs still in use today are found in the central areas of the island, where they are known as bwalavwih. Bwalavwihs are designed to be worn as hair ornaments by women in certain social ceremonies. They are about 18 cm. (7 in.) in height from top to bottom, and 11.5 cm. (4.5 in.) in width at the bottom. It is particularly remarkable that the ratio between those two dimensions (1.56) is very close to the number Phi (1.61) -the Golden Ratio; is that mere coincidence? is it possible that the craftsmen from the New Hebrides designed these everyday objects in the same harmonious proportion that Euclid of Alexandria defined in 300 B.C. and the Italians called the Divine Proportion in the 16th century?

49. Djerrk

Aboriginals have lived in Australia’s Northern Territory for 60,000 years. One of their everyday objects is an extraordinarily simple string bag made from natural handspun bush string. These societies use string bags in their everyday hunting, fishing and food gathering activities. String bags are specially designed for food that is wet or bloody, as it allows liquids to drain away by gravity. Its lightness is also adequate for ventilating the smells of raw meat or fish. Finally, the form of these bags is able to adapt to any content, and the structural capabilities of natural fiber insure the possibility of carrying heavy loads. The bag in the picture is about 56 cm. (22 in.) long, and it is made using centuries old hand weaving techniques. In aboriginal societies, hand weaving is produced by men and women for various purposes, including tight and open weave conical bags, netted string bags, fishnets, etc. Stylistic similarities and differences arise through family groups working together, availability of certain materials and dyes, influence of new material and dye sources, and the demands of the community. The word for bag varies slightly in most of the local languages: in Burarra, it is jerrk; in Ndjennana and Eastern Kunwinjku, it is djerrk; in Rembarrnga and Kune, it is djerrh, etc. The importance of bags –all types of bags- in modern Western societies is clearly explained by the primordial role bags have played in many primitive societies for thousands of years.

48. Straw raincoat

I found this photograph in the back cover of a book about world crafts. A short caption explained that it is a raincoat used by shepherds in the mountains of Galicia (Spain). I’d be curious to know whether this exceptional garment is still in use today -the book is a few decades old- or perhaps it belongs to a tradition of straw crafting no longer available. What drew me to this object was its austerity. I understand its form as a manifestation of a rigorous order not difficult to infer even from a photograph. There is a sense of precision in its regularity that relates more to the world of abstraction present in design and art than to the pragmatism of self-taught, remote-mountain, handcrafting. I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with the maker of this object. I would ask him how this raincoat performs in the harsh and ever-rainy climate of Southern Galicia. I would want to know how long it takes for this garment to dry after a heavy storm, and how it repels water to keep the body dry. I would be curious to know if his original intention was to create a disposable or a permanent garment and what type of fibers did he use to make it. I would ask whether the overlapping layers that define this cape-like raincoat are the result of trial and error or the product of conscious design. This is one object capable of redefining design.

47. Rattan dress

The small-diameter, easily malleable, rattan used in the manufacturing of furniture, could probably be easily adapted to the contours of the human body. But Martha Beckman, one of my former Industrial Design students at RISD, chose a different path to construct her rattan dress: she decided to use a larger-diameter cane. Manau rattan, the material she used, is commercially available in the United States in diameters up to 2 inches (5 cm.). Unlike most bamboo species with hollow nodes, rattan has a solid cane. This circumstance favored a primitive, yet effective, process of deconstructing the rattan cane into a surface that could be molded to the contours of the body: smashing the cane with a hammer to break it down and separate the fibers. The hammer allowed the designer to easily fine tune the amount of force applied to disaggregate the fibers, as opposed to using mechanical machines such as a hydraulic press, that would afford a more homogeneous, yet less expressive, crushing process. By forcing the fibers to separate in order to re-arrange them following new patterns, she was able to generate a natural surface with different degrees of density, different thicknesses and curvatures. These three variables were enough to provide her with the design tools she needed for dressmaking. There is certain primitive sophistication in the result, even if it is just a prototype that speaks to the provocative notion of using an abundant grass as an innovative material to create new clothing concepts.