ISTANBUL, May 21 — Aston Villa captain John McGinn invited Prince William to join his side’s Europa League victory party after the royal watched their 3-0 win in yesterday’s final against Freiburg.

William is an avid Villa fan and was in the stands at the Besiktas Stadium as Unai Emery’s side clinched the club’s first major trophy for 30 years.

He also spoke to Villa’s players in the dressing room before kick-off in Istanbul, prompting McGinn to tell him to get involved in the post-match celebrations.

“He is a classy guy,” McGinn told TNT Sport. “He was in the dressing room before the game. He is a massive Villa fan so he was never going to miss it.

“He is just a normal guy. It’s great to have his support and hopefully it continues and tonight he can have a couple of drinks with us and maybe get his credit card out at the end of the night!”

The Prince has attended many of Villa’s matches in recent years and was seen celebrating wildly as Youri Tielemans, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers scored the goals that sealed the club’s first major European trophy for 44 years.

He even pulled out his phone to film the moment McGinn lifted the trophy in a confetti-filled celebration.

“Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware!” the Prince wrote on social media. — AFP

dannyhennesy posted a photo:

...as I said earlier I missed out on the Fright Knight theme, I started frequenting cafés, pubs and clubs... but a small AFOL was still around in me when I visited friends with Lego I was always ready to play with their kids (and their Lego...

Peace and Noise!

/Mushroombrain from the brick-block

On this day 89 years ago, the Hindenburg disaster in Lakehurst, New Jersey, shocked onlookers and resulted in 35 fatalities and dozens of injuries. It was a tragedy that accelerated the end of the age of the airship. It was also remarkably well photographed, and the nearly 90-year-old pictures, both still and motion, continue to captivate audiences.

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Kaïopai° posted a photo:

"Halt Dich
fest das
Du die
Balance
nicht
verlierst.
Lohre (?).", 1925

Kaïopai° posted a photo:

"Wie ich in der Mittagspause
zu gehe (?)
in der Arena."

"Auf dem Schulhof." einer Schule in Magdeburg, 1925

Until just the past few decades, textiles were generally created with only practical applications in mind. Although fiber and cloth in its myriad forms had been produced for millennia around the globe, fabrics were woven for either domestic or industrial use, and crafts such as knitting, weaving, basket- and net-making, and more were considered purely functional. Think clothing or decor. Even ornate medieval tapestries were conceived as utilitarian objects, used in stone buildings like churches and large homes to soften sounds and insulate against the cold.

Within the canon of Western art history, in particular, the hierarchy of fine art has long been quite definite: painting and sculpture were chief among mediums. Anything else fell under categories of preparatory processes, craft, or ornament. But in the mid-20th century, that delineation began to shift. Anni Albers, who taught at the Bauhaus and later Black Mountain College, was one of the first artists to approach weaving as both a craft and an art. She laid the foundations for later artists like Sheila Hicks, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Cecelia Vicuña, Faith Ringgold, and many more. Today, artists like Bisa Butler, Do Ho Suh, Nick Cave, and countless others continue to challenge boundaries and redefine the role of textiles in art.

A new exhibition at Saatchi Gallery takes a fresh look at how fiber has become a celebrated facet of contemporary art. Textile Art Redefined is curated by Helen Adams, founder of the platform Textile Curator. Vibrant colors and patterns infuse the show with a sense of joy and optimism, while the selection highlights the broad range of approaches to different materials, such as Ian Berry’s large-scale installation titled “Secret Garden,” which mimics Delft tiles and yet is made entirely of recycled denim. And Kenny Nguyen’s large-scale wall piece, made of thousands of colorful strips of silk, appears to undulate and swirl.

For some of these artists, like Argentinian duo Chiachio & Giannone and knit designer Kaffe Fassett—who continues to work alongside his long-term partner, designer Brandon Mably—the union of art and craft lends itself to a entire lifestyle built around fiber as a form of expression, brimming with color and patterns. Colossal readers may also recognize work by Anne von Freyburg, Signe Emdal, Deniz Kurdak, and Benjamin Shine, in addition to Caroline Burgess, Sara Impey, Simone Pheulpin, Jakkai Siributr, Magda Sayeg, and Jenni Dutton. “In an increasingly digital world, creating by hand has taken on a new appreciation,” says a statement.

Textile Art Redefined continues through May 10 in London. Adams is also the author of the new book Textile Fine Art, published by Laurence King.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article 15 Artists Explore the Potential of Fabric and Fiber in ‘Textile Art Redefined’ appeared first on Colossal.