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A Mandala "The Circle and the Square", 1996
weaving; rice paper, Chinese ink, charcoal, computer print outs
66.5 x 45.8 cm
Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, 1997.168.001
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Amy Loewan
b. 1945, Hong Kong
As a mature student in the art department at the University of Alberta, Amy Loewan began to incorporate sensibilities and materials from her Chinese heritage in calligraphic drip paintings.
The grid-like woven patterns of this calligraphy led her to explore the process of physically weaving strips of rice paper. The horizontal and vertical strokes of the character for “kindness” were particularly evocative for her and became the impetus for her Project Kindness series. In A Mandala “The Circle and the Square” the word kindness is printed in various fonts from left to right in English and calligraphically written from top to bottom. Together with symbols for earth (square) and sky (circle), the work weaves an optimistic cross-cultural statement about the power of kindness to create a better world.
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A Peace Project, 2000
weaving; rice paper, Chinese ink, charcoal, computer print outs
95 x 68 cm
Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, 2000.068.001
A Peace Project is an early example of Loewan’s woven rice paper works which today have evolved into a series of large installations collectively known as The Peace Projects.
Appearing geometric and abstract from a distance, the work reveals upon closer inspection a series of words that have been integrated into the rice paper weave: compassion, kindness, respect, understanding, patience, tolerance, gentleness, and forgiveness. In 1998, art historian David Silcox wrote about this series: “Her materials remind us of how fragile human rights are. This simple, powerful, but gently moving work is made of soft white rice paper and ink . . . and these reverberating words invoke ideas, which are the most powerful weapons in the world-wide battle for human dignity.”
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Amy Loewan weaving paper. Source: Reiner Loewan.