Moroccan carpets

and modern art

Aesthetic parallels between the artwork of classic modernism and the
visual world of Moroccan tribal carpets have been the subject of ongoing
discussion in the past few years. Contributing editor Gebhart Blazek takes
up the thread in the context of an upcoming exhibition in Graz

I
n the decorative arts trade and among catalogue published at that time has
various authors, the question of the undoubtedly been the most influential book
relationship between 20th-century on the subject around the world ever since.
Western art and the colourfully graphic I first met Jürgen Adam in Marrakesh in
Berber tribal carpets of Morocco has been 1995 at the ICOC regional conference, where
debated at length—even somewhat excessively we were both appearing as speakers (see
—in recent years. However, in contrast to the HALI 120). Our conversation highlighted his
often very superficial attempts to take a enthusiastic search for the ‘missing link’, or
shortcut towards establishing a direct link, the evidence for a direct relationship between
German architect and collector Jürgen Adam the work of Western artists and the seemingly
has spent 40 years engrossed in painstaking modern imagery of rural Moroccan carpets.
work with the material to see whether any At first glance, this relationship appears to
direct relationships or mutual influences can be obvious, particularly because visual artists,
be found. architects, writers and musicians regularly
All Photos: Gebhart Blazek unless otherwise stated.

Professor Adam is one of the foremost visited the Maghreb throughout the 20th 1 Moroccan pile rug (detail),
collectors of Moroccan carpets of recent century to study there, think of Paul Klee, central Middle Atlas, mid 20th
decades. His 2013/14 exhibition at the August Macke or Le Corbusier; however many century. 1.70 x 2.85 m
Pinakothek der Moderne/Neue Sammlung— stayed for longer, especially in Morocco, such (5' 7" x 9' 4"). The highly unusual
The International Design Museum in Munich, as Jacques Majorelle, Paul Bowles, William complex pattern is similar to
‘Moroccan Carpets and Modern Art’, achieved Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, examples published in 1934 by
particular attention (see ‘Berbers in Sharp Brion Gysin, Brice Marden and many others. Prosper Ricard in Corpus des Tapis
Focus’, HALI 178, pp.94-99). The eponymous But the further you delve into the material, the Marocains, vol.4.
82 Moroccan carpets Moroccan carpets 83

a collector—the possibility of a direct influence

on Western artists of the design principles of
Berber carpets. While his enthusiasm has
apparently never waned, the focus of his
interests has clearly shifted. His previously
intensive search for a direct, formal
relationship has turned into open amazement
at how artistic processes that come from
entirely different individual viewpoints and
that work with entirely different media,
methods and speeds can often lead to
astonishingly similar solutions.
Among passionate collectors, the primary
focus of the debate has undoubtedly come
from the perspective of the aesthetics of
classic modernity, as Adam presented
comprehensively in the Moroccan Carpets
and Modern Art catalogue. Against this
background, it is understandable for him as
an architect to have concentrated on the
investigation of design principles, while
factors such as age and regional origin were of
lesser importance when judging formal issues.
But it would be wrong to limit the collection
to this perspective. Adam began collecting in
the 1960s and started working with the
material at an early stage, so he had access to
pieces that have long since disappeared from
the market. They include pile carpets from
Rehamna and the region surrounding the city
of Boujad (4, 5), as well as a group of highly
unusual pieces and a large number of
monochrome carpets from the Middle Atlas (3).

Photo: Florian Schreiber

An astonishing number of high-quality rugs
are yet to be published as they cannot be
suitably integrated into Adam’s catalogue
classification, based on Wassily Kandinsky's
2 3 1926 manifesto Point and Line to Plane.
The Neue Sammlung acquired parts of
Adam’s collection around the time of the
…artistic processes that come from entirely different 2 Zenaga rug, southern Morocco,
Jebel Siroua region or Pre-Sahara,
Munich exhibition in 2013, and Alexandra
Sachs and I took on the task of its continued
individual viewpoints and that work with entirely 1960s-70s, 1.30 x 3.05 m (4'3" x 10'0") management in Autumn 2018. During the

different media, methods and speeds can often lead to 3 Ait Sgougou or Beni Mguild rug,
evaluation, an inventory was drawn up on
the basis of the collector’s guiding principles,
astonishingly similar solutions western Middle Atlas, 1960s-70s as well as more objective criteria. Once the
1.65 x 2.75 m (5'5" x 9'0") evaluation and systematic documentation
is complete, there are plans in the near future
clearer it becomes that you cannot really discern any relationship just at the visual surface level. 4 Rug, Rehamna or Sraghna or for selected presentations, detailed
It is far more likely that such a link would be born out of the atmospheric conditions or higher- west of Boujad in the western publications and subsequent sales.
order structures. foothills of the Middle Atlas, Following a preliminary exhibition held
While conducting a comprehensive classification and evaluation of the collection with mid 20th century, 1.40 x 3.05 m during Design Month Graz in 2015, Sachs has
Alexandra Sachs at Jürgen Adam’s home in Munich in Autumn 2018, we returned again and again (4'7" x 10'0") curated a selection of pieces that draws heavily
in our discussions to the central theme that has followed Adam for some four decades of his life as on the multifaceted nature of the collection. As
4
 Moroccan carpets 85

Photo: Florian Schreiber

Photo: Florian Schreiber

6 8

a curator with her own artistic background, she has a powerful relationship with the collector's 5 Rug (detail), north of Boujad,
visual and aesthetic approach. And with her many years of experience as a dealer, she also western foothills of Middle Atlas,
draws on authenticity, age and rarity, as well as the cultural and historic features of the carpets' 1960s-70s, 1.65 x 2.70 m (5'5" x 8'9")
regions of origin, when composing the selection.
For the first exhibition the selection includes a unique carpet from the Zenaga people of 6 Azilal rug, central High Atlas,
southern Morocco with heavily modified motifs from urban Rabat carpets (2), a highly expressive late 20th C. 1.30 x 2.35 m (4'3" x 7'7")
piece from the Arabic-speaking areas west of the Boujad region by the Sraghna or Rehamna tribes
(4), and an exceptionally complex patterned carpet from the Middle Atlas (1). The last was not 7 Alexandra Sachs and Professor
included in the catalogue for reasons mentioned above, and will be displayed for the first time Jürgen Adam
from 25 April to 18 May 2019 at my gallery at Leonhardstrasse 12, in Graz, Austria.
An additional presentation is planned at the HALI London festival in June 2019, while 8 Zenaga rug (detail), Jebel Siroua
further exhibitions in Switzerland are scheduled from Autumn 2019 onwards, with the USA set region or Pre-Sahara, 1925-50, 1.25 x
to follow. 1.95 m (4'1" x 6'5")