SEM-EDS data from HM 9996

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1 A p p e n d i x B SEM-EDS data from HM 9996 J a c o b T h o m a s 101

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9 A p p e n d i x C Selected communications between the author and Sue Prince J a c o b T h o m a s 109

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11 Jacob Thomas: According to your website, you discovered bonader in March of 2004, could you give further details about where and when you first saw bonader? In what sort of environment were they displayed, for instance, in a open air type museum (Skansen or a stuga), a traditional type museum (Varberg Museet), in a private home, or some other situation? Sue Prince: I was in Sweden as part of a business exchange project called BESST (business and Environmant linked through Small Scale Tourism). I was taking part in a meeting in the Church Hall in Unnaryd and there on the wall was a bonad! Just pinned up on the wall. Before my trip I had been working on a piece of artwork strongly inspired by the Bayeaux Tapestry, so during my visit I was very receptive and looking through those 'folk art' eyes. I saw the bonad and 'WOW!' I saw the narrative nature, the plump aspirational people and animals and the simple interpretation of country life- and everything fell into place- then I found out about the earth pigments and egg yolk etc and my life changed! JT: How did you transition from bonader spectator, to bonader producer, to instructor in the tradition? SP: I am an artist so was never a bonad spectator, I was immediately an aspiring producer! I asked many questions of the people we met during our visit - and mainly got info from Soren Kabell, we discussed the flexible nature of the canvas and the painting surface - we studied books about the materials used in tibet and nepal for their portable religious works- which were very like gesso. At this stage I was unable to go in the museum so only had one a small swedish book and a postcard to work with (I do not speak Swedish, I am very thankful for many patient Swedish friends!). When I got home I researched among friends and contacts and (most importantly) on the internet about egg tempera work. I experimented with my framer who made gesso canvases for me. I simply tried things- grinding pigment/not grinding, making a pigment paste with water/using dry pigment, finding the right containers to preserve the pigment and egg yolk etc etc. Then I started to paint- and it seemed to work. I am a qualified group trainer (in my other jobs) and was so grateful to have been given the gift of bonader that I was happy to try and share my experience with Swedish people. I couldn't bear to see this die out- JT: In your opinion what is folkart? Do you consider yourself to be a folk artist? Since you are external to the Swedish culture, are your bonader paintings folkart, or are they fine art that has been inspired by folk art (for example, Picasso and African masks)? SP: My immediate reaction is 'I don't know!' I am just an artist who has to create. Its like asking a monkey in the zoo what sort of monkey he is! He is just a monkey- its up to others to decide what sort. In my mind it is folk art because it is naive and simple and of the countryside, I don't see myself as a 'fine' artist- I am not from a trained or formal background-i am a communicator and a story teller, I want to be humble! The art is right for me because I want to express my issues which are countryside issues. I may be external to the Swedish culture but I am of the European rural culture (even world rural culture)- and for me bonads are as much about rural as they are about Sweden. In Northern Romania is a burial ground called the Merry cemetery. It tells the stories of the J a c o b T h o m a s 111

12 buried people in short poems with naive pictures- I visited this place a few years ago and this had the same potential for communication as the bonader- I will tell you about it when we meet (I am a slow typist!) JT: Do you consider your works using 20th century clothing and commonallia to be more firmly in the folk tradition than those of Torsten Bengtsson which are stuck in the 19th century? SP: It is too difficult to answer- I am not in competition with Torsten. He made some movements that way - he did a bonad showing the angel peeing on Jacob's pistol to stop him shooting his son! I don't claim to be continuing the folk tradition of Swedish bonads, I am producing my works inspired by them- but I suppose, if pushed, I think I am doing what they did in using my own life and paraphenalia to tell stories. JT: Do you, or perhaps, your Swedish audience find any incongruity with this? Or do you think it is more appropriate in today's multicultural and secularized society, where religion is no-longer central to daily life? SP: I am not a religious person. I did find some examples of non religious bonads, (occupations, wheel of fortune) I checked with my friends in Unnaryd that they felt it was ok to not portray Bible stories. I was very nervous, I didn't want to offend anyone- but when I started work I realised that much of my work has serious and 'spiritual' interpretations in a wider sense. When Swedish people first saw my bonads - it was amazing and some people were speechless- I was quite worried, but then they became excited and interested. When I teach I try and communicate my reverence for the medium and the integrity of the history and background. However I am sure that some people will be shocked! I can't stress enough that my works are my expression- I don't think 'is this appropriate or not?' they are not produced for 'today's society' they are produced for me! about my love of nature, of rural life, of food, of people, of love, of kindness and people working together. Yes, when I get a commission I work to someone else's brief, but I try to make a serious and meaningful interpretation of the brief- it is something to do (for me) with the integrity of the procedurethe instruments- glass grinding surface and muller, palette knives, beautiful brushes, the grinding of the paint, the long preparartion of the canvas, the planning of the picture, the preparation of the egg yolk and finally the application of the paint - for me is a bit spiritual. I would feel uncomfortable if they were made into tea towels or cheap throw-away versions -the history they carry is too precious. If they are reproduced it must be a high quality reproduction JT: Are you also a bonader collector in addition to a producer/instructor? How do you display the bonader you have produced, and, if applicable, those that you have collected? SP: I have only collected images on my pc. Only my own bonader are in my homeeverywhere! I would love to have an original but so far have had no opportunity. I have never seen one for sale. (I have only been to Sweden4 times I think) My own canvases are stretched on wooden batons and hung on the walls, or in boxes leaning on the walls behind doors and all over the place! J a c o b T h o m a s 112

13 JT: What were your resources for researching the materials and methods of bonader painting? How did you choose your palette? What is your reasoning behind your choices of pigments and media? Would you be interested in changing your palette to better match early bonader paintings, or are your choices not related to the palettes of earlier painters? SP: I am a painter anyway so I had a good start- when I eventually did go to the museum in Nov 04 (I think) seeing the original bonader was like having a masterclass with the artists. I could see their brush work and understand many of the ways of working. On the internet I found details of an american woman, I think in the 1930s, who fell in love with bonader and built a collection in US. Maria Lagerwall has a great collection of Swedish books - of course for me the most important thing is the pictures. My choice of palette etc was down to me obtaining (via the internet from a wonderful ancient pigment supplier in London) a set of 60 samples of pigments and comparing them to Nilsson's colours in the small booklet. I found I could acheive the look I wanted with the very simple, oldest and cheapest of the pigments plus indigo. I figured that that may be how he worked- it was at a time of depression, they wouldn't have been able to afford expensive pigments. They grew their own linen and wove their canvases. My work is my own interpretation of these constraints. Yes I would be interested in trying other paints and pigments- but can't guarantee that I would change. My motivation is not to replicate completely but to be inspired by and convey the spirit of. But I do love to experiement and try things out. I would LOVE to try and produce a large work on linen like the originals! I have never seen the bonader displayed as they should be in a stuga at christmas- I would love to. Everytime I go the Sweden I see some small detail that gives me another clue about some of the bonader images. The more I work and the more I look at Nilsson's work the more in tune I feel with parts of his work. There are things you do as an artist which are very natural but you wouldn't really appeciate until you find yourself doing them! (if you see what I mean!) JT: May I use our correspondance and a copy of an image of one of your bonaderwithin my thesis? SP: Yes you can use the words and an image, so long as they are credited to me, thank you. JT: What are the costs of the bonader painting class in July? SP: I think you must ask Gunilla Kabell about the course and the costs- as she is organising it. It would be wonderful to have you all there. If you don't speak Swedish, where are you from? JT: May I pass on your contact information and information about your paintings and the class to the Nordiska Museet and any other interested parties? I would be happy for you to pass my details on to the Nordiska Museet -what is it and where is it? Do they have lots of bonads? I loved answering your questions, it is so good to discuss with someone interested in the details. You have made me analyse and examine things in a way I wouldn't normally do. As an artist, most things just happen and its difficult to say why- but I enjoy the challenge of trying. J a c o b T h o m a s 113

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15 A p p e n d i x D Experimental protocols J a c o b T h o m a s 115

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17 Sampling As per the Paper Conservation Catalog 10 section (The Book and Paper Group 1993). Fluoroglucinol As per the Paper Conservation Catalog 10 section (The Book and Paper Group 1993). Graff s C Stain As per the Paper Conservation Catalog 10, section (The Book and Paper Group 1993); Tracing and Copying materials (Vikberg 1994); Tappi standard T 401 om-93 (Tappi 1993); and Fiber Identification (Mayer 1994) Aluminon As per the ICCROM Paper Conservation Course Lab Notes (ICCROM 1993). Raspail Test As per A review of Methods for the Identification of Sizing Agents in Paper, (Barrett and Mosier 1992). Ehrlich s Reagent As per Tappi Standard T 504 cm-97 (Tappi 1997); A review of Methods for the Identification of Sizing Agents in Paper, (Barrett and Mosier 1992); Improvements in Some Tests and Techniques in Photograph Conservation." (Collings and Young 1976); Some Improvements in Techniques of Analysis of Paint Media. (Martin 1977). Neocarmine As per SVK spot testing protocol. Surface ph As per Tappi Standard T 529 om-88 (Tappi 1988) with the exception that the ph was sampled every 60 seconds for five minutes. Fiber Identification As per Tappi Standard T 401 om-93 (Tappi 1993); Tappi Standad T 259 om-93 (Tappi 1993); Tappi Standard T 263 sp-97; Fiber Identification. (Mayer 1994); with the references to several fiber atlases references to be found in the bibliography J a c o b T h o m a s 117