Woman's muslin dress, Europe, c. 1855. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.2007.211.755.

Muslin (/ˈmʌslɨn/ or /ˈmjuːslɨn/) is a loosely-woven cotton fabric which originated in Bangladesh, which was introduced to Europe from the Middle East in the 17th century. It became very popular at the end of the 18th century in France. Muslin is most typically an unbleached or white cloth, produced from carded cotton yarn. It is often used to make sewing patterns, such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.

Etymology and history[link]

Muslin clothes were traded by ancient Greeks from the Indian port town Machilipatnam, which was called Maisolos or Masalia in ancient times. Some believe that the name muslin originated from the name Maisolos.^[1] Marco Polo, the famous traveller, visited the Kakatiya kingdom in which Machilipatnam was located and praised the muslins available there.^[2] In 1298, Marco Polo described the cloth in his book The Travels. He said that it was made in Mosul, Iraq.^[3] Although this view has the fabric named after the city where Europeans first encountered it (Mosul), the fabric is believed to have originated in Dhaka, which is now the capital of Bangladesh.^[4][5] In the 9th century, an Arab merchant named Sulaiman makes note of the material's origin in Bengal (known as Ruhml in Arabic).^[5]

The word muslin is also used colloquially. In the United Kingdom, many sheer cotton fabrics are called muslin, while in the United States, muslin sometimes refers to a firm cloth for everyday use, which in the UK and Australia is known as calico.

In British slang, muslin used to refer to women or femininity, while in nautical slang, muslin can refer to a vessel's sails.

Uses[link]

Dress-making and sewing[link]

In Advantages of wearing Muslin Dresses! (1802), James Gillray caricatured a hazard of untreated muslin: its flammability.

Marie Antoinette, in 1783, in her famous "muslin" portrait

When sewing clothing, a dressmaker may test the fit of a garment, using an inexpensive muslin fabric before cutting the intended expensive fabric, thereby avoiding potential costly mistakes. The muslin garment is often called a "muslin", and the process is called "making a muslin". With the availability of inexpensive synthetic fabrics, which closely resemble the hand (drape and feel) of expensive natural fabrics, a test or fitting garment made of synthetics may still be referred to as a muslin, because the word has become the generic term for a test or fitting garment. Muslin can also be used as inexpensive green screens when painted uniform colour.

Muslin is also often used as a backing or lining for quilts, and thus can often be found in wide widths in the quilting sections of fabric stores.

Culinary[link]

Muslin can be used as a filter:

• in a funnel when decanting fine wine or port to prevent sediment from entering the decanter
• to separate out liquid from mush (for example, to make apple juice: wash, chop, boil, mash, then filter by pouring the mush into a muslin bag suspended over a jug)
• to retain a liquidy solid (for example, in home cheese-making, when the milk has curdled to a gel, pour into a muslin bag and squash between two saucers (upside down under a brick) to squeeze out the liquid whey from the cheese curd)

Muslin is the material for the traditional cloth used to wrap a Christmas pudding.

Muslin is used by beekeepers to filter melted beeswax, making it clean and particle-free for sale.

Theater and photography[link]

Muslin is often the cloth of choice for theater sets. It is used to mask the background of sets and to establish the mood or feel of different scenes. It receives paint well and, if treated properly, can be made translucent.

It also holds dyes very well. It is often used to create night time scenes because when it is dyed, it often gets a wavy look with the color varying slightly, such that it resembles a night sky. Muslin shrinks after it is painted, but it is widely used because it makes an excellent painting surface.

In video production as well, muslin can be used as a cheap greenscreen or bluescreen, either precolored or painted with latex paint (diluted with water). It is commonly used as a background for the chroma key technique.

Muslin is the most common backdrop material used by photographers for formal portrait backgrounds. These backdrops are usually painted, most often with an abstract mottled pattern.

In the early days of silent film-making and up until the late 1910s, movie studios did not have the elaborate lights needed to illuminate indoor sets, so most interior scenes were sets built outdoors with large pieces of muslin hanging overhead to diffuse the lighting.

Medicine[link]

Muslin gauze has also found a use in cerebrovascular neurosurgery. It is wrapped circumferentially around aneurysms or intracranial vessels at risk for bleeding.^[6] The thought is that the gauze reinforces the artery and helps prevent rupture. It is often used for aneurysms that, due to their size or shape, cannot be microsurgically clipped or coiled.^[7]

References[link]

Look up muslin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

v t e Fabric Woven Aertex Airdura Airguard Barathea Barkcloth Batiste Bedford cord Bengaline silk Beta cloth Bombazine Brilliantine Broadcloth Buckram Bunting Burlap C change Calico Cambric Canvas Chambray Capilene Cedar bark Char cloth Charmeuse Charvet Cheesecloth Chiffon Chino Chintz Cloqué Cloth of gold Cordura Duck Coutil Crape Cretonne Dazzle Denim Dimity Donegal tweed Dowlas Drill Drugget Foulard Flannel Gabardine Gauze Gazar Georgette Ghalamkar Gingham Grenadine Grenfell Cloth Grosgrain Habutai Haircloth Harris Tweed Herringbone Himroo Hodden Irish linen Jamdani Kerseymere Khādī Khaki Khaki drill Kente cloth Lamé Lawn Linsey-woolsey Loden Longcloth Lumalive Mackinaw Madapolam Madras Moleskin Muslin Nainsook Nankeen Ninon Oilskin Organdy Organza Osnaburg Ottoman Oxford Paduasoy Percale Pongee Poplin Rakematiz Rayadillo Rep Rinzu Ripstop Ripstop nylon Russell cord Saga Nishiki Samite Sateen Satin Saye Scarlet Seersucker Serge Scrim Shot silk Stuff Taffeta Tais Toile Tucuyo Tweed Twill Ultrasuede Ventile Vinyl coated polyester Viyella Voile Wadmal Wigan Whipcord Zephyr Zorbeez Figured woven Brocade Camlet Damask Lampas Songket Pile woven Baize Chenille Corduroy Crimplene Fustian Mockado Moquette Plush Polar fleece Terrycloth Velours du Kasaï Velvet Velveteen Zibeline Nonwoven Felt Cedar bark Knitted Boiled wool Coolmax Machine knitting Milliskin Jersey Velour Netted Bobbinet Carbon fiber Fishnet Lace Mesh Needlerun Net Ninon Tulle Technical Ballistic nylon Ban-Lon Conductive Darlexx E-textiles Gannex Gore-Tex Silnylon Spandex Stub-tex SympaTex Windstopper Patterns Argyle Bizarre silk Herringbone Houndstooth Paisley Pin stripes Tartan (Plaid) Tattersall Textile fibers Acrylic Alpaca Angora Cashmere Coir Cotton Hemp Jute Kevlar Linen Mohair Nylon Microfiber Olefin Pashmina Polyester Piña Ramie Rayon Sea silk Silk Sisal Spandex Spider silk Wool Finishing and printing Androsia Batik Beetling Bingata Bògòlanfini Calendering Decatising Finishing Fulling Heatsetting Mercerization Moire Nap Rogan printing Rōketsuzome Roller printing Sanforization Tenterhook Textile printing Waxed cotton Woodblock printing Indienne Related Dyeing Fiber History of textiles History of silk Knitting Pandy Shrinkage Synthetic fabric Terminology Manufacturing Preservation Weaving Yarn

Ernesto Saboia de Albuquerque Neto (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1964– ) is a contemporary visual artist.

Ernesto Neto began exhibiting in Brazil in 1988 and has had solo exhibitions abroad since 1995. He represented with Vik Muniz their country in 2001 Venice Biennale, his installations were featured in Brazil's national pavilion and in the international group exhibition at the Arsenale.

Neto's work has been described as "beyond abstract minimalism". His installations are large, soft, biomorphic sculptures that fill an exhibition space that viewers can touch, poke, and even sometimes walk on or through. These are made of white, stretchy, stockinglike material -- amorphous forms stuffed with Styrofoam pellets or, on occasion, aromatic spices. In some installations, he has also used this material to create translucent scrims that transform the space's walls and floor. His sculptures can be regarded as expression of traditional abstract form, but in their interaction with the viewer, they work on another level as well.

• 1994, 1997 Escola de Artes Visuais Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro
• 1994-96 Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro

One of his most acclaimed installation is at the Panthéon in Paris called Léviathan Thot.

In 2009 Neto exhibited a new work at New York's Park Avenue Armory called anthropodino. Filling the 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m²) hall, the aim is to help the Armory reposition itself as a big-art destination like the Turbine Hall in London's Tate Modern.^[1]

In 2010 he exhibited a popular display at London's Hayward Gallery called 'Edges of the World'.^[2]

Neto has been awarded chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

References[link]

Soares, Valeska; Meireles, Cildo; Neto, Ernesto. Seduções: Installations. Hatje; Daros. 2006

1. ^ Kennedy, Randy (2009-05-12). "Hey, Drill This! Park Avenue Armory Goes Sci-Fi". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/arts/design/13neto.html. Retrieved 2009-05-13. 
2. ^ http://festivalbrazil.southbankcentre.co.uk/ernesto-neto/

External links[link]

• Flickr Search
• Google Images
• Fortes Vilaça
• Tanya Bonakdar Gallery
• Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art

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