“Loom thinking” – Jagoda Buić in the context of the New Tapestry movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s

The dissertation project examines the New Tapestry movement of the 1960s and 1970s, with a particular focus on the role of Jagoda Buić. Educated at the Academy of Applied Arts in Zagreb, where she encountered the ideas of EXAT 51, which advocated abstract art and the synthesis of the arts, Buić completed her studies at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna in 1954. In the early 1960s, Buić turned to tapestry-making, moving beyond her earlier focus on textile design. She contributed to the redefinition of tapestry from a decorative medium to a spatial and abstract artistic practice through the structural and material possibilities of weaving. Her participation in the 2nd Lausanne International Tapestry Biennial marked an early international breakthrough, where her innovative approach was recognized as a shift in technique and materials. Her tapestries, referred to by one art critic as “antitapestries,” were also perceived as an aesthetic “shock” even within their cultural context, suggesting the radical nature of her approach. Participation in major art biennials, where Jagoda Buić represented Yugoslavia, such as the São Paulo and Venice Biennials, further contributed to the recognition of her avant-garde approach and established her work within the field of fine arts. The research situates her practice within the broader cultural and artistic conditions of the time and examines her work in this context.