MacGuffin #9, The Rug
The latest issue of MacGuffin is as rich and varied as ever, using a single item – in this case the humble rug – to open up ‘The Life of Things.’
Yet page 23 of the magazine reminds us of the other side of MacGuffin. While elsewhere the issue considers the thriving communities of bugs in our rugs, the self-consciousness of the hairy man, how the Bauhaus denied its workshops to women (they were permitted to work at the carpet looms), and the addition of modern war imagery to oriental rug-making amongst its digressions from the central theme, it still covers off the basics.
Set on a black background, page 23 falls in the middle of a series of diagrams and instructions about weaving rugs. Taken from Peter Collingwood’s 1968 book ‘The Techniques of Rug-Weaving,’ the pages introduce the essentials of different styles, here the Sehan Kilim.
It’s a reminder that MacGuffin is as much a research project as a magazine. Every item it’s addressed – The Bed, The Window, The Trouser et al – is the starting point for a journey not only into design, but philosophy, sociology, history, biology… the disciplines add up every issue.
The meticulous research involved always turns up core sources such as Collingwood’s book, adding essential detail to the subject.
Editors-in-chief: Kirsten Algera and Ernst van der Hoeven
Graphic Design: Sandra Kassenaar