Att väva samman ett moderskap : Gestaltandet av modern och moderskapet i Hannah Ryggens vävar

Sammanfattning: The aim of this essay is to examine how the Norwegian textile artist Hannah Ryggen depicts the mother and the motherhood in her tapestries. The study also investigates how the view of the depicted mother can be interpreted. The analyses are performed using Erwin Panofskys three-step analysis from a gender theoretical perspective. The material analyzed are three Flemish woven tapestries: Unwed Mother (1937), Liselotte Hermann Decapitated (1938) and Mothers Heart (1947). The results show that Ryggen depicts the mother and the motherhood in a wide range of aspects in the examined tapestries. Some of the most prominent aspects found are how the mother often is criticized, in her motherhood, and also as a woman in a patriarchal society. The examination shows how Ryggen uses her unique combination of traditional techniques of weaving to raise awareness of political as well as social issues during her contemporary time. Thus, she emphasizes the mother’s important role in society.