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Critical Reflection: Media and Participation 2018-2019 Project

Prior to writing this reflection post, I created a Wikipedia page on textile designer Jacqueline Groag. My interest in her came from learning about MoDA – Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, and my interest only grew as I did research on her. From how she was home schooled and moved on to being adored by the Headmaster of the Wiener Werkstätte. In addition to this she made a great name of herself worldwide with brands that are still highly appreciated, including Chanel, John Lewis and Paul Poiret.

Wikipedia editors surveyed by the Wikimedia Foundation in 2018 were predominantly male.

At some point in this Wikipedia project I wondered why I did not know about Jacqueline Groag until I looked into her, especially as someone who went to a textile course in high school. Which is why I hope that others can learn more about her work as well. I therefore decided to create a completely new page for Jacqueline Groag and use my word count on only one page instead of five smaller ones. This allowed me to learn more about one person rather than learning a little bit about several topics. She was an interesting and tough woman in my eyes as she grew up in a Jewish family, resulting in her fleeing for her life in several countries due to the Nazi regime, but regardless of these factors she still came out on top.

During this project I was lucky enough to get help from wikipedians who have created work for the site for many years, both during lectures and workshops. What these wikipedians made me wonder (as I realised they were all male) was whether or not females contribute to Wikipedia in the same way as males do. In 2018, the Wikimedia Foundation did a survey on the gender bias on Wikipedia. Their findings show that as much as 90% of Wikimedia project contributors are male, 9% are female, and 1% is other. You could argue that the reason for this is due to the stigmatization of stereotypical Wikipedians.

According to Joseph Reagle (2013) a geek or nerd is someone who is recognised as a male “key-presser, those who were not able to talk about anything beyond computers”. Reagle further explains how the study of Bente Rasmussen and Tove Håpnes made it clear that female computer science students did not want to be associated with that identity. In addition, Dimitra Kessenides and Max Chafkin’s article (2016) mentions that the earliest supporters of Wikipedia were “geeks”. Something that also explains why the topics of Wikipedia articles reflects this stereotype. For example, "by having hundreds of articles on different Star Wars topics alone, including entries on Princess Leia’s home planet and the people of Mandalore".

This project let me explore more about an (from my side) unknown female designer. Furthermore it made me aware of the gender gap existing on Wikipedia, both when it comes to wikipedians and the article topics.

My submission: Media and Participation 2018-2019 Project

My site can be found under Jacqueline Groag.

(Full text)

Jacqueline Groag
Born	6. April 1903 Prague, Czech Republic
Died	13. January 1986 London, England
Nationality	Czech
Occupation	Architect

Jacqueline Groag, (6. April 1903, Prague - 13. January 1986, London) was an influential textile designer in Great Britain in the post World War II. She produced and designed fabrics for leading Parisian fashion houses including Chanel, John Lewis, Lanvin, House of Worth, Schiaparelli, Paul Poiret.

Biography

Early life

Jacqueline Groaf was born as Hilde Pilke by Jewish parents on the 6. April 1903. She later changed her name to Jacqueline Groag when she married modernist architect Jacques Groag in 1937.

Education

As a child she had been in poor health and, unlike her siblings, had been educated at home. She learned all the subjects of the Lycée, but with no formal exams. Something that left her (in her own words) a sophisticated naive. Groag studied textile design in Vienna and thrived under the schooling of professor Franz Cižek, who was delighted by her lack of previous formal art education, during the 1920s.

Franz Cižek also recommended her to Josef Hoffmann Head of the Wiener Werkstätte, where she became one of his students under the Kunstgewerbeschule's design school. As a student she won first prize in a competition organised by the Kunstgewerbeschule.

Vienna

In 1930, Groag was mentioned in an article by Dr. Hans von Ankwicz for the German publication Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration on her work. Ankwicz described her as a "front-runner of the Hoffmann school" who "currently dominated the design of textiles, particularly prints".

The Second World War

In 1938, Jacqueline and Jacques fled to Prague, Czechoslovakia due to the political unification of Austria and Germany, the Anschluss. Their stay in Prague didn't last long as they were forced to flee Prague in 1939 for London. When they arrived in London, they were greeted by the leading member of the British Design Factory, including [[Gordon Russell (designer)|Sir Gordon Russell, Sir Charles Reilly and Jack Pritchard.

Work

During the 1930s Jacqueline Groag travelled between cities like Paris and New York to enhance her international reputation. She was awarded a gold medal for textile design at the Milano Triennale in 1933 and another gold medal for printed textiles at the Paris Exposition in 1937.

Post Second World War

In 1945 she received the accolade of one of her dress fabrics being chosen by the couturier Edward Molyneux for a collection of dresses for Her Majesty the Queen.

In 1947 Jacqueline and Jacques received a British citizenship and became members of the Society of Industrial Artists.

In 1951 the Festival of Britain took place, and most of the contemporary styles of textiles and wallpapers where heavily influenced by her work from the 1940s. From that point she became a major influence on pattern design internationally with clients like the Associated American Artists, Hallmark Cards and John Lewis.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s she became more and more involved with Sir Misha Black and the Design Research Unit (DRU) working on the interiors of boats, planes and trains. Especially the design of textiles and plastics for BOAC and British Rail. She also got a commission from Misha Black in the 1970s to make a moquette for London Transport, for seating on busses and tube trains.

External links

• Curtain material designed by Jacqueline Groag at MoDA
• Red Curtain Panel by Jacqueline Groag at MoDA