6080JTfromCG1216 N4 & 6080JTfromCG1216 N5

The Jacquard loom, patented in France by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1804 was a mechanized version of the draw loom, an ancient technology developed to weave complex patterns in silk. It relied upon a draw boy, who sat above the weaver, pulling cords to select individual warp threads according to a plan devised by an artist. Invented in China, the draw loom was widely used across the historic Islamic lands to make exquisite silk textiles, eventually making its way along the Silk Road to Italy which itself became a nexus for luxury textile production. Jacquard’s innovation was to introduce a series of punched cards controlled by weighted pins to select the warps, so that the weaver’s task was mechanized for mass production, no longer requiring a second person once the loom was set up. The punched cards inspired Charles Babbage (1791-1871) to develop an analytical machine which was the precursor of the mechanical, and later, digital computer. By making use of the Jacquard loom, Shaheer Zazai introduces a circularity that refers back to the draw looms of early modern Iran and Afghanistan. The creative tensions that arise between the continuity of past practices and the technological innovations of the present are embraced by the Ismaili Center Houston’s multi generational commitment to both preservation and innovation in today’s rapidly changing world.