Weaving destiny : art ad inspiration in Afghanistan, 1968-78 / Sylvia & Ira Seret ; design Timothy Edeker ; editing Alix Sharkey, Jennifer Hartley.

Maps on lining pages.

“A land that seemed forgotten by time, rich with ancient traditions—a vibrant culture almost unknown to the West—this was Afghanistan in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. Weaving destiny captures the unique dream lived by Ira & Syliva Seret as they worked in Afghanistan during this era. It began in 1968 with Ira’s fateful journey as an untraveled 25 years old, working for designers at the epicenter of New York’s pop art-hippie sub-cultures. He returned with Afghan textiles that would shape the aesthetic of those freewheeling times…”—book cover.

Includes bibliographical references.

Contents: Living history—Changing course—The stars align—You can take the boy Qutta New York, but…—Lucky car-ma—A Rolls Royce signed by Warhol—If you’re going to San Francisco…—Where are the coats?—Down to business—All that glitters isn’t gold—Back in the New York Groove—An eye for beauty, a feel for display—Lapis Lazuli : the philosopher’s stone—Magic carpet ride—A thunderbird in the desert—Ethnic chic—Sheherazade’s pad—Coat of many colors—Arrival—The patchwork tent—Woodstock—The marketplace—Old roads, new directions : finding Chak 13—Stitching cultures together—The dream ring and other ancient treasures—The summer of ’75—Rugs not drugs—Weaving destiny—Art on the run—Ancient inspiration—Malangs : mendicant Sufi mystics—Abracadabra—The weaving unravel—Dis-harmony in New York—Left behind—A lone woman—Licensed at last—A different kind of project—Christmas and women’s work—New Year and the urge to expand—The Ramazan saga—Germany, New York…and Aruba—A new life begins—Two for the price of one—Indigo turbans—Rug rehabilitation—A family visit—A new home in Kabul—The light begins to fade—End of the beginning—The good the bad, and the ugly—Appendicitis—Exit visas—Heading West—Brining it all back home—A stitch in time—Istalif revisited—Echoes.

English