"The Fabric of Our Lives" - memory embedded in material

"Bars" work-clothes quilt (ca. 1950) by Lutisha Pettway (Gees Bend quilter)

Double Dutch on the Golden Gate Bridge (1988) by Faith Ringgold

Quilting is an art medium that is inherently rich with memory - down to the actual material itself. The images above are examples of both material as meaning, and image as meaning. The Gees Bend quilt (above, top) is a simple assemblage of old work clothes, and the history and association of the material gives the quilt significant meaning. The quilt by Faith Ringgold (above, bottom) is just as much about the material as it is about the imagery that is painted upon it.

I come from a family of quilters, and I learned to quilt from my mom. There is something so special and comforting about curling up under a handmade quilt, especially when you know and love the person who made it. I have a patchwork quilt at home that is made from many little pieces of old fabric - some that look like they were once old clothes or bedsheets. I know someone in my family (a great-grandmother?) made it, and it is completely hand sewn...I know it is something that I should probably preserve or put away, but I love to be wrapped up in it. In response to a self-portrait project assignment in my photo class last semester, I took the following photo of my feet popping out from underneath this quilt:


Another quilt-related story I would like to mention is my experience this past year working with documentary quilter (and one of my professors at MICA) Dr. Joan Gaither. I have had the privilege to work with Joan on her quilts, most recently her "Black Watermen of the Chesapeake Bay" quilt. Joan's main focus in her quilts is to "tell the stories that need to be told - stories that are being lost". Every square inch of her huge (think 8x12 feet) quilts are covered in meaningful embellishments, photos, and text to honor and remember the people whose stories may not be known. Joan takes her work into the community to engage and involve the public with the work, as well as to gather information about the people and places she plans to memorialize through her work. Here is a photo of Joan with the "Black Watermen of the Chesapeake" quilt at the unveiling and dedication ceremony this past Wednesday at the Annapolis Maritime Museum.


The "Black Watermen of the Chesapeake Bay" quilt, along with the 6 other quilts in her "My American Series" will begin their national tour starting next week. For more information on the quilts and the traveling exhibition, go to http://www.joangaither.com/

More memento mori

Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning "Be mindful of death" and may be translated as "Remember that you are mortal," "Remember you will die," "Remember that you must die," or "Remember your death".

Memento mori objects and artwork are often used not only to remind the owner/viewer of their own mortality, but often to remember people that have passed away.















Hairwork Bracelet
clasp - 1”w x 1.25” l; bracelet - 7.5” l x .5” w
c.1840-60

"Hair jewelry functioned as a keepsake of the dead and as a memento mori, a reminder that death was an ever-present possibility; the wearer was constantly reminded that she should lead a good life because death could strike without warning. Often a wearer would add more hair pieces to a glass-covered brooch when additional relatives or friends passed away. Hair jewelry was not always worn to commemorate the dead; lovers also wore pieces made from the couple’s hair."

from History of Hair Jewelry in Victorian America, curated by Amy Karoly





Polly Morgan
To Each Seed His Own Body
2006
mixed media - taxidermy bird, bell jar, miniature chandelier, book

Found in Modern Painters magazine, April 2009 issue
http://www.pollymorgan.co.uk/


Some questions and prompts centered around death/memory/time:

Design a reliquary to honor a special person, pet, or thing that you have lost. How will you design this piece of artwork? Will it be a momentous sculpture for all to see? Or will it be a small reminder that you can carry with you and keep private?

How do/did different people/cultures through time use their art to deal with death? For example, the Ancient Egyptians mummified their dead and built exquisite sarcophagi and shrines. The Mimbres people would place a decorative bowl over the face of the deceased that had a hole in the middle through which the person’s soul would travel in the afterlife. Research different traditions and then create your own “tradition” or ritual to honor the dead.

Create a piece of artwork that seems to set time still.

Loren Schwerd

Loren Shwerd
1812 Tupelo St.
2007
Human hair, steel wire, fiberglass screen, thread; plaited, needlepointed onto screen, stitched
23” x 24” x 8”

Inspired by eighteenth-century memento mori hair art, this artist mourns the loss of homes in New Orleans by reconstructing them with hair extensions found in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. (found in Fiber Arts magazine)

Some questions to think about and use to prompt students to think about topics of loss and memory, specifically related to homes in New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina:

How do you feel when you think about the effects of Hurricane Katrina? What are other events that can cause people to lose their homes or things that are important to them? What do people do when they lose everything?

How does your home make you feel? What are some memories or feelings associated with “home”? How do you define “home”?

What other kinds of “homes” can you think of? What’s the difference between a shelter and a home?

What do people in different cultures do to remember or commemorate something or someone? What is something or someone you have lost that you feel should be remembered or commemorated and how?

Create an art piece that commemorates, celebrates, or remembers someone or something important to you. What materials do you choose and why? What imagery or form do you choose and why?