Thursday, January 29, 2009

Context or Aesthetic?

Fragile as a Leaf in Autumn 2004

How should I exhibit my quilts? Would I like the gallery to pay more attention to the work's context or to its aesthetic? If I choose context, would I have to face up to my biography? I am a mother who loves nature and worries about my family.

My quilts have longish titles. I use these instead of straight descriptions of the work or historic narratives of how it came to be created. The viewer already recognizes herself in the domesticity of these comfortable items. My titles are a way to reveal that inner mystery we also share.

What if I chose an aesthetic way to display them and they just had numbers? What if they were all called 'untitled'? It’s obvious that they are traditional women’s work about traditional women’s subjects but when these ‘domestic’ items are displayed in a white cube gallery setting, isn't that enough to elevate them into fine art? Won't people be affected by the lengthy time spent, recognize their own memories, come away transformed just by the work itself?

Nope.

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