(Santa Fe, NM, January 19, 2011) - The Museum of International Folk Art opens a major exhibition, Folk Art of the Andes, April 17, 2011. This will be the first exhibit in the United States to feature a broad range of folk art from the Andean region of South America, showcasing more than 850 works of art primarily dating from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The exhibit runs through February 2012. For images click here..
The creative accomplishments of the Andean people of the highland region of South America are prominent among the folk art legacies of the world. The curator for the exhibition, Dr. Barbara Mauldin, states “the Folk Art of the Andes exhibitexplores the influence of Spanish arts and cultural introduced during the colonial period and shows how much of the work produced after independence in 1829 reflects the interweaving of indigenous craft traditions with European art forms and techniques.”
The collection of Andean folk art in the Museum of International Folk Art was started with an initial gift from the museum’s founder Florence Dibell Bartlett and has grown to more than 6,000 objects. Drawing from this renowned collection and other private and public collections in the United States, Folk Art of the Andes includes religious paintings, sculptures, portable altars, milagros, amulets, and ritual offerings. Traditional hand woven ponchos, mantles, belts, and bags are shown, along with women’s skirts, hats, and shawls adapted from the Spanish. Jewelry, wooden trunks, silverwork, majolica ceramics, carved gourds, house blessing ornaments, and toys reveal not only the craftsmanship of the work, but the ways the objects function in everyday life. Also explored are Andean festival cycles with lavish costumes and a variety of masks.
The exhibit will be accompanied by a richly illustrated 300 page catalog. Public programming related to the Andes show will take place throughout the year.
The Museum of International Folk Arthouses the world’s largest collection of international folk art, with ongoing exhibitions Multiple Visions: A Common Bond in the Girard Wing and Familia y Fe in the Hispanic Heritage Wing. Changing and traveling exhibitions are offered in the Bartlett Wing and exhibitions highlighting textiles are featured the Neutrogena Wing. Lloyd’s Treasure Chest offers visitors interactive displays about collections and how museums care for collections.
The Museum of International Folk Art is a Division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
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I really, really want to go see this!
(Rachel)
Folk Art of the Andes at the Museum of International Folk Art
This year Memorial Day weekend was a special time indeed. My parents celebrated their 50th anniversary in Wisconsin. There was a big party organized by my brother and sister-and-law at a hotel, my sister had worked on invitations, sang at the reception, put party favors together, and I offered to make a memory quilt for my parents. Ha! I knew that it couldn't be big as their wall space is already loaded with the memories 50 years can accumulate. And, as my mother told me many Christmases ago, "Please! No more art!" She just didn't know where to put it all and it ended up in drawers.
So, the challenge was to come up with something that they would want to display, that would not be too intrusive and that could reflect my genius. Heh, heh. I chewed and chewed and chewed on ideas. The celebration was getting closer and closer. (I had had TWO years to get this together, but of course.... procrastination is queen.) I toyed with an idea of creating something that could be hung on the wall or folded into a box. As my parents have had Christ and the church as the anchor of their lives, I was trying to figure out how to make a cross shape work in that way. If you flatten out a box, it will look like a cross... Well, I gave up. I ended up making a "book" with memory pockets.
"50 Years", Memory Quilt by Rachel Biel, front
I transferred four of their wedding photos on to fabric and stuffed the inside with cardboard to stiffen the panels. The panels are held together with vintage sari fabric and decorated with vintage lace and fresh water pearls. The whole thing can be folded up and stored as a book. One structural headache was figuring out how to make the piece stable enough to stand upright an yet have enough room to fold it up. This was resolved by crimping the sari fabric at the top with decorative clamps, not pictured here.
"50 Years", Memory Quilt by Rachel Biel, back
The back of each panel has a pocket for memories. I used vintage crocheted doilies to make the pockets. Then, I sewed little sachets out of old photos, also transferred on to fabric, and stuffed them with lavender. A friend from Brazil made a booklet for them which fits in the pockets and an aunt also came up with a little collage. The pockets also hold all the cards they got at the reception.
Each panel was machine quilted, front and back, before I assembled them together. The tricky part was flipping the panels once the sari borders were added. I closed the tops with a fiery red trim that also has some symbolism, at least for me. Flames often adorn the tops of Mexican religious popular art. In this piece, these are the flames of love.
"50 Years", Memory Quilt by Rachel Biel, detail, cake
Cliff and Donna Biel, September 2010
Fifty years is a long time to be married, especially nowadays when 25% of couples in the United States choose to live together in partnership rather than being married. My own marriage only lasted for four years. Are my parents soul mates? Their personalities are very different from each other, as are their interests and hobbies. I'm sure that this has been a source of frustration from time to time, but I cannot imagine one without the other. All of us are rather eccentric, difficult people in our own way, but at the core of their marriage is the belief that their union is holy, set apart to do God's work. Within that framework, they bend and accept and work towards becoming a better partner for the other. It is not a perfect marriage, but one that I tried to emulate.
"50 Years", Memory Quilt, detail, Hope Lutheran Church
A year after they were married, I was born. Six months later, they took off to Brazil for 18 years of service as Lutheran missionaries. They were 24 and 26 years old. Babies, it seems now. They went through language school, immersed themselves in a culture that experienced profound transformations while they were there, and gave each of us a childhood we will never forget. I have started to document some of this in my blog, Biels in Brazil.
Relatives whom I had not seen for years and years came to the reception, a wonderful reunion! One of my aunts brought a gift which was very exciting for me and this blog that I am working on. She had saved the letters my mother had written during their early years in Brazil. Loads of them, packed with interesting information of life in Brazil during that time. I will slowly transcribe these letters to that blog.
Another highlight at the reception was a viewing of the dress my mother wore for her wedding. The dress had originally been made for my aunt LaVonne, who married my Dad's oldest brother the year before. Stan and LaVonne are my godparents. Many years later, Laurie, their daughter, also wore the dress in her wedding. My sweet niece, only 11 yeas old, modeled the dress and all former brides posed with her.
Wedding dress with former brides.
Fifty years points to one undeniable and inescapable truth: we are all aging. My parents are now in their 70's, I am approaching 50 and my brother and sister agree, "Yes, my hips hurt, too." We have almost lost my father twice now, once to a diabetic coma and once to heart disease. We came together to celebrate a life well lived, while lurking behind that joy is the certainty that we will also come together to bury one another. Who will be around ten years from now? We don't know. What we do know is that their love for each other and for each of us empowered us to come into our own selves fully and with courage. Within our flaws, weaknesses and failures, there is also the certainty that we have been loved, accepted, forgiven and blessed.
Was my gift a success? My father wrote me in a thank you note:
"Dear Rachel,
The celebration of our golden was golden indeed. Thanks for being a part of it. We appreciate all of the hours of work and creative effort it cost to make the quilted family panel you made. We will always cherish it. Donna is already making plans of where she wants to take it and who to show it to.
You children are all so special to us! Each is so different from the other. Each is gifted in a different way, yet the bonds of love and faith hold us powerfully together.
Again, thank you!
Love, Dad
Yes, it seems that they liked it. However, I am the one who is filled with gratitude. Mom and Dad, I thank you for those fifty years of love and example that the two of you have given us.
"50 Years", Memory Quilt by Rachel Biel, detail, Kiss
A Different Memory Quilt: Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary
The latest issue of National Geographic features the Tarahumara who live in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico. Famed in athletic circles for their running endurance, the Tarahumara call themselves "Raramuri", or "the one who walks well". The article, of course, explores the tension between traditional ways of life collapsing as modernity infringes on Tarahumara land. Isn't that the story of all indigenous groups around the world?
The Tarahumara live in remote mountainous areas which have been difficult to access and have little arable land. The Copper Canyon Mountains cover part of the area. Mining and logging have long brought industrialists into Tarahumara country, but now they are also seen as a resource in themselves and efforts to capitalize on their colorful costumes and handicrafts threaten to further erase their autonomy. Cynthia Gorney, author of the article, focused on the life of one Tarahumara woman who had left her village because she wanted to study. She became a nurse and serves as a bi-lingual health care practioner for her people. She lives in town, has modern amenities, and wants to see the Tarahumara access more of these resources for themselves. Gorney explores some of the loss that modernization brings. Sure, everyone wants running water, electricity, appliances, and less back breaking demands. Unfortunately, with it comes drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, and other negative influences that can often devastate Native communities.
I first learned about the Tarahumara about 20 years ago. A friend of mine, Ginger Blossom, sells their baskets, ceramic pots, dolls, and some textiles. She has been travelling down to the Copper Canyon for years, often taking medical supplies coveted by the people she supports. Ginger has a website where she occasionally reports on her travels. Her store is in Richmond, IL, just an hour and a half north of Chicago, definitely worth the trip!
Corn cob dolls by the Tarahumara available at Native Seeds
Bernard Fontana wrote a beautiful book about the Tarahumara in the 1970's, "Tarahumara: Where Night is the Day of the Moon" (see slide show at the end of this post). Although thirty years have passed, the book still seems current as even then, Fontana spoke of the threats the Tarahumara faced with modernization. Here are a couple of excerpts related to their handicrafts:
"When Father Fonte first met the Tarahumaras in 1607 they made all of their clothing with the materials at hand, largely from plant fibers but no doubt from hides of wild animals as well. A short time after the introduction of sheep, and still in the seventeenth century, wool began to substitute plant fiber, with the Tarahumaras, principally the women, weaving the wool and shaping the clothing. Precisely when Tarahumaras first began to acquire woven cotton cloth and other imported textiles is difficult to say, although the process doubtless began sometime in the 1600s. By the 1930s, most Tarahumara clothing was sewn from muslin and from other cloth manufactured elsewhere, but the sewing was done by the women. This continues today. Women enhance their sewing by doing lovely embroidery, chiefly on blouses, loincloths and cottons. The designs, in a full range of colors provided by commercial embroidery yarns, emphasize life forms: floral, human and other animal, and include geometric figures which may represent such entities as the sun and moon. Embroidery is one of the more important Tarahumara art forms. Their embroidery designs have a charm and naivete that are unique." (page 46).
"If pottery is inorganic, and I am not altogether sure that is the right way to think of it, then basketry is most certainly organic. Nearly every Tarahumara woman, and many of the men, knows how to make baskets using the leaves of beargrass or of palm trees (found in the barrancas). Some basket makers even use pine needles.
On all our trips into the Sierra Tarahumara we have seen basket makers at work. It is something that can be done when one is sitting down to tend the flocks. It can be done at home in between other chores, the materials set aside to be picked up again when it is convenient.
Like Tarahumara pottery, their basketry is the essence of simplicity. There are no decorations woven in; the beauty lies in the form and in the sense of utility conveyed.
All Tarahumara baskets are plaited. Both the lidless guari basket and the lid-covered petacas, like the petate (a mat), are twill paited. Most are single weave, but in the barrancas and in parts of eastern Tarahumara country baskets are made in a double weave, especially the petacas." (page 91)
I have been working with handicrafts from around the world for over 20 years now. My entry into a new culture often comes through the craft connection. I see something, it captures my eye, I look at the technique, the materials used, and soon I want to know more about who made it. Now, after all these years, I can say with certainty, "I know a little about a lot!" Each culture would take a lifetime of study to even begin to understand the relationships between the people and their connection to nature, religion, each other and us, the outsiders. Learning about the Tarahumara was my first real exposure to all the other indigenous cultures who live in Mexico. Each is fascinating to me and if I could, I would have married my interest in the handicrafts to anthropology, roaming around and documenting people and their crafts. (A little jealousy here of some National Geographic assignments?)
Over 100 years ago, Carl Lumholtz lived this dream out. Hired by the American Museum of Natural History to explore the Sierra Madre in Mexico, Lumholz spent several years with several indigenous groups, including the Tarahumara. He collected samples of handicrafts, native plants, took hundreds of photos, and made illustrations of what he saw. He documented his experiences in two volumes called "Unknown Mexico" (see slideshow at the end of this post) which remain to this date authoritative in the depth and scope of information gathered. The books have over 300 photos plus 91 drawings and is a fascinating read. Much of it seems current and even back then, Lumholtz urged:
"When we thus consider the reciprocal influence conquerors and conquered exert upon each other- furthermore, the ever-growing expansion of commerce into the farthest corners of the globe- and finally the rapid development of means of communication in a degree that we probably can but faintly realise, we are able to perceive how nations and tribes, whether they want to or not, will be stibulated to gradual progess, on lines and by methods that in the natural evolution of things become general. A certain difference in men will always remain, dependent on environment, but surely the general trend of human destiny is toward unity. Civilised mankind is already beginning to have a social and aesthetic solidarity. ... If the Louvre, with its priceless art treasures, should burn, cultivated people of every nation would feel the loss as if it were their own. Undoubtedly this feeling of unity will grow immensely as the centuries pass by. The backward races have much to learn from us, but we have also much to learn from them- not only new art designs, but certain moral qualities. Hypocrisy will be done away with as civilization advances, and the world will be the better for it.
It is unnatural to be without a special love to the country of one's birth, just as a man has more affection for his famiy than for other families. But let our allegiance extend to the whole globe on which we travel through the universe, and let us try to serve mankind rather than our country right or wrong." (page 483, volume 2)
Tarahumara men in handwoven wool garmentsPhoto by Carl Lumholtz
Lumholtz was perhaps naive in thinking that hypocrisy would fall away as civilization "progresses". He would probably be shocked at the double talk and nastiness we see today coming from political leaders around the world today. Some things never change.... But, others do, greatly. His sensibility and obvious care for the people he documented shows throughout the stories Lumholtz relates in his books. But, there are occasions, when his language and behavior absolutely shocked my socks off. One of the objects he desired from every area he went to was a skull, or as many as he could get. At that time there was much interest in examining skulls from different cultures to determine intelligence. A skull was the same to him, as a textile, and he apparently had no shame in how he collected either. This exchanged happened with a Huichol group:
"The native authorities, as well as the people themselves, were very nice to me and all contributed toward making my stay among them profitable. As this was my last opportunity to secure ethnological specimens from the tribe, I was anxious to complete my collections. The women here excel in making shirts and tunics, which they richly embroider with ancient designs. Through the kindness of the alcalde I obtained several of these valuable garments, with which the people themselves were loath to part. ... Being desirous of securing here some skulls from an ancient burial-place in a distant valley, but unable to make the trip myself, I persuaded the Indians to go alone to fetch them for me. They brought the precious load back safely in two bags which I had lent to them. This was remarkable in proving that the Huichols are not afraid of dead who passed out of life long enough ago." (page 285, volume 2)
In another incident, villagers kept their favorite dead relative's skulls in their homes. Lumholtz wanted a certain one that he saw in a man's house, but the man refused to give it to him because it was of his father. Lumholtz learned that the man had never married because he had a serious case of hemorrhoids. He ordered medication for him, which he traded for the skull. The man replaced his Dad with another favorite uncle... The books are packed with such stories. I treasure them immensely!
The National Geographic article stated that because of junk food, incoming roads and better transportation, many Tarahumara are already slowing down as runners. Yes, we want life to be easier, but it is a shame that in the trade we make for that ease, we lose so much that makes us special as a group. I am a mut with no particular ethnic ties, except that I physically look like a Viking. So, it's easy for me to choose which cultural influences I want to adopt, even if it is only in outward manifestations like food or clothing. But, for all of these Native peoples who are confronted with industrialization, we can only hope that they will be allowed to retain the values and important things that they choose to hang on to. We are one world, but our differences also make for interesting weavings! May the Tarahumara walk well towards the destiny of their choice!
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Today and tomorrow are big days of celebration in Mexico. The Day of the Dead honors those who have passed on to the other way, but also acknowledges the fine line between the living and the dead, a line of perceived reality where the dead still walk among us. This time of passage is historically connected to Aztec practices of harvest and transition. Synchrotism under the Roman Catholic Church moved the date to the current holiday, making it coincide with All Saint's Day, or Halloween.
Creating an altar to honor the dead is a central part of the celebration. These are erected both at home and at the cemetery. The altar's decorations all have deep symbolic meaning explained well in this video while "Llorona" (the crier) is sung plaintively in the background:
Jim and Mindy, two Americans living in Veracruz, Mexico, document their life there through their blog, Solarhaven. They photographed this altar in 2007:
As explained in the video, Mexican altars have several symbols found commonly on the altars. Go Mexico has a wonderful guide on how to make your own altar. The most used symbolic elements include:
An arch: This is the portal to help the dead through. Traditionally, sugar cane stalks are used.
Photos: Images of the beloved and other deceased icons (often famous artists, actors and musicians)
Water: The source of life, refreshes the spirits. The video also showed leaving soap and a towel so that the spirits could dust themselves off after such a long journey.
Candles: Light, faith and hope, the candles light the way for the deceased. They are often placed in the shape of a cross.
Incense: Copal clears the way from any bad spirits that might be hovering around.
Flowers: Marigolds are the official Day of the Dead flower. They represent the impermanence of life.
Food: A special bread (pan de muertos) accompanies any favorite foods the beloved might have had. Sugar skulls also decorate the altar and can be eaten after the festivities.
Personal items of the deceased: Small objects belonging to the beloved are placed as a reminder of the time when they were alive.
There are many other traditional symbols that can be added, but these are the main ones. As the Southwest of the United States was once Mexico, the Day of the Dead has always been practiced there, too. The photo below is from an excellent article about Mexican Americans in the United States (Every Culture).
Mexican-Americans celebrating the Day of the Dead
As we have become more conscious about multi-culturalism we have seen the Day of the Dead become adopted by non-Mexicans. Perhaps because the celebration is so life affirming, the chance to look at death with humor, dignity, and hope makes this day one that so many want to embrace. The altars themselves, have also become a tool of protest in many communities. For example, this altar honoring civil rights leader, Rosa Parks (who was not Mexican), was on BoingBoing:
When I lived in Chicago, I saw many altars over the years used as protest symbols against gang violence or other tragedies. Cultural centers engage youth and local artists in altar competitions that often result in powerful testimonials on society and its inequalities. St. Mary's College of Maryland has an altar competion every year for its Spanish classes. This one is a loud protest against drunken driving.
If you have never experienced the Day of the Dead, seen its altars or enjoyed all the whimsical skeleton art that is associated with it, definitely take a look around you and see what local happenings are honoring the dead. If you are in a larger city, there will definitely be something going on. Many smaller communities also now have displays and exhibits, often lasting on into the middle of the month.
The Day of the Dead is a great way to take some time to think about life, to remember those who have passed and to honor both their place and ours in this little world we call ours.
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The happy-go-lucky skeletons have made Mexico's Day of the Dead big business all over the world. This ancient celebration coincides with Europe's All Hallows Eve by a couple of days (November 2nd instead of October 31st). Both have roots in harvest rituals and in preparation for the change of seasons, when night becomes longer than day. FullHomelyDivinity has an excellent page with articles comparing the two, but for this post, I want to zoom in on La Catrina, the dandy lady who has become one of the most recognizable symbols of the Day of the Dead.
Jose Guadalupe Posada in front of his workshop (furthest to the right)
La Catrina was brought to life by Jose Guadalupe Posada Aguilar, Mexico's famous engraver and illustrator. Commonly known as Posada, he lived between 1852 and 1913, a time of great change, turmoil, revolution and importance in Mexico's history. Gifted with the ability to capture both events and humor, Posada popularized the Day of the Dead by depicting skeletons in every day attire. By the 1930's and 40's local artists took his lead and started a folk art industry that would soon gain the attention of collectors such as Rockefeller and the Mexican elite.
Mexico has long had a rich culture of handicrafts. Whole villages dedicate themselves to one technique or another depending on their natural resources and local traditions. Handicraft production fits neatly into agricultural lifestyles where the family rotates into seasons of production and rest. But, the Day of the Dead has captured the imagination and admiration of people from all over the world.
What is it about La Catrina and her fellow skeletons that make us want to join in the fun? I believe that part of it is our fascination with death, but also a disenfranchisement of how Halloween has become a morbid, disgusting, free-for-all worship of blood lust, gore and dehumanization. I wond lots of "best costume" prizes at Halloween parties as a kid. I still like going to costume parties, but I shudder each year when the blood and gore movies and costumes start hitting the screens. I find it appalling that parents let their children dress up in costumes that elevate rapists and murderers into national icons.
The Day of the Dead centers its belief on our common ties between those who are living and those who are dead. It is believed that on November 2nd, the line between the living and the dead is at its finest, so some beloved friends and family who have passed on might just be hanging around, and if they are, it's a good idea to let them know that they are missed. So, altars bearing their favorite foods, trinkets and photos of them remind both the living and the dead about the things they shared. The Day of the Dead in Mexico celebrates life and recognizes that we are all skeletons inside, walking around. The Day of the Dead is poetry, a song, a ballad of life that also honors death.
La Catrina is a dandy. She is a Victorian poof. But, take the symbols of her vanity off, her clothes, her hat and what happens? She becomes a skeleton, just like anybody else. This is such an important reminder that our skin color, our beauty or lack of it, our possessions, are really temporal symbols.
Sabrina Zarco's quilt of La Catrina. "Remembering loved ones doing things they did in this life."
But, even though she might have been a Victorian snob, La Catrina survives today mostly as someone who calls the living to enjoy life, to not fear death, and to embrace all of what each has to offer.
In a culture which demonizes death and old age, I find La Catrina and her friends to be a breath of fresh air. Yet, I am not Mexican. I am a big, white Viking girl with no blood ties to Mexican culture. Is it right for me to accept La Catrina's invitation for a dance? Or, should she only belong to Mexicans? Google around for Day of the Dead products and you will find lots of non-Mexican artists using the imagery. Shouldn't I be delving into my roots of runes and Norse mythology?
Well, that was a long time ago and I really don't have as much of a living connection with those old Vikings (although there are some great stories) as I do with my Mexican friends or all the other people I have met from many other countries. I'm one of those products of our time who has no real roots anywhere.
As a Christian, I also have ties to other cultures that have nothing to do with my blood roots. Jesus was a Jew, the Old Testament is filled with influences from Abraham's travels through pagan lands, and so my memory context is diffused into a bizarre blend of pieces from here and there. I have always been intrigued with the curses and blessings in the Old Testament, where generations are cursed or blessed for this or that. Often it happens to be seven generations. I have come to believe that perhaps that's about how long it for one generation to lose its connection with the past. Isn't this our modern challenge? To look at where we come from and what is around us, to sift the good from the bad? If that is so, then I have no remorse in sending today's Halloween out the door and replacing it with the Day of the Dead..... Will you dance with me, Lady Catrina?
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Market Scene arpillera from Earthlink Handcrafts, $45 from the artisans from CIAP Peru This beautifully crafted Arpillera is made by a group of women from the Kuyanakuy Artisans Assoc. They live in the marginalised areas of Lima This scene depicts their earlier village life before they became refugees from the civil war of the 1980s.
I spent my junior year of college in South America; one semester in an Urban Studies program based in Bogota, Colombia and the second at the Lutheran seminary in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Bogota has a fascinating museum that showcases traditional crafts from the area, Museo de Artes y Tradiciones Populares. Housed in a former monastery, Colombia's rich heritage of weaving, ceramic art, basketry and woolen products are displayed with honor.
I saw my first arpilleras in this museum, 3-d appliqued tapestries of village life. The museum had a couple of enormous pieces, covering a whole wall with people engaged in every kind of activity, all carefully stuffed, embroidered and brightly clothed. The scenes evoked happiness, life, and productivity. That was over twenty years ago and since then, the technique has spread. I don't know which country started it, but arpilleras are also found in Peru, Ecuador and Chile and have become increasingly more diverse in their themes. Lucuma Designs, a Fair Trade Organization, carries a huge selection of beautifully crafted arpilleras, from traditional designs to wild dinosaurs and other themes.
A couple of years after graduating from college, I worked for Chicago Uptown Ministry, a Lutheran project that provides direct service to low income people in one of Chicago's most populated and ethnically diverse neighborhoods. One of my roles there was to provide different craft activities to the people we serviced. I introduced the arpilleras to a group of women and taught them how to make the 3-d images. Then, I asked them to each pick a window from their apartments and try to translate what they saw on to fabric. I regret not having taken photos of their work... the results were absolutely wonderful. The best one was done by a Native American woman who already had some sewing skills. She had a part of the MacDonald's arch showing up in her window, lots of interior details, and she even cut pieces off of her actual curtains to use them in her little tapestry!
I find this whole process very interesting. Women who knew very little about South America could relate to these pictures and see how to speak of their own lives. And, Latin women, as well, have taken arpilleras beyond the market scenes or touristy vistas to document moments of tragedy, despair and outrage. This has been especially true in Chile, where women would meet clandestinely to sew together as a protest against human rights violations under the rule of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1989).
El Exilio en Chile documents some of the experiences and positions many exiles took during this time. The arpillera above shows people fleeing the country and going into exile in Argentina, Uruguay, the United States and other countries. The Needlework Manifesto, a fellow blogger, has this Chilean arpillera on her blog:
The piece asks, "Where are the detained who have disappeared?" Like many other South American countries during the 1970's, Chile lost thousands of its youth to torture and death for speaking up against its dictatorial regime.
Professor Marjorie Agosín, a Jewish exile from Chile, has received many awards for her work in human rights and her literary achievements. She is a professor in the Spanish Department at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Over the years, she collected many of these protest arpilleras and compiled them into a book, "Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Life: The Arpillera Movement in Chile, 1974-1994". Amazon's description of the book:
"This book tells the story of ordinary women living in terror and extreme poverty under General Pinochet's oppressive rule in Chile (1973–1989) and how their lives did and did not change following his reign. These women defied the military dictatorship by embroidering their sorrow on scraps of cloth, using needles and thread as one of the boldest means of popular protest and resistance in Latin America. The arpilleras they made—patchwork tapestries with scenes of everyday life and memorials to their disappeared relatives—were smuggled out of Chile and brought to the world the story of their fruitless searches in jails, morgues, government offices, and the tribunals of law for their husbands, brothers, and sons.
Marjorie Agosín, herself a native of and exile from Chile, has spent over twenty years interviewing the arpilleristas and following their work. She knows their stories intimately and knows, too, that not one of them has ever found a disappeared relative alive. Still, many of them maintain hope and continue to make their arpilleras. Even though the dictatorship ended in 1989 and democracy returned to Chile, no full account of the detained and disappeared has ever been offered. This book includes a history of the women's movement, testimonies from the women in their own words, and, for the first time, full-color plates of their beautiful, moving, and ultimately hopeful arpilleras. Anyone interested in the history of contemporary Latin America will want to read this powerful story."
The book has a forward by Isabel Allende, one of my favorite authors and another Chilean exile. She wrote a book, "My Invented Country" which looks at her time in Chile and has a fascinating insight to the concept of memory, reality, and history.
Most of us will not have such sorrowful stories or memories to tell through our work. We each do, however, have our own specific experience. I take two lessons from this post for myself: art is a powerful voice in society and in everything I make, I try to make it my own. Whether abstract or figurative, decorative, functional or visual, every piece we contribute reflects a collective voice of our experience as a people, moving forward with our own stories in the larger market of life.
Brazil has had a long tradition of handicrafts. Most of the larger cities and metropolitan areas have what we used to call, "Feira Hippie", or Hippie Fairs. Many of the craft skills were brought by European immigrants, but these melded with both African and Indigenous influence into new interpretations of the crafts that are identifiably Brazilian. For example, the Portuguese brought bobbin lace making as an art with them during the colonial days. The skill spread up and down the coast among fishing villages, especially in the NorthEast. Lace techniques were used to make fishing nets, hammocks, bed spreads, curtains and other household items. In the 1970's, Brazilian artisans enjoyed a true renaissance in craft mediums. The craft fairs really were populated with the hippie generation trying to make a living from their cottage industries.
Imports from Indonesia, China and other countries almost devastated craft production as they could undersell the products of local artisans. However, with the growth of fair trade projects around the world and increased opportunities through online marketing and sales, Brazilian artisans found supportive audiences both at home and abroad.
Brazilians have three things in abundance that make fair trade products viable: excellent raw materials, an abundance of rural and urban poor who need work, and the entrepreneurial spirit that is necessary for project success. Bazaar Brazil embodies these elements in their wonderful selection of Brazilian fair trade crafts. Located in Redwood City, California (US), the shop is owned by two Brazilians who are doing their share to represent these artisans:
Mara Sallai is from the same area I grew up in. My brother was born in her city of Londrina. We had a brainstorming session trying to figure out if we had any acquaintances in common. We didn't, but we do share a love for Brazil and a hope that these crafts will empower the people they represent.
Bazaar Brazil focuses in on products that recycle waste and that are made by truly disenfranchised people. Many of the artisans are handicapped, have served time in prison, or live in areas where there is either no or very low-paying work.
Coasters, boxes and other objects are made from recycled wood by people with down syndrome.
Recycled polyester that are cast offs from large factories are made into textured pillows and throws.
Two of Mara's favorite products are banana fiber vessels and the Baniwa baskets. She describes both in terms of their local economic importance.
Baniwa from the Rio Negro- weavers of tradition
"The Baniwa basketry are made of "Aruma fiber" and have a sustainable feature - each cut fiber creates seeds for another two or three. The fibers need to be dyed before they are cut in under steam; the dyes are 100% natural.
Patterns of the baskets express their language and symbolize their environment. Authentic and without the touch of the western influence, the weaving tradition becomes a statement itself. Baskets can be used as storage units to help declutter your home, bottle and card holders, or bread and fruit displays. Each piece promotes indigenous design, culture; and helps provide protection to the Amazon rain forest.
Ethnic designs of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest cross rivers, waterfalls, distances and challenges to mark their significance in the "Western" market. Before arriving to the biggest city in the Amazon rainforest, the fair traded baskets travel 4000 miles navigating through three rivers and sixteen waterfalls."
Vessels made from recycled cardboard pulp covered with banana plant fiber.
Mara continues: "In the interior of Minas Gerais (a Brazilian state), banana plant fiber and recycled cardboard pulp have changed the lives of a group of rural workers. The hands that once tilled the soil, crocheted or kneaded dough, now separate and and work the fibers from banana plants. Instead of making bread, they make papier machie. Their decorative pieces are winning the world over.
Sixty artisans now produce 800 pieces a month, on order. The decorative plates have found distributors in other Brazilian cities, Germany, France, Italy, and in our own California Redwood City, USA. They work within a cooperative system and have learned that the banana plant not only gives them fruit, but also sustains their families. They have also seen that their products fulfill both eco and fair trade principles."
Mara also works with individual artists. This one is from her home town of Londrina. The artist recycles used coffee filters as a canvas for her objects:
Many of the fair trade shops one sees around have been selling the same crafts for decades. Although they still play a vital role in the economy of the lives they represent, Bazaar Brazil offers a fresh selection of high quality handicrafts and decorative items. On the first page of their website, there is a link to a wonderful little video interview with Mara that shows the store and other products nicely. Bazaar Brazil does not have a web store, but I'm sure they would welcome your inquiries and if you are in the neighborhood, it's a must visit!
Bazaar Brazil: Bringing Fair Trade from South to North
It all started with Charlie (named after my brother who is a pilot), my little one-legged, parakeet. I had no control over the heat in my apartment in Chicago, so even on the coldest days, I had a couple of windows cracked open a bit. Charlie flew in through the kitchen window on a frigid winter day. Mitchie, my dog, cornered him. I knew nothing about caring for birds, so I got Charlie a cage, bought him some food, went online and read about parakeets. I took him to the gallery. Soon, one of our customers who knew a lot about birds, brought Charlie a companion. Then she brought two more. I got a bigger cage. She brought a box and told me to put it in the cage. Babies came. Another customer was moving and had a cockatiel with a broken wing, Pecky. She couldn't take him. Did I want him? Pecky was 14 years old at the time. Sure, why not? So, Pecky came. The bird lady felt sorry for him and brought a young female. The female turned out to be a male, Sebastian. Without ever intending to, I now have 9 parakeets (I took the box out. Enough is enough!) and two cockatiels. Although I feel a bit weird about having birds in captivity, none of these would survive in the wild. And, it seems like we will have to put most Nature behind bars to keep it alive.
The birds molt and drop feathers, which got me to thinking about how feathers have been used throughout history in adornments, clothing, and art. Feathers have had a central place in native ceremonial costumes and ornaments for centuries. Theresa Mitopoulou has a good article on The Decoration of the Head with Feathers that illustrates how feathers have been used throughout history and in different cultures. The photo at the left, for example, is from the Mexico City Museum of Anthropology of an Aztec head gear for emperors and priests. It was made with tail feathers of one hundred male quetzal birds, the national bird of Guatemala. She states, "The arrangement of the colored feathers had astronomic and calendar meaning." I found a traveler who photographed a Hawaiian cape he saw at a museum:
He said that it took five years to gather the feathers and another seven to sew them into the cape. He didn't state where he took this photo, but Sothebys has a similar one from the collection of the Niagara Falls Museum, estimated in worth at over $250,000.
The British Museum states that capes were made for Hawaiian and Polynesian nobility. They were used in ceremonies and in battle and many were gifted in the early 1800's to sea captains and their crews, the earliest outside explorers to the region.
James W. Reid wrote a book, Magic Feathers, Textile Art from Ancient Peru, which is illustrated with beautiful Nazca capes and details on the feathers and techniques used in the region.
Pathways to the Sun Nazca culture, south coast of Peru, c. 400-800 AD 97 x 76 cm, cotton with applied feathers
The famous photographer, Edward Curtis, was the first to comprehensively document the life of Native Americans in the late 1800's. This photo of a Nez Pierce man with his head dress was exhibited at the Hall of American Indian Collection in the Hotel Astor. Curtis and other photographers captured the public's imagination. The Bald Eagle had been chosen as the symbol of freedom and became the national bird in 1782. To Native Americans, the eagle is a messenger to the creator and represents endurance. In all of the United States, the eagle and its feathers were treasured. As the media developed, it made its way into books, magazines, then later in movies.
Bird Lady by Cristina Mittermeir Highlands performer wearing a headdress made with the feathers of the superb bird of paradise. Highlands sing-sing, Papua New Guinea.
To this day, native people around the world continue to use feathers in ceremonies and dress. The Huli warriors of Papua New Guinea are often photographed for their bright face paint and costumes, feathers topping off their beautiful ensemble. Struggling to maintain identity in the face of a globalized world, these groups often are reduced to objects of tourism, but other efforts also seek to both honor and protect them. The above photo, for example, is available for purchase through Art for Conservation, an organization promoting grassroots conservation initiatives.
The fashion industry, of course, also has had a long history with feathers.
Victorian hats sported huge ostrich feathers and other exotic feathers continued to adorn hats and clothing through the 1950's. The following catalog is from a 1901 New York Millinery supply company, Fancy Feathers.
Smithsonian Institution Libraries
At some point, demand for all these feathers started creating shortages. Think of the demise of the passenger pigeon. Once the most populous bird in North America, five BILLION birds were killed off between 1870 and 1890. (Wikipedia) They had a high fat content that was used for cooking oil and to light Eastern street lamps. The last passenger pigeon died in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1914. Demand for bird feathers is not only ornamental, but also functional. Down feathers were and are still used for pillows and bedding. People started to worry and speaking up. Societies and organizations were formed. The National Audubon Society started publishing their Audubon Magazine in the 1880's, about the same time the passenger pigeon was getting killed off.
But, the attraction for feathers is powerful and we still continue to use them in our art and in our fashion. Handbags by Daphne offers this peacock feather bag for $85:
Jean Paul Gautier's wild feather dress was dubbed "Miss Turkey" by fellow blogger, Chanteuse. It's something else, isn't it?
So, there is that famous saying that "birds of a feather flock together"... Actually, we are destroying these feathered friends habitats all over the world. More and more, the chance for their survival will be as pets. Some African Grey parrots have become famous for how much they can learn, how cute they are and for their performance abilities. Here is Einstein performing on a TV show:
Menino, a Brazilian parrot, sings opera. My dogs came to watch him when I was playing his video:
And, Cody, a beautiful macaw, likes to be blow dried after his shower:
As with all of our natural resources, animal and plant life, care for these creatures and their feathers is in order. However, feathers are a renewable material. They do fall off naturally and birds do die. There is at least one organization that distributes molted feathers. Wingwise works specifically with Pueblo Indians and donates collected feathers for ceremonial purposes. Unfotunately, they have such a huge backlog of requests, that no new requests are taken at this time. The San Ildefonso girl at the left is wearing donated macaw feathers in her head dress.
It seems to me that this is really the solution for those of us who would like to continue to use feathers in art or garments. Bird sanctuaries, zoos, and pet owners should come together in some kind of a distribution system.
I also found some interesting trends in the green textile industry which is working on a fabric they are calling "chicken wool". The Independent reported that millions of tons of chicken feathers from chickens who are processed for the food market are disposed of yearly. They are working on a fabric which they consider will be superior to wool. Who knows what the next new trends will bring? We can only hope that they will address the needs of our fair feathered friends. Should we continue to wear them? Should they be freed from their cages and returned to the wild? Each of us has to answer these questions for ourselves. I know that my little companions wouldn't have a chance out there, so they are going to stay here. And, if any of you out there want some little parakeet feathers saved up for you, let me know and I'll start an envelope for you!
History repeats itself, but the special call of an art which has passed away is never reproduced. It is as utterly gone out of the world as the song of a destroyed wild bird.
