<
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/09/nx-s1-5118388/soft-medium-hard-truths-national-endowment-for-the-arts-recognizes-a-navajo-quilter>
'Susan Hudson's studio near Ignacio, Colorado, is often a chaotic mess of
brightly colored fabrics and half-finished projects.
"I'm disorganized/organized," she said with a laugh. "I know where everything
is. But I did clean up a little when I knew you were coming for a visit."
At the time, Hudson was finishing work on her latest show quilt, "Standing
Strong In The Face of Genocide." Trimmed in black fabric, the four-paneled
quilt showed a sequence of images focused on a single figure, like frames in a
graphic novel.
In the first frame, a Native American boy in traditional clothing stands in
front of what appears to be the whitewashed wooden siding of a building. The
figure has black braids, leather and velvet clothing decorated in metal and
bone, and oyster shell earrings. The light brown area of the figure's face is
blank, with no features.
In the second frame, Hudson has sewn pieces of red fabric on the figure's
pants, shaped like droplets of blood. In the third frame, the figure is slumped
down, with a red smear on the wall behind him. The fourth panel has only
Hudson's trademark cursive writing, like lines in a ledger book, dedicating the
quilt to the Native children who did not capitulate to the administrators and
federal officials who carried out federal Indian boarding school policies.
These frames tell the story of an execution-style killing of a Native American
boy.
Indian boarding schools operated for decades across the US, beginning in the
late 19th century, as part of an ongoing federal effort to separate Native
youth from their families, culture, traditions, and language. Children were
forbidden to speak their native language, to wear traditional clothes, and to
practice their religion. Their hair was cut, and they were given European
names.'
Via Muse.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
