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X-WR-CALNAME:Quilted Chronicles: Comforters for a Fraught Era. Fiber Art by
  Jo-Ann Morgan
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:162342023-10-29
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231029
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231030
LOCATION:12 Dodds Lane\nRehoboth Beach DE 19971
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 ch DE 19971;X-APPLE-RADIUS=49;X-TITLE=12 Dodds Lane:geo:38.725028,-75.0858
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GEO:38.725028;-75.085886
SUMMARY:Quilted Chronicles: Comforters for a Fraught Era. Fiber Art by Jo-A
 nn Morgan
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:“I began sewing during the pandemic. Quilting and applique’
 \ntechniques seemed a perfect choice for making art during trying times.\n
 I created a female figure as a focal point and named her Nuestra Dama\nde 
 la Corona (Lady Corona). She is intended as a comforting presence\,\nnot u
 nlike a deity or favorite doll\, to offer respite and hope within\nscenari
 os that bring attention to social inequality. She wears a\ncrown\, gloves\
 , and mask. Lady Corona has offered comfort to children\nat the US/ Mexico
  border\, paid tribute to people who have passed\, and\nremembered victims
  of violence. In more recent work other figures\nassume a similar role. Th
 e wall-mounted hangings are constructed in\nlayered cotton fabric. Because
  they resemble quilted comforters\, which\nare familiar and approachable\,
  the medium is ideal for addressing\nprovocative topics related to social 
 justice and inequality. Despite\nthe unsettling themes\, these stitched fa
 bric pictures offer a soothing\ncounterpoint to the harsh events of contem
 porary reality. If there is\na message running throughout this work is “
 seeking comfort in a\nfraught world.\" Art can be a way to process event
 s and experiences\nthat are almost too much to bear. I consider artmaking 
 to be my form\nof activism. These quilted wall hangings recall the spontan
 eous\nmemorials that communities erect after an untimely death. I first\nn
 oticed this impulse after the death of Trayvon Martin\, when scores of\npe
 ople created portraits of the young man\, some of which were waved\nduring
  demonstrations. Again\, after the death of Michael Brown\, a\nmemorial of
  flowers and other items was raised in Ferguson\, Missouri\nat the spot wh
 ere he was killed by police. Similarly\, the deaths of\nBreonna Taylor and
  then George Floyd brought out widespread\ncommemorations\, expanding awar
 eness of the national movement known as\nBlack Lives Matter. In addition t
 o artwork that commemorates Taylor\nand Floyd\, I have memorialized Elijah
  McClain\, Aurora\, Colorado\;\nRonald Green\, Monroe\, Louisiana\; and Ah
 maud Arbery\, Brunswick\,\nGeorgia\, all of whom died at the hands of poli
 ce. Recently I am\nembarked on a series that brings attention to the shoot
 ing of nineteen\nchildren at Robb Elementary School\, Uvalde\, TX. These q
 uilted works\nare individualized portraits\, but they are also meant to be
  universal.\nThey celebrate the short lives of the ten-year-old victims an
 d are\nmeant to evoke our collective outrage.\" Artist Bio Jo-Ann Morgan
  is\nProfessor Emeritus of African American Studies and Art History at\nWe
 stern Illinois University. She authored The Black Arts Movement and\nthe B
 lack Panther Party in American Visual Culture (Routledge\, 2019)\nand Uncl
 e Tom’s Cabin as Visual Culture\, which won the Seaborg Award\nfor Civil
  War Scholarship in 2008. Since 2020 Morgan has been a\nfull-time visual a
 rtist\, creating stitched fabric wall hangings on\nthemes related to socia
 l justice and gun violence. Among her awards\nare a Not Real Art Award fro
 m Culver City Arts Foundation (2022)\, a\nWeyerhaeuser Juror Award from Gr
 eat Northern Art Explosion\, Grayling\,\nMI (2021)\, a Cultural Commentary
 /Social Change Grant from Fiber Art\nNow (summer/fall 2021)\, and several 
 honorable mentions. Her work has\nbeen in over twenty-five juried shows. S
 olo exhibitions include Dalton\nGallery\, Arts Council of York County\, Ro
 ckhill\, SC (February 2022)\,\nPark Circle Gallery\, North Charleston\, SC
  (November 2022)\, and Maude\nKerns Art Center\, Eugene\, OR (February 202
 3). Venue: Rehoboth Art\nLeague.
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“I began sewing during the pandemic. Quiltin
 g and applique’ techniques seemed a perfect choice for making art during
  trying times. I created a female figure as a focal point and named her Nu
 estra Dama de la Corona (Lady Corona). She is intended as a comforting pre
 sence\, not unlike a deity or favorite doll\, to offer respite and hope wi
 thin scenarios that bring attention to social inequality. She wears a crow
 n\, gloves\, and mask. Lady Corona has offered comfort to children at the 
 US/ Mexico border\, paid tribute to people who have passed\, and remembere
 d victims of violence. In more recent work other figures assume a similar 
 role. The wall-mounted hangings are constructed in layered cotton fabric. 
 Because they resemble quilted comforters\, which are familiar and approach
 able\, the medium is ideal for addressing provocative topics related to so
 cial justice and inequality. Despite the unsettling themes\, these stitche
 d fabric pictures offer a soothing counterpoint to the harsh events of con
 temporary reality. If there is a message running throughout this work is 
 “seeking comfort in a fraught world.\" Art can be a way to process eve
 nts and experiences that are almost too much to bear. I consider artmaking
  to be my form of activism. These quilted wall hangings recall the spontan
 eous memorials that communities erect after an untimely death. I first not
 iced this impulse after the death of Trayvon Martin\, when scores of peopl
 e created portraits of the young man\, some of which were waved during dem
 onstrations. Again\, after the death of Michael Brown\, a memorial of flow
 ers and other items was raised in Ferguson\, Missouri at the spot where he
  was killed by police. Similarly\, the deaths of Breonna Taylor and then G
 eorge Floyd brought out widespread commemorations\, expanding awareness of
  the national movement known as Black Lives Matter. In addition to artwork
  that commemorates Taylor and Floyd\, I have memorialized Elijah McClain\,
  Aurora\, Colorado\; Ronald Green\, Monroe\, Louisiana\; and Ahmaud Arbery
 \, Brunswick\, Georgia\, all of whom died at the hands of police. Recently
  I am embarked on a series that brings attention to the shooting of ninete
 en children at Robb Elementary School\, Uvalde\, TX. These quilted works a
 re individualized portraits\, but they are also meant to be universal. The
 y celebrate the short lives of the ten-year-old victims and are meant to e
 voke our collective outrage.\" Artist Bio Jo-Ann Morgan is Professor Eme
 ritus of African American Studies and Art History at Western Illinois Univ
 ersity. She authored The Black Arts Movement and the Black Panther Party i
 n American Visual Culture (Routledge\, 2019) and Uncle Tom’s Cabin as Vi
 sual Culture\, which won the Seaborg Award for Civil War Scholarship in 20
 08. Since 2020 Morgan has been a full-time visual artist\, creating stitch
 ed fabric wall hangings on themes related to social justice and gun violen
 ce. Among her awards are a Not Real Art Award from Culver City Arts Founda
 tion (2022)\, a Weyerhaeuser Juror Award from Great Northern Art Explosion
 \, Grayling\, MI (2021)\, a Cultural Commentary/Social Change Grant from F
 iber Art Now (summer/fall 2021)\, and several honorable mentions. Her work
  has been in over twenty-five juried shows. Solo exhibitions include Dalto
 n Gallery\, Arts Council of York County\, Rockhill\, SC (February 2022)\, 
 Park Circle Gallery\, North Charleston\, SC (November 2022)\, and Maude Ke
 rns Art Center\, Eugene\, OR (February 2023). Venue: Rehoboth Art League.
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DTSTAMP:20260924T150849Z
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