"Many times when the women were sewing they would cry."

January 9, 2009 11:24 AM

Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory, an online exhibit of comtemporary textiles created (mostly) by women living in war zones.
posted by Miko (4 comments total)

related
posted by Artw at 12:36 PM on January 9, 2009

Great link Miko, and Artw, thanks.
posted by Rumple at 12:51 PM on January 9, 2009

This is incredible. Thank you.
posted by sarabeth at 1:00 PM on January 9, 2009

Jaqueline Adams studied arpilleras over time finding that "between 1974 and 1996, the arpilleras evolved from being sharply denunciatory, depicting repression, poverty, and protests, to
bucolic, depicting such scenes as bread-baking, markets, and children dancing." She concludes that

political art made in repressive contexts is likely to lose its denunciatory character when the following developments occur in the intermediary, buyers, and artists: the intermediary (meaning the institution that buys the artwork from the artists and sells it to individuals, shops, or organizations) becomes more politically conservative, fearful of repression, faces economic hardship, and has the power to enforce changes in the art form; new buyers emerge and old buyers stop buying; and new artists become involved, an artist successfully develops a new motif, artists censor themselves, and the artists witness or have new experiences. Hence, protest art may be as much an expression of intermediary’s and buyers’ preferences as it is of the oppressed individuals that produce it.

Which is a rather dry over simplification of the article (academic journal: mefi mail if your interested in the piece).
posted by zenon at 1:22 PM on January 9, 2009