Submitted by Naomi Macioce
(Naomi is a new member to MPS and the most recent addition to our blogging team.)
I recently attended an exhibit entitled “Defining Moments: Stitched Perspectives on Becoming a Woman”, by Carol Larson and Marion Coleman. This exhibit was in the beautiful gallery space of Visions Art Museum of Contemporary Quilts and Textiles, in San Diego, CA, from July 20 –October 6, 2019.
In this exhibit two close friends, tall women, and textile artists present quilts in tandem, representing many unique social, cultural, and personal factors that impacted their lives such as: family life, school years, transition into womanhood, and intimate relationships.
However, equally powerful within these quilts is the impact of the political climate, history, and laws concerning gender roles, school segregation, racism, inter-racial marriage, sexual assault, environmental destruction, and aging.
Carol Larson is a tall white woman, born in San Francisco, and spending most of her life in Petaluma, CA. Marion Coleman is a tall African American Woman, born in Wichita Falls Texas, and living in Castro Valley, CA, since 1984. Interestingly enough both of these women learned to sew when they were very young, and made their own clothes. Other very interesting similarities emerge as you view their work, despite their very different life stories.
They each consider themselves storytellers, and hope that the viewing of these poignant stories is a conduit to experiencing and sharing our own stories. Their stories have stayed with me, and I’m glad for this opportunity to share this exhibit with you.
If you’re interested in seeing their work:
Carol Larson: www.live2dye.com
Marion Coleman: www.marioncoleman.com
Visions Art Museum: www.visionsartmuseum.org
Thank you guys for your warm comments.
To bring this exhibit a little more alive, I thought that I would mention an example of each woman’s work.
Carol Larson’s family physician realized very early on that she was going to be very tall, which at that time was considered not a good thing for a girl. At 17 she underwent surgery where her leg bones were shortened. This surgery ended up effecting her life: physically with some pain and disability, and emotionally. As a way of processing this life experience she made the “Tall Girl Series”, some of which were included in this exhibit.
Marion Coleman explored the pain and difficulty associated with having an inter-racial relationship in her quilts. She was an African American woman and her long time boyfriend was white; they were unable to marry for many years, and suffered through discrimination, fear of legal retribbution, and an inability to celebrate their love publicly, and have the life they wanted unto much later.
Great post. Moving works of art. Thanks for sharing!
Naomi – Thank you for taking the time to write this short article. I appreciated it.
thank you for sharing your Visual Arts Museum experience. I had never hear of these two ‘tall’ quilters and so enjoyed seeing their work and reading associated stories. A benefit in belonging to MPS is my quilting horizons are widened. thank you.