Twisted Path III: Questions of Balance
, the latest exhibit in the
Twisted Path Series
, will open in February 2014 and invites artists to consider their personal and cultural connection
to place, and how they communicate this through their artwork. Whether
from a sense of comfort and pride in one’s homeland, or criticism about the
condition of our planet and concerns about environmental genocide, the works of
each artist offer a unique perspective expressed through their art. This
exhibit will bring together artists engaging in conversations nationally,
sharing their voices and experiences to Abbe visitors.
In keeping with our charge to develop Native voice as
primary voice in our exhibits and programs, Rick Hunt (Abenaki) will serve as
co-curator with Raney Bench, the Abbe’s Curator of Education. Raney and George Neptune (Passamaquoddy),
Museum Educator, have designed a program series to accompany this exhibit that
includes a variety of artists, media, and learning experiences which will be
scheduled throughout 2014. We have recently
received several grants
in support of the exhibit and accompanying programs.
Eleven artists will join us for this exhibit. Over the next few months, we will profile those artists here. First, we'd like to welcome
Patricia Michaels
, fashion designer from the Taos Peublo, and Gina Brooks, Maliseet ink and pen artist from Maine.
Patricia Michaels
is a traditional native woman who is a style-maker at the forefront of
modern fashion design and aesthetics. She creates boldly hip designs with a
quality of timeless elegance. Michaels spent her youth between Santa Fe, where
her parents operated their art gallery, and Taos Pueblo. In 1985 she
apprenticed with the Santa Fe Opera’s costume designer, and then went on to the
Institute of American Indian Arts where she studied graphic design, jewelry and
traditional techniques. In 2001, after working in Chicago at the Field Museum
and an art gallery, she apprenticed with a tailor in Milan, Italy. Michaels later
brought her son and daughter with her to New York where she worked in the
city’s garment district. After two years there, Michaels developed her own
collection, becoming the first Native American to feature a label at the
prestigious New York Fashion Week. Michaels competed in the 2013 season 11 of
the popular show Project Runway, finishing as runner up and a fan favorite. Now
based back home in Taos, Patricia exhibits her work in museums and at fashion
weeks in New York and Santa Fe, and her innovative designs have garnered top
honors at Santa Fe Indian Market.
Artist Statement for
Twisted Path III
"I
create highly individualized pieces that are elegant, fluid, sophisticated, and
organic by fusing my own aesthetic with indigenous and European
perspectives.
The
detail of every garment, from hand-painted silk feathers, and meshed leather to
textures that echo the natural world, I evoke my own history and culture as
part of a larger timeless narrative.
Each
design tells a story. Just as a river is pierced by a tree branch, time is
momentarily anchored within the garment. Each piece is created, is worn, and
continues to create fresh new meanings into the future. Every person brings his
or her own sense of self into the narrative and enriches the meaning. In this
way, we might defy the consumerist sense of fashion as something we can put on,
take off, and casually cast aside."
