June 2023
INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION
Jo-Ann Morgan
ARTIST STATEMENT
I began sewing during the pandemic. Quilting and applique’ techniques seemed a perfect choice for making art that could offer comfort during trying times. I created a female figure as a focal point and named her Nuestra Dama de la Corona (Lady Corona). She was to be a comforting presence, not unlike a deity or favorite doll, to offer respite and hope within scenarios that brought attention to social inequality. Identified by her crown, gloves, and mask, Lady Corona gave comfort to children and brought attention to family separation US/ Mexico border. In other work she pays tribute to people who have passed.
The wall-mounted hangings are constructed in layered cotton fabric using quilting and applique’ techniques. The medium is ideal for addressing provocative topics related to social justice and inequality. Despite unsettling themes, these stitched pictures offer a soothing counterpoint to the harsh events of contemporary reality.
I view this work as comparable to the spontaneous memorials that communities erect after an untimely death, especially those visited by violence. Following the death of Trayvon Martin, scores of people created portraits of the young man. A tower of flowers and other items was raised in Ferguson, Missouri at the very spot where Michael Brown was killed by police. Similarly, the deaths of Breonna Taylor and then George Floyd brought out widespread commemorations, expanding into a national movement we know as Black Lives Matter.
At present I am embarked on a series meant to evoke our collective outrage about gun violence. These quilted memorials of the nineteen children murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas celebrate the short lives of the ten-year-old victims. I consider artmaking to be a form of activism.
INVITATIONAL EXHIBITION
Jo-Ann Morgan
ARTIST STATEMENT
I began sewing during the pandemic. Quilting and applique’ techniques seemed a perfect choice for making art that could offer comfort during trying times. I created a female figure as a focal point and named her Nuestra Dama de la Corona (Lady Corona). She was to be a comforting presence, not unlike a deity or favorite doll, to offer respite and hope within scenarios that brought attention to social inequality. Identified by her crown, gloves, and mask, Lady Corona gave comfort to children and brought attention to family separation US/ Mexico border. In other work she pays tribute to people who have passed.
The wall-mounted hangings are constructed in layered cotton fabric using quilting and applique’ techniques. The medium is ideal for addressing provocative topics related to social justice and inequality. Despite unsettling themes, these stitched pictures offer a soothing counterpoint to the harsh events of contemporary reality.
I view this work as comparable to the spontaneous memorials that communities erect after an untimely death, especially those visited by violence. Following the death of Trayvon Martin, scores of people created portraits of the young man. A tower of flowers and other items was raised in Ferguson, Missouri at the very spot where Michael Brown was killed by police. Similarly, the deaths of Breonna Taylor and then George Floyd brought out widespread commemorations, expanding into a national movement we know as Black Lives Matter.
At present I am embarked on a series meant to evoke our collective outrage about gun violence. These quilted memorials of the nineteen children murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas celebrate the short lives of the ten-year-old victims. I consider artmaking to be a form of activism.
Visual artist Jo-Ann Morgan is Professor Emeritus of African American Studies and Art History at Western Illinois University. She authored The Black Arts Movement and the Black Panther Party in American Visual Culture (Routledge, 2019) and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as Visual Culture, which won the Seaborg Award for Civil War Scholarship in 2008. Since 2020 Morgan has been a full-time fiber artist, creating stitched fabric wall hangings on themes related to social justice and gun violence. Among her awards are a Cultural Commentary/Social Change Grant from Fiber Art Now (summer/fall 2021) a Not Real Art Grant from Culver City Arts Foundation (2022), a Weyerhaeuser Juror Award at the 2021 Great Northern Art Explosion, Grayling, MI, and several honorable mentions. Solo exhibitions include Dalton Gallery, Arts Council of York County, Rockhill, SC (February 2022), Park Circle Gallery, North Charleston, SC (November 2022), Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, OR (February 2023). Shows are scheduled for Rehoboth Art League, Rehoboth Beach, DE (September 2023), Pittsburg State University, KS (October 2023), and Alma College, Alma, MI (November 2023).
For inquiries contact the artists directly:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Website:
https://www.picturingblackpower.com
Recent Press:
https://charlestoncitypaper.com/jo-ann-morgan-provides-comfort-commentary-through-quilting/?fbclid=IwAR2C6FerpiIK5ztCApB9XpnasSK02seSTo25Vb2YvadC-YghIU-uI6kt7vc
[email protected]
[email protected]
Website:
https://www.picturingblackpower.com
Recent Press:
https://charlestoncitypaper.com/jo-ann-morgan-provides-comfort-commentary-through-quilting/?fbclid=IwAR2C6FerpiIK5ztCApB9XpnasSK02seSTo25Vb2YvadC-YghIU-uI6kt7vc