Quilting for their Lives
In a remote village in the Thar desert of Pakistan, the women are primarily Hindu in a Muslim country. Not only that, but they are from the bottom of the untouchable caste system. They have very few options in life for what they can do to earn a living. Most of the women are illiterate and are forbidden to travel without their husbands or a male relative. The men dye cotton and the women take that cotton and stitch together brightly patterned Ralli quilts. They embroider, appliqué, and adorn their creations with bits of mirror, sequins, shells and beads. The patterns are based on ancient textile traditions dating back thousands of years.
Libby Lumpkin Picks Urbane and Quirky Art for New Mexorado from adobeairstream.com
This kind of juried exhibition provides the opportunity to better know some of your scattered neighbors—to learn more about all those loners, hippies, socialites, cowpokes, scientists, and retired generals living at the end of some dirt road, some of whom are developing as artists, and a couple of whom might actually be waiting for that space ship, Lumpkin said.
Egyptian Artist Wael Shawky wins Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award
Egyptian artist Wael Shawky wins Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award. Art Writer Leanne Goebel recalls his controversial participation in SITE Santa Fe’s Lucky Number Seven biennial.
Hasan Elahi: Tracking Transience in One on One at SITE Santa Fe
Accused of being a terrorist, Hasan Elahi began broadcasting his every move, his every meal, his daily activities. The artist questions who is watching and how much is too much information in a new exhibit at SITE Santa Fe called Tracking Transience.
A Lack of Awareness: Wael Shawky and the Non-Issue at “Lucky Number Seven”
Was Wael Shawky censored by SITE Santa Fe? And did they have reasonable grounds to ask him to change his concept? He did, but the controversy remains when the artist showed his New Mexico work in Egypt and Jordan.
First English speaking film made in Pakistan in 30 years directed by a woman
Khan left Lahore in 2007 to finish editing the film because the city was often without electricity. Her furniture is still in storage in Lahore. She was hoping to purchase the home where she shot some of the film. She was hoping to be able to remain part-time in Pakistan.
Creating a global community: One Story at a time
This global focus of the art world, the film world, the creative world on the demand of the market has eroded a sense of community.
The Stinks and Rapids: Is Art Important?
We need fewer artists doing the same thing and more artists pushing the boundaries stretched by artists from the past. We need independent voices willing to speak out and act as regulators of the marketplace—not regulators of the Art. We need critics willing to debate and stand up for what they believe. We need to recognize that there are artists all over the world quietly making interesting and challenging art, overlooked by the system and market.
Time for an upgrade
A blogger since July 2005 Leanne Goebel has moved her blog to wordpress. Her preferred subject matter continues to be contemporary art and culture based in or connected to the Rocky Mountain West and Southwest.
