ARTIST STATEMENT
State of the Union Words. Such simple things, so easily spoken, so quickly misunderstood, so often turned into weapons – bludgeons, hammers, daggers, and more – many times becoming a tool used by the (billionaire) oppressors to attempt to control the oppressed.
Our country, this country, the no longer United States of America, has been engaged in a (most uncivil) war of the words for some time now. Oligarchs and corrupt politicians from both sides of the aisle seek to corral and contain not just the minority, but all the minorities, through the select use of words and phrases (dog whistles) that are designed to yoke the masses into a system where they (we) have no voice.
To speak up is to refuse to be ruled by a self-selected few who see financial resources as the next incarnation of the divine right of monarchs. To speak up is to rebel against the cowardice and avarice that drives American politics and inflicts financial ruin on us both en masse and as individuals. To speak up is to stake the claim of independence, to be willing to pay the price for speaking up, and to be ready to stand firm against those few who would happily strip us (the masses) of our (Constitutional) rights in order to profit.
State of the Union is constructed using reclaimed and scrap fabric, machine and hand embroidery, longarm and regular machine quilting, vintage (painted, gilded) army men, stenciled boot prints, and “widows’ veil” fabric binding.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Kim Stuart is an emerging artist in the field of fiber and mixed media art. This could be part of a midlife crisis or perhaps just a rebellion against the idea that GenX women aren’t really creatives; only time will tell.
© Kim Stuart