Darlene Clover and Joyce Stalker

Subversive quilts: an international comparative study of women’s fabric art/craft learning and activism

Darlene E. Clover

University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Joyce Stalker

University of Waikato, New Zealand/Aotearoa

Paper presented at the 36th Annual SCUTREA Conference, 4-6 July 2006, Trinity and All Saints College, Leeds

Introduction

Perron (1998, 124) argues that ‘textile practices have been treated with disregard for so long it is almost inconceivable for some critics and artists to acknowledge them as discursive formations from which meaning can emerge.’ Traditionally quilts have sent messages of comfort and warmth or been used to commemorate, memorialize or celebrate. But for generations quilts have also carried political and subversive messages of protest and resistance and it is this dimension which is the focus of this paper.

Feminist adult education has fully recognised the value of many arts such as popular theatre but has largely ignored the potential of women’s fabric arts/crafts to work as political, social and cultural learning and education tools (see Stalker, 2003, 2005). This paper presents the findings from an international comparative study of that kind of ‘women’s work.’ It contributes to discourses of feminist adult education and feminist aesthetic theory through the examination of fabric arts-based learning for social justice and civic engagement. Below, we present the unique contexts of the study.

Contextual framework

Canada and New Zealand/Aotearoa have contexts which are important in understanding women’s fabric art/craft work. Both countries share a colonial past in which the British and in the case of Canada, the French, displaced the Indigenous people. Canada has a population of approximately 32 million people, over nine million square kilometers, five times zones and is resource rich. New Zealand/Aotearoa has a population of approximately four million, approximately 260 thousand square kilometres and one time zone.

Canada is the most multi-cultural nation in the world and includes a diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Metis (French/First Nations mix). In New Zealand/Aotearoa Maori officially make up 15 percent of the population and are increasing in proportion. Pakeha (visitors) make up the majority of the population and include an increasing number of immigrants from Polynesia and Asia. Maori and Pakeha are bound together in a bicultural, and constantly contested partnership by a legal agreement, the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, between the British and Maori .

Both countries, have a strong economic inter-dependence on their geographic neighbours who are also their largest trading partners. Canada differs from the USA in major ideological, social, political and defence stances. However, its tradition of collectivism and socialism is increasingly moving towards privatisation, deregulation and economic growth despite their negative impacts on communities (Clover & Markle, 2003). In contrast, New Zealand/Aotearoa, has an increasingly divergent relationship with Australia as ‘Aussie’ continues its swing to the right and New Zealand/Aotearoa persists, since 1996, with its implementation of a ‘Third way’ (Giddens, 1998) model of government. It attempts to balance the country’s strong social democratic traditions with the global agenda of markets and neo-liberalism.

A final, fundamental difference between the two countries is the centrality of Canada as a key ‘First world’ player on the world stage of social relationships, economics and politics. In contrast, New Zealand/Aotearoa is notable for its marginality, powerlessness and invisibility on that stage.

Theoretical perspectives: feminist adult education and aesthetic theory

Feminist adult education arose as a challenge to the gender blind discourses of adult education. Its major concerns are empowerment and emancipation through teaching and learning (Ryan, 2001; Walters & Manicom, 1996). Historically, the concept of feminist adult education can be identified by three key elements. Firstly, it focuses on women - not simply as an ‘add and stir’ phenomenon, but rather it addresses the breadth, depth and complexity of oppression as experienced by 51% of the world’s population. In addition, it rejects the idea that women are a homogeneous group and considers also issues such as age, ethnicity, ability, colour, ability, sexual orientation and geographical location. Addressing these inter-related issues is a major contemporary challenge.

Secondly, feminist adult education has focused historically on oppressions primarily experienced by women such as rape, domestic violence, pay disparities, and unequal work opportunities (Clover, Stalker and McGauley, 2004; Stalker, 2001). More recently, it has broadened its focus to include the environment, globalisation, indigenous rights, disability and gay, lesbian and transgender concerns.

Finally, feminist adult education has been concerned with ‘process’ rather than ‘product’ (Butterwick, 2002; Lather, 1991). This is problematic as it can target women and make them responsible for changes in their own situations. While some feminist adult educators argue that it is of primary importance that we focus on the individual processes of learning and growth, others believe that the end product must be systemic changes and that true agency and empowerment emerge from collective learning and action (Heng, 1996; Manicom & Walters, 1997; Ryan, 2001).

In sum, feminist adult education is a contested area of theory and practice. The contemporary challenge to feminist adult educators is to provide learning opportunities that truly empower by broadening their depth, scope and range of outcomes. One way is through the lens of feminist aesthetic theory.

Feminist aesthetic theory also arose as a challenge to the exclusionary practices of the male dominated art world. Its primary aim is to uncover the ‘complex codes that govern the allocation of meaning to sexual difference as represented in [the arts]’ (Pajaczkowska, 2001, 4). Historically, feminist aesthetic theory also has three key elements. First, it critiques women’s depictions ‘in’ the arts. Chadwick (1997, 129) argues that the great masters ‘affirm(s) the female image as an object of male contemplation...a masculine viewer/consumer’ (133). Moreover, ‘the narratives and iconography serve to establish women’s place (and their arts) at the ‘bottom’ of society and to point out their ‘weaknesses’, thereby making these overt power relations in society...appear to be part of the natural, eternal order of things’ (Nochlin, 1997, 72).

Second, it challenges the trivalization and marginalization of women’s arts/crafts (Chadwick, 1996; Lippard, 1984; Parker, 1996). Increasingly, authors have attempted to ‘identify an authentic tradition of women’s arts [such as] quilt-making’ and situate it in terms of authenticity (Hollows, 2000, 26).

A third characteristic of feminist aesthetics concerns the social responsibility of women’s arts/crafts and challenges the idea that group-identity politics simply interfere with more valid artistic goals and aspirations (Mullin, 2003). Feminist artists have taken up the issue of social responsibility through political art which ‘explores political subject matter’ and issues (Mullin, 2003, 191) and through activist art which also explores political topics but goes further by ‘seeking public engagement and taking place in public sites rather than the context of the art-world venues’ (Felshin, 1995, 10). Interestingly, activist art, like feminist adult education, is ‘process rather than object or product-oriented’ (Ibid.) and both political and activist art focus on the artist or a group of artists as the sole creators thereby ensuring artistic quality.

Together, feminist adult education and feminist aesthetic theories provide useful perspectives through which to view the fabric craft work of women in this study. The specific research question of this study was:

What are the views of Canadian and New Zealand/Aotearoa women involved in political art/craft work about the educative, learning and activist potential of their work?

Although the study looked at the arts broadly, it quickly became clear that the fabric arts/crafts were some of the most powerful and preferred art/craft work and they are the focus of this article.

Research design

We used a comparative qualitative methodology in order to explore diversity, interpret cultural or contemporary trends and to advance theory (Ragin, 1994). We used unstructured interviews to allow for an active involvement of the women in the construction of data about their experiences (Reinharz, 1992) and a fuller generation of theory.

In Canada, multiple interviews and focus group sessions of approximately 20 women were also utilised in order to develop ‘stronger interviewee-interviewee bonds’ and to provide opportunities for the women to build on each other’s thoughts and experiences (Reinharz, 1992, 36). In New Zealand/Aotearoa time and distance restrictions meant that single interviews were conducted with 14 individuals.

Key Findings

Three major themes emerged which illustrated the similarities between the countries’ political art/craft women. These themes were set against the production of quilts which addressed a diverse range of issues and which were a clever combination of metaphors, symbols and direct illustrations. Although many quilts in both countries did deal with ‘women’s’ issues - there was a strong tendency for the respondents to tackle broader social issues.

A key strong theme in the women’s stories was their self-deprecation. The women in both countries continually apologized for what they saw as the inadequacy of their work. They apologized for both their technical and artistic abilities. They often drew attention to ‘the seams being just a little off’ (C) and noted that their work was ‘never really satisfactory’ (NZ/A). A typical comment was that ‘I’m not an artist.’ These comments were made both by women who had won awards for their work and by first-time quilters.

A second theme shared by the women concerned their passion for both the medium and the messages which political fabric art/craft allowed. Almost inevitably, they believed that their quilts could carry a ‘profound meaning’ (NZ/A). They suggested too that strong technical and artistic skills enhanced that message and conversely, that the reverse weakened the message. Similarly, a Canadian woman said, ‘Well, of course getting people involved in doing this and making it an inclusive and collective process was the aim of the work - it was what were trying to; but well, we are quilters and artists and that product, those quilts, they had to be of high quality; nothing else would do, you see. As a Kiwi woman noted ‘if they haven’t done a lot of sewing, they won’t have the techniques….you have to go through the accurate to get to the sloppy because you can’t cope otherwise.’

Finally, the women in both countries talked about quilting as a space for quiet reflection and meditation on personal and political issues. As one eloquent quilter said: ‘the slowness of the quilt-making process makes you reflect deeply on the reason you are making the quilt, and this contemplation, concern, and deep feeling about the issue becomes imbued in the quilt in powerful, symbolic and more conscious ways’ (C).

There was also one aspect of women’s work in each country, which although not entirely unique to each country, differed noticeably. In Canada, women spoke of the power of the collective experience of creating the quilts. They found personal pleasure and satisfaction, had pride in their work and in the impact of their quilts. They often sent out squares of materials to people across communities asking them to contribute their ideas around specific issues. They ‘quilted in public’ and made sure their works of art were highly visible. Moreover, they tended to give up ownership of the quilts and felt they were stronger, able to be more defiant and ‘safer’ because they engaged in collective production, reached out and/or showcased their quilts in a variety of sites including rallies, universities, and community centres. The women in Canada seemed to relish stirring things up and in fact, seemed to aim for it.

In New Zealand/Aotearoa, women emphasized their pride in their uniqueness as individual quilters. They too found personal pleasure and satisfaction, and had pride in their work, but they tended to speak of a dislocation from other quilters who shared neither their political ideas nor their concerns. At the same time, they spoke of their desire to avoid being labeled as a ‘stirrer.’ They argued that to be overly forthright was not an effective way to bring about change. They rejected naming themselves as activists and did not believe that those kinds of terms described either them or their work. They tended to speak of a wish, and need, to ‘fit in.’ Their emphasis was on the individual experience. They were comfortable working alone on their projects, while simultaneously retaining social links with their quilting groups and friends. End products tended to be ‘one-offs’ shown in local or national quilt exhibitions.

Discussion and conclusions

In both countries a personal connection with the issue at the local level appeared to be a key catalyst for the creation of the quilts. To some extent differences between the countries represented differing intensity rather than real differences. None the less, three distinctions emerged which will be explored here.

First, there was a difference between the Canadian collective and the more individual New Zealand/Aotearoa approaches. This might concern us, for, as Manicom and Walters (1997) suggest, a more localized or individual process has less potential to ‘really effect and consolidate substantive changes in women’s lives’ (71). They would argue that the collective and more public activities of the women in Canada provided a greater potential for both self and community education and learning. The women discussed, debated, challenged, and supported each other and deliberately brought others into the projects through public quilting and exhibitions in a variety of locations. They were often approached (on one occasion by the police but that is another story altogether!) by people who were curious. The collectiveness of the quilts in Canada seemed provide an anonymity and safety which enabled the women to participate without actually being named.

In contrast, the ‘down under’ quilts, usually created by individuals, did not provide that safety. Their powerful statements tended to be more personalized, intimate self-expressions, which were made visible to smaller audiences.

The differences between these women’s work can be explored via their contexts. At a macro level, because of Canada’s proximity to the USA it is overly familiar with unfair economic practices, increasing violence, cross-border gun infiltration, war, and cultural domination. Perhaps this meant that the women were politicised and developed collective, defiant works of art albeit through a safe, familiar and comfortable medium. Certainly economic development, the environment, political policy and war were key topics. Kiwis on the other hand, feel the impact of globalization yet have a distant relationship in geographic, ideological and cultural terms with the USA. Despite the encroaching ‘Americanization’ of most Kiwi things, the reality of limited resources and power, means that they tend to be observers of the world, and more focused on internal issues. Thus, the quilts addressed national issues like the inadequacy of the health care system, political blunders and the issue of identity.