What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1437828
DECEMBER 19-25, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 9 "Textile waste is one of the leading forms of waste in our world right now, and most garments that we purchase have a very short lifecycle," explains Kaitlin Garcia-Maestas, Momentary associate curator. "So these artists are disrupting that, and they are bringing these textiles into their artwork, which means that they will have a life that will last much longer as artworks — they will be shown in museums and they will be seen with a completely different lens than they would have been if they were just donated to a thrift store as most of us do with our clothing." (Courtesy Photo/Monica Martinez, courtesy of the University Art Gallery) "In Some or Fashion" is really, Associate Curator Kaitlin Garcia- Maestas explains, the Momentary's first internally organized large-scale, group exhibition that extends throughout the building. As such, Garcia-Maestas reveals it was important to her that the exhibition make connections to the building's own history as a former site for manufacturing labor. (Courtesy Photo/Ironside Photography /Stephen Ironside, courtesy of the Momentary) Multidisciplinary artist Pia Camil creates immersive curtains that chart the cycles of global consumption. She sources second-hand T-shirts for her work that were manufactured in Latin America, discarded in the U.S., and often smuggled back across the border into Mexico through illicit trade cycles to avoid export taxes. Camil sources them in open-air markets where these donated, disposed of and discarded garments are re-sold in Latin America. (Courtesy Photo/Pia Camil and Galerie Sultana, copyright Claire Dorn) I hope that visitors are able to find an escape and be able to immerse themselves in textile art, because that's not something that the Momentary has had a lot of opportunity to show." And it's a presentation Garcia- Maestas insists should be seen in person to fully appreciate the visual complexities and deeper layers on display. "Coming out of this, sort of, pandemic digital moment, we've all gotten so accustomed to feeling like we can see and understand a work digitally," she notes. "Textiles just don't translate digitally very well. So it is a really rewarding experience to actually come and see the works in person. And then these ideas really start to click — because we all wear clothing, right? "We all have memories that are associated with specific textiles, colors, materials, textures, and you start to find your own relationship to the work," she adds. "So it's been interesting; most people that I talk to, their favorite installation is different. Sometimes we have exhibitions, and there are clear favorites of work in the show. But I think this show, because textiles have all these embedded memories and signifiers, people respond very differently." Editor's Note: This is Jocelyn Murphy's last What's Up! as associate editor, although you'll see her byline on a few more stories through the end of the year. We wish her nothing but wonderful things in her new job. FAQ 'In Some Form or Fashion' WHEN — Through March 27 WHERE — The Momentary, 507 S.E. St. in Bentonville COST — Free INFO — 367-7500, themomen- tary.org