Radio Chipstone is a new series curated by Art Historian gianofer fields. The focus is Material Culture which… is not the study of the history of objects but the study of history through objects.
This is the second of a two-part series focusing on an exhibit entitled Intersections: Indigenous Textiles of the Americas. It’s currently on display in Nancy Nicholas Hall on the UW-Madison Campus. It is co-curated by indigenous scholars Kendra Greendeer and Dakota Mace. Greendeer is a PHD student in the Art History Department. Mace, a recent graduate of the Design Studies Department and practicing artist, photographed the textiles on display.
In part one of this series the conversation started by honoring the ancestors and paying respect to the makers of the textiles on display. In part two, we take a deeper look at design elements indigenous weavers incorporated to identify their community and highlight the natural world around them.
As we unfold the textiles on display, Mace tells fields how the collection came to the UW display. While Mace and Greendeer appreciate the opportunity to work with such an extensive collection, there were challenges to overcome.
About the Host:
gianofer (JON nah fer) fields is an Art Historian and Material Culture contributor and curates the Radio Chipstone series. The project is hosted by the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and funded by the Chipstone Foundation; a decorative arts foundation whose mission is preserving and interpreting their collection, as well as stimulating research and education in the decorative arts.
About the Guests:
Dakota Mace is a Diné artist and scholar that focuses on abstracting Diné weaving practices as well as developing more dialogue on the appropriation of Indigenous design-work. Mace received her MA and MFA degrees in Photography and Textile Design at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her BFA in Photography from the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her artistic work focuses on translating the language of Diné weaving history as well as beliefs through different mediums and techniques. She is currently Curator/Project Manager for Exhibition Planning, Planning Department, Madison Municipal Building, and Graphic Designer & Head Photographer for the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection.
Kendra Greendeer is a Ph.D. candidate in Art History at the the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a focus on contemporary Native women artists, the transformation of spaces, and decolonial museum practices. She is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation. She is currently the Collections Manager for Little Eagle Arts Foundation in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, and was previously a Curatorial Resident at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. She earned her B.F.A. in Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and M.A. in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Image: Installation view of the exhibition Intersections: Indigenous Textiles of the Americas in the Lynn Mecklenburg Textile Gallery at the School of Human Ecology, UW-Madison. Photograph © Andy Manis; shared by the Center for Design and Material Culture.
Featured Music: A Tribe Called Red.
The exhibit will be on display until December 6, 2019 in Nancy Nicholas Hall on the UW-Madison campus (1300 Linden Drive).
