A N C I E N T L I N E S E X H I B I T - b e y o n d t h e c a n v a s a p r I l 4 - j u n e 4 , 2 0 1 9 BEAUFORT ARTS COUNCIL / mather museum 921 ribaut road, bldg 1, beaufort SC 29902 call mahoganee amiger @ beaufort arts council 843 379 2787
s t I l l h e r e . . . . . . . . . . . this multi-media exhibition (textile design, poetry, painting, illustration) by monique de la tour is focused on the indigenous people of the sea islands, sustainability and history. If you are in the lowcountry area of south carolina and want to check it out please call the beaufort arts council on 843 379 2787 to schedule a private viewing. CONCEPT The idea for this exhibit came about when the artist began thinking more in depth about the indigenous people of the Sea Islands in 2018. De La Tour wanted to know more about the original inhabitants of Saint Helena Island, where she has relocated and living a more self-sustainable life herself. She wanted to know more about the foods they ate, the clothes they wore, the plants they used for medicines, how they built their homes and more. Her search began for answers to the many questions she had. RESEARCH De La Tour found very little information available from books and museums, and the information found, often differed. It was at this point de La Tour decided to create an exhibit to honor the people who we seem to know very little about. A fellow artist introduced her to a Santee Chief who told her the main point he wanted to get across to everyone is that they are STILL HERE. They didn’t go anywhere. They may not be full blood anymore but they know who they are, where they came from and they know the stories passed down to them from their families. He encouraged everyone to attend and support local powwows to see that they are indeed, still here. He explained how he doesn’t REAlly read the history books anymore because when he does, their is so much misinformation and they often eliminate his people. The history books are still teaching that they were wiped out by european disease, although many descendants are still here. he himself is evidence of that, as are many other native people he knows, family and friends. What we do have from the people who are not with us today - are artifacts and documented firsthand accounts of the Spanish and French explorers left from the 15th and 16th centuries. they give us an idea how the indigenous population lived before colonial forces appeared on the Sea Islands. The people, the objects and information are the basis for the textiles, poems and paintings de La Tour created. PROCESS Sustainability, beauty and metaphor were key factors in physically creating the art. De La Tour used ‘western’ or ‘colonial’ styles of clothing and furnishings and ‘de-constructed’ them by cutting it into pieces. (for example a blue 100% wool suit jacket) She then transformed those pieces of fabric by ‘re-constructing’ them into contemporary textile products. The fabrics used were specifically chosen for their natural qualities. Wool, leather, cashmere, silk and animal furs. The wool fabrics were dyed with black walnut husks sourced from Saint Helena Island. The silks were dyed with walnut husks, rust and goldenrod flowers. De La Tour sourced all of this within a few miles from her home. Fabrics were tied off to create a resist – so where you see a brown and blue fabric? This was a blue wool suit before the ‘reconstruction’ began. Old wool blankets were used for the larger applications. Hand stitching and machine stitching were labor intensive and time consuming. Dyeing the wool and silks took place on a wood fire outdoors. With no electricity. de la tour was dyeing the fabrics in a similar way indigenous people may have done. she does not create a ‘pattern’ for any of her textiles. She works ‘organically’ and only makes one of a kind works of art that will never be reproduced. Just like a carver works with the wood, by allowing it to ‘speak’ to them? – de La Tour works ‘with’ the fabric. Imagining what it could become and then executing the idea that comes to her after that interaction. Fabric into form. PURPOSE The goal of the art in this exhibit, is to generate a dialogue about the indigenous people of the Sea Islands. textile art is seen more by the public as it often ‘travels’ with the owner. More people will see it – and discussion may arise on the origins of it. For the indigenous people to be honored, remembered, and everyone to know they are still here with us, in physical form and spirit form - is paramount. Maybe one day an historic marker can be erected in their memory so their descendants and others know we did not forget them. Class curriculum's can include projects that highlight the native history of the area. There are many ways we can all do more to include the past into our present. This exhibit is de la tour's contribution to that effort. MUSEUMS Santa Elena Museum, Beaufort SC https://santa-elena.org/ Parris Island History Museum,http://parrisislandmuseum.com/ Santa Elena archaeological dig site https://santa-elena.org/archaeology-information/ Beaufort History Museum https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/ LowCountry Powwow: Native American Dancing, Arts & Crafts, Craft Demonstrators, Period Encampment, Story Telling, Flutist, Native Foods, Contemporary Foods Location: Millstone Landing, 55 Millstone Landing Rd, Hardeeville, SC 29927 For More Information: Mike Benton 843-384-5551 Mb3710#yahoo.com, Sabrina Schaner 912-312-5538 READING South Carolina a History - Walter b. Edgar Painter in a Savage Land : the strange saga of the First european painter in north america - by miles harvey South Carolina Indian Lore - Bert W. Bierer DE ORBE NOVO, the Eight Decades of Peter Martyr D'Anghera: by Francis Augustus MacNutt (Author), Pietro Martire d' Anghiera (Author), Marshall H. 1867-1935. fmo Saville (Author)