Appalachain State University, Boone, North Carolina
Curatorial Statement, Mary Anne Redding:
The clothes we choose to wear can reveal so much about us whether we are aware of the revelations or unaware of our walking narratives. For as long as humans have worn clothes, the clothes have come packaged in rules and social etiquette about what should or should not be worn, and when or why or even how the clothes we wear should adorn the body. We may profess to be somewhat indifferent – but even indifference is a recognizable style. What we wear and how we wear it can express our political values, our conformity or lack thereof, how we are feeling, what parts of our bodies we are proud of or might be embarrassed by; how confident and comfortable we are in the skin we conceal with our clothes or reveal in peekaboo style; who our friends are, who we wish to alienate or desire to seduce.
The clothes we select each morning to wear is a statement about who we are, who we aspire to be and will influence others’ perceptions whether we intend them to or not. Of course, the adage holds true, “never judge a book by its cover,” but the cover holds the pages together or lets them scatter as they fall out from a broken spine.
Portia Marie York’s Bras of Beauty are a testament to the strength of the women who have survived breast cancer “as well as those currently facing its challenges.” As the artist points out, one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. The act of crocheting symbolizes crafting the stitches that hold a life of illness together, finding the threads of beauty to defy both psychological and bodily trauma. The artist is activist and advocate for healing the scars of breast cancer.
Dori Settles is also an advocate for healing the scars of indifference, of not knowing, of callousness and the physical and metaphorical pain of calluses. In Shoes: Storytellers of our Lives, Dori Settles asks, “can we walk a mile in someone else’s shoes?” Probably not without limping and that’s exactly the artists point; what we can do is walk beside someone long enough to hear their stories, to share a meal, to understand where their pain comes from and how it might be similar to or different from our own, to begin to feel empathetic, to walk for justice in a divided world.
Both artists ask us to find room in our lives for the difficult conversations that make us human.
On exhibit December 6, 2024 – May 3, 2025
Curatorial Statement and Photo Credit to the Turchin Center for Visual Arts at Appalachian State University.