Letitia Huckaby: Something Old, Something New
December 4, 2010 – January 15, 2011
Opening: Saturday, Dec 4, 6-9pm
Artist Talk: Sunday, Dec 5 at 3pm
George and Leah McKenna Museum of African American Art
2003 Carondelet Street
New Orleans LA 70130
504-586-7432
Hours: Tues. & Weds. By Appt | Thur-Sat 11am-4pm
Letitia Huckaby: Something Old, Something New
Huckaby combines the documentary aspects of photography with quilt making techniques to explore her personal history. Work from the series LA 19 incorporates photos of Huckaby’s extended family, who lived on or off of Louisiana’s state highway number nineteen. The 2-dimensional works are photographs that have been transferred onto scrap fabric which is then pieced together as a fabric collage or quilted photograph and framed. MaDear (2010) shows a woman sitting in a living room as seen through the window; the image is printed on circular pieces of silk and decorative fabric which have been sewn together.
The exhibition will also include three-dimensional works, specifically photographs of family quilts and family pictures that have been printed onto fabric and sewn into dresses. Something Old, Something New (2010) incorporates photos transferred onto fabric, as well as antique fabrics that the artist collected from other family members. These scraps were sewn into round “yo-yos,” a traditional style of quilting, that were then made into a wedding dress. The work layers the wedding tradition of old and new, as well as two- versus three dimensions (flat images sewn presented in sculptural form). Exhibit Info Source: Galveston Arts Center
Artist Statement
As with all artists, my work did not start recently, but has been developing over the course of my life. Growing up an Army brat, my idea of what home is has become fluid and malleable. The one constant was the family vacations to visit my extended family, who for the most part live on or off of Louisiana state highway nineteen. Whether I lived in Germany, Oklahoma, Indiana or Texas, Louisiana never changed. There I was home, but foreign. Having to rebuild relationships constantly and yet always fitting in. Most importantly, I was part of a large family dominated by women; women who work hard, pray hard, love hard and laugh out loud.
In creating this body of work I began to think about the African American women in our family who helped to create a new aesthetic of quilts, the patchwork quilts, out of sure craftiness and necessity. These quilts seemed to parallel the more male dominated world of jazz music with their random compositions and vibrant colors. Many of the women in my family made these quilts, so as a visual artist I felt inspired to take hold of this rich visual legacy and allow it to be a part of my work.
I began by photographing family quilts as a precious object. Quilts have become a symbol for the African-American experience and of those things that get passed down from generation to generation, be it good or bad. I printed the images on fabric, instead of using paper. The printed images are stitched together with various other patches to create the final pieces. These works – Letitia Huckaby
