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Class 3/5

We each each talked about the progress from our groups (Documentation, Curation, Writing, Invitation, Opening). Since were still in the process of curating the exhibition and finding a concrete theme, members of the install and de-install teams did not need to be addressed for their tasks yet.

We focused on the curation team’s home visit with Susan Thompson, we looked through the photos that they took and talked about the work and their experience along with the theme of legacy that is present in her work (through themes and collaborations). From there, we began to break down how we wanted to frame the exhibition.

In order to inform our conversation of Susan’s work and the decisions being made in regards to themes and the title for the exhibition, we discussed the artist conversation with Wegechi Mutu. Mutu is a young Kenyan artist who also deals with lineage and violence. Observing other artists working within similar realms and conversations as Susan was helpful in guiding us through the decisive process.

Another important element to process of creating an exhibition is deciding on the title. The title is crucial as it is what puts the collection into context and reels the viewer in to the exhibition.

Here is an excerpt from the class meetings minutes, in which we generated ideas and tried various but similar titles until we found one that was perfect.

• “Thread” — the double meaning
• about the history of the other shows (ex: the ICA’s When The Stars Begin to Fall, which came from a spiritual song)
• Important to relate to the vision
• Some of the ideas:
  • Piece by Piece: Legacy of Susan Thompson
  • Susan Thompson: piecing together a legacy
  • Susan Thompson: a threaded legacy
  • Exalting Life
  • Jubilee -led to conversation about history of Jubilee and the meaning
  • Threaded/Legacy
  • Threading — Threaded Prayers
  • Threaded History/Heritage
  • Bound Through Time/Stitch in Time
  • Threading a Legacy: Work of Susan Thompson

Feeling happy with, “Threading a Legacy: The Work of Susan Thompson,” we the next step was thinking about the postcard used to invite people to the show and reception:

• The piece (not as “fiber/quilt”) of her grandmother
• one of her more traditional quilting pieces
• the overlap of the quilts
• the butterfly piece
• the rust boy piece
• “Atlas” (contemporary frame)
• Hesitant to take the ancestors room work, because of “breaking the room”

The class decided that “Atlas”– one of the rust pieces titled, “Woman Uplifting the World”, was a captivating piece for the postcard.

Of course inviting people to the show is an important part of showcasing an exhibition, and with the help of Ms. McRath, Katie has been compiling a list of names to send the postcards to. Katie also discussed with Beth about more schools to reach out to for the opening of the show.

Our meeting in class after the Curators had visited Susan’s home discussed how we could organize the show and select work from her vast collection that embodies the exhibition.

Curatorial Ideas:

1. Retrospective
   1. Chronological
      1. Documents her development as an artist over time.
      2. Show pieces made by her in chronological order from her earliest pieces to now.
   2. Thematic
      1. Show pieces organized by style (rust print, quilt, collage, etc.)
      2. Show pieces organized by content and ideas (symbols, imagery, etc.)

1. Community Artist/Teacher
   1. Half or part of the show is dedicated to her work as an artists
      1. Pieces from her home or studio created over the years
   2. The other part of the show would be dedicated to her life as an educator
      1. Documentation of her early teaching
      2. Documentation of her more recent teaching (talk to documentation team)
      3. Pieces created by students of hers
      4. Information about the places she has taught and what she’s done there
2. Legacy as an Artist/Cultural Legacy
   1. Show dedicated to her work as an African American Artist
      1. The Tradition of quilts in the African American Community
      2. Her introduction from her grandmother
      3. The incorporation of prayer in her work
   2. Show dedicated to her work as a Fiber Artist
      1. Piggyback off the trendiness of Fiber Art in Boston right now (ICA/Shinique Smith)
      2. Show Thompson as a local artist with ties to the community
      3. Incorporate her approachability (accessibility) with the show

Determined by the vision of the curators and the class support, work selected for the exhibition called to concepts of lineage, family, and ancestry and the overall theme of legacy. 

The selections for the show:

As a class we decided our roles for the exhibition. On our own we made steps within our tasks that are beneficial for the exhibition, and then we reconvened during class time to discuss what we have accomplished and what steps we were taking next.

The curators– Henry and Brian– visited Susan’s house in order to see more of her work and start making decisions on what work will be included and the overall theme of the exhibition. This task proved to be much harder when entering into her home and seeing the impressive amount of work Susan had in her home on top of all the work she had in her studio.

Some of the pieces that stood out to the curators were two acrylic paintings on fabric that were embroidered on later, an encaustic on wood piece, the large quilt on the bed in her library, the larger figures, and pieces that called upon her ancestors.

One of the rooms in Susan’s house was called the Ancestor Room. A sacred and spiritual space, this room contains and altar along with photos and artwork Susan created of her ancestors– including an an airbrush painting of her mother she completed while in an airbrush class.

It is evident in her work and her home that family is very important to Susan. Every room related to her family and she told stories of the close relationships she has with her grandchildren who would visit every Sunday. Noticing how much of a role ancestry played in her life, the curators made connections to the ideas of legacy: one through lineage, one through one’s art work, and within Susan, a blending of the two.

Photos below are courtesy of Ms. McRath

Photo of Exhibitions class with Ms. McRath, photo courtesy of Ms. McRath

Exhibitions class with Professor Beth Balliro, photo courtesy of Ms. McRath

Jacqueline McRath, one of Susan’s friends who we met at Susan’s studio, gave us a tour of the Harriet Tubman Gallery and the Theresa Young Show. This show featured a piece from both Rachel O., a peer of ours and a student in the Exhibitions class, and Susan.

The exhibition is in honor of late fiber artist, Theresa-India Young, who wished to preserve the weaving and its history and culture. In its third year, the exhibition is a silent auction where the proceeds go towards the Theresa-India Young Ethnic Weaving Scholarship, established here at Mass Art.

Being the co-founder of the exhibition, Ms. McRath provided us an amazing amount of insight into each piece, every artist and their process.

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  The above photos are courtesy of Jacqueline McRath, friend of the artist and co-founder of The Theresa Show exhibited at the Harriet Tubman House in Boston.

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  
  

Part of putting on an exhibition that is inherently crucial is meeting the artist and her work. We were lucky to have the opportunity to visit Susan at her studio and become closely acquainted with many of her pieces that she has created over the years. As we all sat and observed, Susan discussed her background in both the arts and education, and passionately described the influences and inspirations behind her work:

For the first time in her career, Susan has been able to be a full time artist, recently retiring from teaching in the classroom. She has taught at a variety of locations, her resume including workshops, residencies, churches, Boston museums, and many community settings—some of these institutions being Vine Street Community Center in Roxbury, Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Isabella Stuart Gardner. Currently, Susan is an artist at the African American Master Artist-in-Residence Program (AARMP), at Northeastern University.

Now a full time artist, Susan spends a lot of time in this studio, and it shows. The walls are decorated with her work, tools and material are organized on workbenches, and drawers are filled with even more work that has been made over the years. The environment has also helped fuel her work, and she talked with us about how just walking down the hallways and seeing the work of her contemporaries has influenced her.

This idea of community within the studio—the sharing of ideas, artistic processes, and inspirations—connect heavily with moments in our conversation with Susan in regards to collaborations role in her work and her introduction to quilting.

When we were observing the work on the wall we noticed that while most of the works on the wall feature Susan’s signature, there are some pieces that include an additional name. A humble human and artist, Susan always credits those who assist her with the completion of a piece and she discussed with us the exchange of ideas and methods of creating.

Susan also discussed her familial connection to quilting. As a young girl her grandmother would always be sewing and working on her individual quilting projects, taking accumulated fabric she had collected and dyed on her own.

As we looked at the work and began to consider what the exhibition would look like, starting to organize in our minds Susan’s work into themes and material.

Susan’s work deals with ideas of family, community, spirituality, and culture. Very interested in traveling, she discussed how Asian, European, Native American, and African art have influenced her work through content, symbolism, and figures. We also discussed the political, social, and historical heaviness present in her work, especially when viewing the pieces that contain imagery of the beads of African Slave Trade—beads used to purchase slaves. An important part of this class is observing and critiquing how galleries and other institutions present work that addresses the disparities in history and politics. As curators and handlers of the work, we must make sure to not silence these conversations but allow the opportunity for the work to educate and prompt discussion and introspection within the viewer.

Working with themes that often weave together, Susan also has the incredible talent to work in—and with—a variety of media and techniques. She has worked with: printmaking, encaustic paint, dipped in wax, rust quilting, dye fabric, mark-making with thread and more. Her aesthetic is very much focused the tactile and mixed media.  

While talking to her about her work it is apparent how process driven her practice is. She discussed how she often has has periods of doing one particular thing and then returning to a previous technique. She also often goes back into old pieces, reworking the material until she is satisfied. She has a wide variety of talented work.

Just from observing what she has in the studio (she has more at her house!) there is more than enough content and work to pull from for the exhibition.

Every spring semester, the Massachusetts College of Art and Design’s Art Education department holds a class that is designed to explore the variety of tasks that construct an exhibition, and to unpack the gallery experience in its responsibilities in communicating and educating the public.

Taught by Beth Balliro, this semester’s Exhibitions Students have worked closely with Roxbury-based artist and educator, Susan Thompson, to create a retrospective of her work.

An alumni of Mass Art, Susan Thompson is a textile artist and educator who has long been devoted to her community and empowering others through the art. Her own artistic practice—which is culturally and family driven—intertwines with her education philosophy of uplifting the world through communication and the sharing of stories.

Artist and Educator, Susan Thompson, with finished banners created by her students.