Marie Watt

Uno a/Otro guía de accesibilidad

Marie Watt modela su enfoque en la creación de arte en las maneras indígenas de compartir conocimientos y aprendizaje. Al organizar "círculos de costura", crea un espacio para encuentros cara a cara y multigeneracionales de personas de diferentes orígenes y experiencias de vida que comparten historias, a veces sin guion y otras siguiendo un mensaje temático. Watt ve su papel en el proceso como aquel de "poner la mesa", pero permite que cada persona participe en el nivel que desee. La puntada de cada persona es única, pero se une con las de los demás para crear algo más grande que ellos mismos. Las formas caninas y las referencias encontradas en su obra destacan la experiencia de "manada". Formar parte en uno de sus círculos de costura es poderoso. Se pueden sentir las conexiones que se crean entre quienes contribuyen a un proyecto. Para los participantes, el tiempo que pasan juntos creando es lo que hace que el proceso sea memorable.

Docenas de mantas coloridas dobladas y apiladas verticalmente. Una viga de acero gris sobresale de la parte superior de la pila y se extiende hacia arriba.

Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scots). Skywalker/ Skyscraper (Babel), 2012. Reclaimed wool blankets and steel I-beam. Lent by Brian A Tschumper. Courtesy and © of the artist and PDX Contemporary Art.

Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scots)
Skywalker/ Skyscraper (Babel), 2012
Reclaimed wool blankets and steel I-beam
Lent by Brian A Tschumper
Courtesy and © of the artist and PDX Contemporary Art.

Tall buildings occupy the sky but remain rooted to the ground—and take a collaborative effort to build. Since 1916, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) ironworkers, known as “skywalkers” for their renown in working on high steel beams without safety harnesses, helped build Manhattan’s skyscrapers. Juxtaposing hard steel with soft blankets, Watt asks us to think about how we seek to reach the sky and the collective actions we take to achieve this dream.

Un gran textil compuesto de docenas de diseños de triángulos superpuestos en rojo, rosa, azul y morado. En el centro, una manta con campanitas plateadas está colocada sobre el textil.

Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scots). Butterfly, 2015. Reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, thread, cotton twill tape, and tin jingles. Denver Art Museum: Funds from Loren G. Lipson, M.D., Vicki & Kent Logan, with additional funds from Brian A Tschumper, Nancy Benson, Jan & Mike Tansey, and JoAnn & Bob Balzer, 2016.1A-B. © Marie Watt

Each person’s stitch is unique, like a thumbprint. As the threads intersect and blend, I see them as a metaphor for how we are all related.

– Marie Watt

Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scots)
Butterfly, 2015
Reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, thread, cotton twill tape, and tin jingles
Denver Art Museum: Funds from Loren G. Lipson, M.D., Vicki & Kent Logan, with additional funds from Brian A Tschumper, Nancy Benson, Jan & Mike Tansey, and JoAnn & Bob Balzer, 2016.1A-B.
© Marie Watt

In the summer of 2013, Watt was an artist-in-residence at the Denver Art Museum, where she organized sewing circles with the community to create monumental textiles. This work was inspired by two young Indigenous girls who told her about their experiences as powwow dancers: one who shared that she feels like a floating butterfly while dancing and another who told the origin story of her jingle dress and its ties to healing.

Marie Watt and sewing circle participant share stories while working on Butterfly at the Denver Art Museum’s annual Friendship Powwow in 2013.

Un gran textil compuesto de patrones triangulares sobre un fondo café. El textil es mayormente azul a la izquierda y mayormente rojo a la derecha. Hay un hilo azul claro bordado en la parte superior imitando a la nave espacial Star Trek Enterprise.

Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scots). Trek (Pleiades), 2014. Reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, embroidery floss, and thread. Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM. Image courtesy and © of the artist. Photograph by Aaron Johanson.

Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scots)
Trek (Pleiades), 2014
Reclaimed wool blankets, satin binding, embroidery floss, and thread
Tia Collection, Santa Fe, NM
Image courtesy and © of the artist. Photograph by Aaron Johanson.

Inspiration can come from near and far—from family mementos to the outer reaches of space. Watt’s recognition of the sources of inspiration, such as Star Trek, adds nuance to our understanding of collaboration. We are all connected through those who came before us, the stories passed down through generations, and those who we come to know. When these connections manifest themselves in an artwork, the artist engages in a form of collaboration.

Trek (Pleiades) shown during a community sewing circle hosted by Watt at the Denver Art Museum in 2013.

Un grupo de palabras en inglés relacionadas con la equidad, escritas en rojo y cosidas para crear un gran tapiz.

Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scots). Companion Species: Ferocious Mother and Canis Familiaris, 2017. Reclaimed wool blankets, thread, and embroidery floss. Portland Art Museum. © Marie Watt. Image courtesy Portland Art Museum

Marie Watt (Seneca and German-Scots)
Companion Species: Ferocious Mother and Canis Familiaris, 2017
Reclaimed wool blankets, thread, and embroidery floss
Portland Art Museum. © Marie Watt. Image courtesy Portland Art Museum

When Watt brings people together for sewing circles, conversations sometimes riff off a theme or prompt she provides, and at other times participants share stories on their own. In this work, conversations circulated around the theme of equity. Words stitched onto the surface—Equity, Love, Shelter, Solidarity, and Voice—help us see visual thoughts brought to life by many hands, unified by a single shared experience (the sewing circle) and the diverse life experiences shared.

Marie Watt y Cannupa Hanska Luger está organizada por el Denver Art Museum. Se presenta con el generoso apoyo de los donantes de la Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, c3: initiative, la fundación Native Arts and Culture Foundation, la fundación Osage Nation Foundation, y los residentes que dan su apoyo al Distrito de Organizaciones Científicas y Culturales (SCFD por sus siglas en inglés). El apoyo promocional ha sido proporcionado por 5280 Magazine y CBS4.