In the hierarchy of the art world the classical academic tradition has always been privileged. This kind of 'High Art,' which embraces painting and sculpture, has a necessary corollary; significantly it is the art practices most often pursued by women which have been relegated to the status of 'Low Art' and marginalized as 'craft.' In this way 'women's work', a great deal of which is highly creative and artistic, has nonetheless been considered practical rather than decorative; the product of industry rather than genius.
Quilts are made with more than the decorative arts in mind; they
express emotion, beliefs...Every quilter prizes her quilts, hands them
down to her family, treats them with a sense of reverence which indicates
the importance of them to her sense of self.
Then there was Mrs. Rorschach's dream/You are what you see, is from the Look At It This Way series, prepared for a solo exhibition at the Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon. The artist is playing with a double irony--the fact that Mrs. Rorschach was also a practising psychologist is over shadowed by her famous husband's career, as the art of tapestry is often relegated to the status of craft by more prestigious media.
