Social meanings of patchwork textile art: women, nature and the house

ABSTRACT Patchwork is an iconographical textile art created by artists, mostly women, by combining strips of fabric on canvases. Hence, this qualitative research examines four topics: the patchwork, women, nature and the domestic sphere, closely intertwined categories from a social and historical point of view. Its conceptual framework draws on Jean-Yves Durand, Elaine Hedges, Michel Foucault, Allison Fraiberg, Teri Klassen, Linda Nochlin, Rozsika Parker and Beverly Seaton about needle arts, self-care, material culture, domesticity, femininity, hierarchy, identities, memory, motherhood, subservience and autonomy. Its empirical scope encompasses artists from the Clube Brasileiro de Patchwork and Quilting of São Paulo, whose interviews and works provided a larger understanding of the social and cultural meanings represented. The analysis has two main axes: (1) social aesthetics of flowers and gardens, and (2) meanings attributed to the house based on childhood reminiscences. By intertwining conceptual reflections with the life trajectories and pictorial expressions of the patchwork canvases, the paper highlights elements like the place and meanings of textile art and the female artists’ role in contemporary Brazil.

摘要 拼布（Patchwork）是一类由艺术家（多为女性）通过在画布上拼接布料条带创作的具象纺织艺术。本质性研究围绕四大核心主题展开：拼布艺术、女性、自然与家庭领域，从社会与历史视角来看，这些范畴彼此紧密交织。本研究的概念框架借鉴了让-伊夫·迪朗（Jean-Yves Durand）、伊莱恩·赫奇斯（Elaine Hedges）、米歇尔·福柯（Michel Foucault）、艾莉森·弗雷伯格（Allison Fraiberg）、泰里·克拉森（Teri Klassen）、琳达·诺克林（Linda Nochlin）、罗兹西卡·帕克（Rozsika Parker）以及贝弗利·西顿（Beverly Seaton）的相关研究成果，涉及针线艺术、自我关怀、物质文化、家庭生活、女性气质、等级制度、身份认同、记忆、母性、从属地位与自主权利等议题。本研究的实证范畴涵盖圣保罗巴西拼布与绗缝俱乐部（Clube Brasileiro de Patchwork and Quilting of São Paulo）的艺术家群体，通过对其进行访谈并分析其作品，得以更全面地理解其所承载的社会与文化意涵。本次分析包含两大核心维度：其一为花卉与花园的社会美学；其二为基于童年回忆所赋予住宅的意义。本研究将概念反思与这些拼布画布创作者的人生轨迹、视觉表达相结合，旨在凸显纺织艺术的定位与意义，以及女性艺术家在当代巴西所扮演的角色。