Currently displayed in the exhibition at The William Benton Museum, “Museum as Classroom: Teaching and Learning with Art” features various artworks made in a patchwork medium during a period of oppression in Chilean history. Known as arpilleras, select works were analyzed throughout a virtual meeting on Feb. 6, which was followed by instructions on how to craft a piece reminiscent of an arpillera in the space of a notecard.
The aptly named workshop “Sewing for Resistance” is part of a larger series of exhibitions titled: “Art Encounters.” The next installment will revolve around climate change, accompanied by a similar Zoom workshop on March 26.
The present workshop was led by Amanda Douberley, curator and academic liaison at The Benton, and Mollie Sixsmith, curator of education. It chronicles the lives of Chilean women distressed by totalitarianism, which was imposed by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte in the 1970s and 1980s, that managed to take away the women’s freedoms, and sometimes, their husbands. Arpilleras were often produced in workshops of twenty women with similar goals yet different ideas for designs, so each member was tasked with creating one per week to conserve resources. The artists were compensated, although they still lived in squalor.
According to The Benton’s website, their education department bought fifty arpilleras in 1988 from a relief organization in Chile. Now preserved in time and space, the arpilleras also serve the purpose of representing the appearance of Chile to outsiders via depictions of brightly-colored architecture and jagged mountain ranges. Differences include the scale of minuscule cars and massive dogs that vary in each piece. The overall absence of offensive material in the arpilleras was partially out of their control based on guidelines regarding their global distribution, but this may be a strong suit considering the powerful impact these works create when combined with their historical context.
The artists, who are anonymous due to the threats posed on their lives at the time, are consistently able to spin their misfortunes into glimmers of hope through their arpilleras, honing in on the bright and pretty details of their lives. These often include the scenery they were surrounded by, as the sun is present in nearly every portrayal, along with lively shrubbery and bustling citizens. Other commonalities of Chilean life include a large pot of stew that a community would share in times of hardship and bread ovens. These cooking appliances were used for necessity at the time, and now they stand as symbols of a tight-knit community whose members were only as strong as their unit.
One striking example juxtaposes realistic-looking bushes, given the medium, with a banner that reads (translated to English): “They took them alive. We want them alive,” a slogan referring to the men that vanished without a trace, seemingly by way of Pinochet’s regime. Another interesting component is a fourth-wall break in which women are seen creating arpilleras while everyone else is completing daily tasks. In a sense, this scene gives some personality not gleaned from the other pieces by identifying the faces of the artists and the conditions these arpilleras were produced in.
Believe it or not, the figures in an arpillera are complex dolls composed of a head and limbs despite their sizes. The entire canvas is small, measuring around 14″x18″ on average, yet the artists can cram an abundance of details using everyday materials. The Benton notes how plastic and paper were attached using glue, and the backdrop uses sewn fabric to tie the patchwork together. Regardless of their unassuming appearance, the arpilleras were considered to be contraband and many may have been hidden from the public eye by government confiscation.
Drawing inspiration from these women’s efforts, The Benton provided instructions to attendees of the workshop on how to create a makeshift arpillera on a notecard, encouraging the employment of cloth and yarn provided by The Benton in a material kit handed out at the Museum or mailed upon request. The “Seeing Climate Change” virtual workshop will supply material kits in these ways, as well.