Green Valley artist curates first U.S. showing in Alsace, France

Green Valley artist and curator Thelma Smith will fly to Alsace, France, next month to put together 15 new invitational works and a subset from her highly successful show, “Changing the World One Thread at a Time, ’’ displayed at the Tubac Center for the Arts in February.

Smith said that it marks the first time an American collection has been invited to enter the prestigious Carrefour du Patchwork, commonly known as the Val d’Argent Expo, considered ground zero for some of the finest works of fabric art in the world.

Her show in Tubac included 81works in textiles from 48 international and American artists. The pieces not only provided a feast for the eyes with dazzling color and intricate design, but most also stimulated much discussion from art lovers because of the social commentary brought out in messages from the artists.

Already planning to sprinkle 15-20 of those pieces that contain what she believes are powerful messages into the collection of 43 she will take with her, Smith hopes European observers will come away with a favorable taste of the American penchant for speaking out about what they believe is right and wrong with their country.

Many of the messages reflect a universal theme that one judges society by how it treats the least among them.

She mentioned a couple of new works she was particularly taken with, including Corporate Transparency by Regina Benson that, though delicate and airy, nevertheless shouts the timeless “capitalist crush” message reflected by the Enron scandals and other examples of the steamrolling effect corporate giants have had on American society of late.

Another is “The Gleaners,” from Oakland, Calif.’s Alice Beasley, based on Millet’s 1857 piece showing peasants working the fields in Europe.

“Her work is very powerful,” Smith noted.

Smith emphasized that she wanted to expose each political issue through the works when she displays them, and not “sweep them under the rug,” as she put it, but doesn’t want to bombard patrons by putting them all in one area.

“I want a rhythm and cadence,” she said as she explained that she was shooting for a way to give patrons the opportunity to “sit, rest, and ponder” each piece with its message.

“Societal commentary has become more and more important to me, but it doesn’t matter if people agree with me. I just want them to ask questions,” she stated, well aware that many Europeans today believe the American government speaks for the people, so she hopes through the works to remind those in the fabric art scene there that have never been exposed to entries with social commentary that we still have a precious document called the Bill of Rights, and Americans continue to make up their own minds.

“It’s a big responsibility carrying priceless products of people’s lives, and carrying theses messages over there as well,” Smith acknowledged.

“But, I’m excited about meeting people in the top of the field in art and I’m excited about the French citizens getting a chance to see a tangible symbol of the U.S. Bill of Rights.”

Smith pointed out that women do most textile art, so the show also provides an opportunity for women’s voices to be heard.

“Their message is sometimes more powerful than they realize,” she said.

Smith communicates with other fabric artists and curators all over the world, and one day a colleague who lives in Alsace was perusing photos of the Tubac show and asked, “Why on earth aren’t you bringing this here?”

She acted as a liaison with Christophe Cruysi of Initiatives-Evenements, which helped jump start negotiations to get Smith to bring the show to Europe.

Alsace is the heart of an Amish community, with immigrants from Switzerland and Southern Germany, many of whom migrated here and formed Amish and Mennonite conclaves, so most Americans are well aware of their talents for quilting.

Smith’s artistry has been displayed all over this country and in Europe, including at the most recent Winter Olympics, but her 2003 show “Wrapped in Cloth” marked the culmination of six years of hard work as a curator to organize a textile biennial to give lesser-known artists a chance to show their stuff on the big stage, and for art lovers to purchase beautiful pieces without mortgaging their income to do it.

She said she looks forward to studying in a few museums in France and meeting colleagues from Scotland, Australia and the Netherlands.

The 12th annual international competition in Alsace runs Sept. 14-17.

Her works and those of other artists entered into the competition can be viewed through her catalogs, including the trilingual catalog for the European edition, by contacting her through her Web site at www.thelmasmith.com.

Mike Touzeau is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News.