Ceremonial apron c. 20th century

This ceremonial apron by the Mien people is a textile artwork of unknown date. But imagining the process of making it—wow! I can picture the maker, carefully stitching and embellishing the fabric, maybe improvising with patterns and motifs, with the pink stripes crossing over the black ground like thoughts. The embroidery seems so attentive to the material, like she's coaxing the forms out of the fabric itself. I notice the rows of coins, they must have taken time to attach! I wonder what significance these have to the wearer? It makes me think about how artists, including myself, often engage in a kind of back-and-forth with our materials, almost like a conversation where the outcome is never fully predetermined. It has echoes of Matisse's cut-outs or maybe even some of Miriam Schapiro's collage works. Ultimately, I am reminded that art-making is a form of embodied expression, connecting us to the world, to one another, and to the ongoing dialogue of art across time.