Young Man's Shirt c. 20th century

This Young Man's Shirt, by Sofen Diarra, is made of woven cotton and mud, and you can really see the hand of the maker in it. It's all about the surface here, isn't it? The way the mud cracks and settles into the weave of the cotton, leaving a slightly raised texture. The ochre color creates such a rich contrast. It reminds me of drawing with oil pastels on paper, building up layers and then scraping back to reveal what's underneath. I love the way Diarra repeats those little squiggles inside each square like he's filling up the space and each time he does it a little different. Diarra's shirt reminds me of the work of Pacita Abad, another artist interested in color and pattern and surface texture. And that this shirt might be considered craft rather than art shows that definitions are only provisional; everything is up for grabs.