Wyoming Arts Council

Suzanne Morlock’s New Jersey performance pays homage to IWW strike and textile traditions


IWoftheWorld

From a press release via the CultureFront web site:

On Sunday, October 27, visual artist Suzanne Morlock from Wilson, Wyoming, will create a new kind of textile operation at The Art Factory in Paterson, New Jersey, from 1-3 p.m.

Morlock has reimagined the traditional art of fabric creation with her own brand of magic at venues from the Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz Poland to the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa California. Morlock brandishes a set of over-sized “needles” made from PVC pipes and re-imagines cast-off materials into new and curious forms.

This performance pays homage to the Paterson Silk Strike which took place 100 years ago in protest of poor working conditions for workers in textile manufacture industry in the town of Paterson, New Jersey. Morlock’s intent with this performance entitled Industrial Workers of the World, the name of the union at the time of the strike, is to also highlight other areas of the world where substandard working conditions run rampant. At the conclusion of the performance, the finished textile will be displayed for the remainder of the exhibition. Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to tie on strips of paper with the names of other manufacturing areas of the world where unacceptable working conditionals continue.

The Textile Show has been designed to celebrate Paterson’s rich textile heritage, highlight the role that the Art Factory is playing in that continuing history and showcase the talents of emerging and established textile-based artists – both domestically and internationally. This annual textile art exhibition opened in September in various locations within Art Factory properties. The exhibition will be open daily by appointment until the closing reception on Saturday, November 16. Contact 973.ART.1500 or email create@artfactory.us.com to arrange for a tour.

The Art Factory is a spacious, inspiring collection of 19th century textile mill buildings in the heart of Paterson’s Historic District. The Art Factory is restoring these historic textile spaces and converting them into galleries, studios, lounges, classrooms, workshops and event spaces.


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