Photos by Heather Montgomery of items in personal collection
When words are not enough, images can do more to express feelings. Ask a child to point to a picture and listen to them babble about its size, shape, motions and more. While “a picture is worth a thousand words” is a cliche, in the case of arpilleras, creative projects started by Chilean women in the 1970s, their compelling pictures and thoughtful compositions are easily worth thousands of words.
The word “arpillera” simply translates to “burlap”, which is what these multidimentional projects originally used as backgrounds. The creation of arpilleras began when regime changes in Chile brought about instances of police brutality, disappearances and assassinations. Because most of the disappeared were men, the women they left behind adopted arpilleras as a form of protest. Using simple figures and elements that represented daily life, arpilleras became powerful, mixed media art forms of silent protest.
Today arpilleras have taken a less political turn. While they are still used and sold by South American women to generate income and to draw attention to the causes that still affect their communities (lack of water, unemployment and crime), arpilleras have transitioned into pleasant, almost idyllic projects depicting peaceful surroundings and happy families.
We have found the following resources to help you learn more about this method of artistic expression as well as the history and literature surrounding its creation. We hope you enjoy creating your own arpillera!
Cuando las palabras no son suficientes, las imágenes pueden hacer más para mostrar sentimientos. Preguntale a un niño que señale una imagen y escúchelo balbucear sobre su tamaño, forma, movimientos y más. Si “una imagen se vale más que mil palabras” es un cliché, en el caso de las arpilleras, proyectos creativos iniciados por mujeres chilenas en la década de 1970, sus atractivas imágenes y composiciones reflexivas se valen fácilmente miles de palabras.
La palabra “arpillera” simplemente traduce a “burlap”, es lo que esos projectos multidimensionales utilizan como fondos. La generación de arpilleras empezaron cuando cambios de juntas en Chile se cumplieron ocasiones de brutalidad de la policia, desaparaciones y assasinatos. Porque la mayoría de los desaparacidos eran hombres, sus mujeres adoptaban arpilleras como una forma de protesta. Usando figuras simples y elementos que representaban la vida quotidiana, arpilleras cumplieron formas de arte de técnica mixta poderosas y silenciosas.
Las arpilleras de hoy en día han hecho un cambio menos político. Mientras las mujeres sudamericanas ya siguen ser utilizada y vendida para generar ingresos y llamar la atención a las causas que aún afectan a sus comunidades (falta de agua, desempleo y delincuencia), las arpilleras se han tranformadas en proyectos agradables, como idilicos, que representan ambientes pacificos y familias felices.
Hemos encontrado los sigientes recursos para ayudarle a aprender más sobre de este método de expresión artística, así como sobre la historia y literatura que rodean su formación. ¡Esperamos que se disfruten elaborar su propia arpillera!
“Arpilleras are like songs that one paints.” Violeta Parra, from the Museum of Latin American Art exhibit, “Arte, Mujer, y Memoria: Arpilleras from Chile”.
Resources:
Craft Inspiration
Juvenile Non-Fiction
Hispanic American Crafts Kids Can Do!, Fay Robinson
JUV 745.5 Robinson
Adult Non-Fiction
The Art of Fabric Collage, Rosemary Eichorn
746.46 E34 Eichorn
Tapestries from Egypt Woven by the Children of Harrania, Werner Forman
746.39
F724
Latin American Fiction
Adult Fiction
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
FICTION ALLENDE
The Twilight Zone, Nona Fernández
FICTION FERNAN
My Documents, Alejandro Zambra
FICTION ZAMBRA
Juvenile Non-Fiction
Niños Poems for the Lost Children of Chile, Maraia Josue Ferrada
JUV
861.7
Ferrada
Adult Non-Fiction
My Invented Country: a Nostalgic Journey Through Chile, Isabel Allende
863.6
A432
X 2
References:
“A Newspaper in Fabric Scraps: The story of the arpilleristas in Chile”, UNESCO, https://unes.co/j246rg
“Arte, Mujer y Memoria: Arpilleras from Chile”, exhibition notes, Museum of Latin American Art, https://molaa.org/arpilleras-online
“Forging Memory”, St Lawrence University Digital Initiatives, https://www.forgingmemory.org/arpilleras-gallery
Joann website, make your own arpillera: https://www.joann.com/arpillera/262225213P306.html
