“Word Power” by Ann Lee

“Word Power” by Ann Lee

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:

This work started with four panels of words recycled from a piece I created in response to Trump’s campaign call for a border wall. The four panels represented:

• The power of words
• Words of welcome and acceptance
• Words of exclusion and hate
• Groups of people targeted and excluded

It was a 3-D piece with a looming black wall composed of dark hateful words that trap and obscure the color contributed by the diverse mix of people in this wonderful country and threaten to overpower the loving white words. Phrases and sayings about the power of words formed the base. Overall, I was trying to depict the power of words through this piece and how they can be forces for good or evil. Prior to the election, it was the negativity that the Trump wall represented to me that came through most strongly in the piece.

As I reworked the piece to convert it to a wall quilt, my eternal optimism came to the foreground again. As in all of life, the current political situation is a complicated mix of black, white and colors; good and evil. Each comes to surface at different times and circumstances. As I began stitching more words over the original panels, I found that I was creating a chronicle of my longing for harmony, cooperation, and working together. It became a call for digging in, doing the hard work of coming to compromise, and learning to really know and respect each other as human beings.

For many years now, creating art has often provided me with an outlet for coping with difficult situations. The Threads of Resistance show gave me a reason to put all my worries and concerns about our political situation into another artwork to stave off overwhelming anxiety.

Hear a message from Ann about her piece below: