November 8, 2019

 

Hystercine Rankin was born in 1929 on a farm in the Blue Hill community of Jefferson County, Mississippi. After the murder of her father in 1939, Rankin and her mother and ten brothers and sisters went to live with her grandmother. Rankin’s grandmother taught her how to quilt in order to provide blankets for her many siblings.

For decades, craft was regarded as decidedly outside the sphere of what could be considered art. Craft was associated with the creation of objects with some utilitarian function and was in many cases an art form practiced by women. For these reasons, it was delegated to a status that was decidedly lesser than other more “refined” and male-dominated art forms such as painting. Only in the 20^th century was the line between art and craft blurred and later recognized at non-existent.

Rankin continued to quilt throughout her life, making blankets for each of her own children, but never considered herself an artist; likely for the reasons discussed above. In 1981, she received an invitation to become a resident artist back in her hometown of Lorman, Mississippi and began to teach the intricate patterns and techniques that she had learned from her grandmother. Rankin began to exhibit her work shortly thereafter.

Mother Feeding Chickens is an example of Rankin’s “memory quilts,” in which she details pieces of her life. In many ways, quilting becomes the perfect medium to tackle the topic of memory, stitching together scraps of moments in order to document both individual, as well as family history. Rankin intimately portrays her mother tossing handfuls of food to a huddle of chickens, an orange sun glowing behind her. Her mother stands between two trees and a small, unimposing home. Rankin uses shades of juniper and fiery rust, mushroom browns and the occasional triangle of cobalt to convey her fondness for both the figure as well as the memory.

Written by Samantha Hohmann 

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