Who knew? Hmmmm..... we know very few details about Obama and his childhood. We know very few details about Obama's parents, grandparents, and siblings BUT his mother's textile collection is on display this weekend in DC. I wish I could see the whole collection. I think the art people surround themselves with tells you a lot about them. Maybe having a small window into her soul would tell us more about her and her son.
A Lady Found a Culture in its Cloth: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks August 9-23, 2009
For two weeks only, textiles from the collection of Ann Dunham, President Obama's mother, are on view at The Textile Museum. This marks the final stop on a national tour of the exhibition A Lady Found a Culture in its Cloth: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks.
Early in her life, Ann Dunham explored her interest in the textile arts as a weaver, creating wall hangings in earthy shades of brown and green for her own enjoyment. After marrying Lolo Soetoro and moving to Indonesia in the 1960s with her son Barack Obama, Ann Dunham was drawn to the vibrant textile arts of her new home and began to amass the collection from which the exhibition objects are drawn. The wide variation in the batiks reflects the range of colors and of patterns, both classic and contemporary, that captured her imagination, and provides a window into the rich culture from which these fabrics originated.
Don't miss this unique glimpse into the First Family and Indonesian textile traditions! A Lady Found a Culture: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks will be on view August 9 through 23, 2009 only.
Select batiks on view in the exhibition
Kain panjang (long cloth used as lower body wrapper) Java, Solo Ann Dunham Collection No. 1
Kain panjang (long cloth used as lower body wrapper) Java, Yogyakarta Ann Dunham Collection No. 6
Sarong (lower body wrapper) Java, North Coast Ann Dunham Collection No. 17A
Kain panjang (long cloth used as lower body wrapper) Java, Yogyakarta Ann Dunham Collection No. 10
-- Edited by thebword on Saturday 22nd of August 2009 04:20:22 PM
I think they are her "clothing" sarongs. She did live in Indonesia. Maybe, since she was married to a Muslim and living in an 85% Muslim country is it possible; did Obama's mother NEED to wear a Burka? Now that's a piece of Obama's childhood that would have been interesting to have reported on during the GE. I wonder how seeing your mother in a Burka shapes a young boys impression of women and their place in society? Does anyone know what would the rules have been for a western woman, who is non-Muslim, but living in a Muslim country and married to a Muslim would have been in the late 1960's early 1970's?
-- Edited by thebword on Saturday 22nd of August 2009 05:20:09 PM
