ASA 141
Week 8
In this week's reading, "Hmong History Through Textiles" by Ava McCall," the reading covers how Hmong culture and history are interwoven through their textile arts that tell traditional life stories. I know a little bit about Hmong culture and history from previous ASA courses, so I was familiar some parts of the reading, like how the reading mentions that the Hmong come from small villages in Laos and that their arrival to the United States was a result of the "secret war" during the Vietnam War. The Hmong have had a intricate and tough past history, but since Hmong culture is primarily an oral culture "with history and culture passed along verbally from elders to children and grandchildren," the story cloth have an even stronger level of importance due, not only to its ethnic beauty, but also for its function to preserve and retell Hmong histories.
I think that it is amazing that these Hmong women are able to produce beautiful textiles in such a way that represent entire cultures and stories about the daily lives of the Hmong. The sentimental nature of the story cloth makes me think of what kind of value would be put on these cloths if they were for sale. I remember that Dee Dee's guest lecture from last quarter's ASA 2 class touched on this topic, so reading this article reminded me of her lecture. I feel like a genuine story cloth is practically priceless and that its sentimental value goes beyond material worth, but if it were put on the market, then it should be pretty expensive. I saw the mass produced versions of clothing that feature prints inspired by story cloth from Dee Dee's lecture and I couldn't help but notice how the mass produced clothing takes away from the historical context and importance of story cloth designs.
?: How can brands and designers produce products inspired by another culture while paying respects to that culture?
April Ava L. McCall. “Speaking through Cloth: Teaching Hmong History and Culture through Textile
Arts.
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