Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

WHAT THE FRACK HAPPENED?

Date

2014

Materials

COTTON, POLYESTER, PLASTIC

No. Pieces

3

Length

77.7

Width

86.8

Description

.1: VEST. PATCHWORK OF VARIETY OF MATERIALS AND TEXTURES. CLOSES AT FRONT WITH A LARGE BLUE, CIRCULAR, CONVEX BUTTON, WITH THREE SMALL STONES IN THE CENTRE OF THE BUTTON. A PIECE OF VELVET TRIM LOOPS AROUND THE BUTTON TO CLOSE. A WHITE PAPER TAG (P20160014000.2) HANGS FROM THIS BUTTON. FRONT DEPICTS A NATURE SCENE. ALONG TOP OF VEST, FABRIC IS PINK AND PURPLE, POSSIBLY DEPICTING A SUNRISE OR SUNSET. ON WEARER’S LEFT THERE IS A NATURE SCENE OF A PINE TREE AND ROCKS, WHICH HAS BEEN APPLIQUED AND EMBROIDERED ONTO VEST. LIGHT BROWN YARN DEPICTS THE TREE’S ROOTS, WHICH GO DOWN FROM THE TREE INTO A GREEN SECTION ON THE VEST. THERE ARE SEVERAL BUTTONS AND SMALL ROCKS OF VARIOUS COLOURS SEWN ONTO THIS GREEN SECTION. BELOW THIS IS A BLUE STRIPE, THEN A SECTION OF MULTIPLE SHADES OF BROWN, INCLUDING ONE SECTION THAT IS VERY TEXTURED AND IS LIKELY PAINTED/DYED TYVEK. THE WEARER’S LEFT SIDE DEPICTS A FARMING SCENE WITH MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND. BELOW THAT IS A CONTINUATION OF THE BLUE STRIPE FROM THE RIGHT SIDE. THEN THERE IS A SECTION OF MULTIPLE SHADES OF BROWN AND PURPLE. THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER SECTION OF PAINTED/DYED TYVEK ON THIS SIDE, WHICH IS PURPLE IN COLOUR AND THERE ARE SEQUINS, BUTTONS, AND SMALL ROCKS SEWN INTO AND ONTO THIS PURPLE SECTION. BACK OF VEST DEPICTS CONSEQUENCES OF FRACKING. TOP OF VEST ON BACK IS A SHADE OF PURPLE/PINK, WITH BLACK NETTING OVER IT. THERE ARE TWO BRIDGE TRUSSES ON THE WEARER’S RIGHT SIDE AND TWO GAS RIGS ON THE WEARER’S LEFT SIDE. BELOW THIS IS A STRIPE OF GOLD RIBBON, WITH 5 GOLD COLOURED KEYS AND FIVE SQUARE WOODEN BUTTONS ATTACHED HORIZONTALLY ACROSS THE VEST. BELOW GOLD STRIPE IS A PATCHWORK OF A VARIETY OF MATERIALS AND TEXTURES AND COLOURS INCLUDE VARIOUS SHADES OF PURPLE, GREEN, BLUE, RED, PINK, YELLOW, AND BROWN. MOST OF THE DIFFERENT PIECES OF MATERIAL ARE BORDERED WITH A RED FRINGE TRIM. ON WEARER’S LEFT SIDE, BELOW ARM HOLE, IS A SMALL SECTION OF BLUE FABRIC WITH THREE SMALL SEA SHELLS SEWN ON. BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE BACK OF VEST HAS A MEDIUM SIZED WHITE AND RED BUTTON (P20160014000.3). INSIDE OF VEST LINED WITH BLACK NETTING ON THE FRONT AND WITH GOLD, BLACK, AND RED NETTING ON THE BACK. .2: TAG. WHITE, HEAVY PAPER. HANDWRITTEN IN BLUE INK “CREATED BY CHERYL ATKINSON, BEV HALL, FRANCES SCHULTZ.” REVERSE HAS HANDWRITTEN IN BLUE INK “ART VEST. $200.XX” WITH 26-14 TYPED IN BLACK INK. 3.8CM LONG X 6.5CM WIDE .3: BUTTON: ROUND BUTTON, WHITE BACKGROUND. DEPICTS A GAS RIG WITH A RED DIAGONAL LINE ACROSS THE RIG. TEXT OF BUTTON READS: “WWW.NODRILLINGLETHBRIDGE.CA”. 6.5CM DIAMETER

Subjects

CLOTHING-OUTERWEAR

Historical Association

DECORATIVE ARTS

History

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMES FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DONOR, CHERYL ATKINSON, CONDUCTED BY KEVIN MACLEAN IN MAY 2016. THIS VEST WAS CREATED AS PART OF AN ART GARMENT CHALLENGE PUT FORWARD BY THE TEXTILE SURFACE DESIGN GUILD. CHERYL WAS BOTH A PARTICIPANT AND AN ORGANIZER OF THIS ART CHALLENGE. CHERYL INDICATED THAT “PART OF THE CHALLENGE WAS TO WORK WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE GROUP WHO, MAYBE YOU HADN’T SPENT TIME TRYING TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH.” IN JANUARY 2014 THE GUILD GOT TOGETHER TO DETERMINE THE WORKING GROUPS AND THE THEMES THAT WOULD BE WORKED ON, BASED ON “WHAT THEIR INTERESTS WERE IN LIFE. SO, SOME PEOPLE CHOSE GARDENING, ANOTHER GROUP DID ART, LIKE PURE ART, AND OUR GROUP CHOSE THE ENVIRONMENT. AND, AT THE TIME, THE ENVIRONMENT IN LETHBRIDGE WAS UNDER THREAT, IN QUESTION BECAUSE THERE WAS A COMPANY THAT WAS PLANNING TO DO DIRECTIONAL DRILLING, FRACKING, IN WEST LETHBRIDGE, AND ONE OF THE MEMBERS WHO JOINED OUR GROUP WAS PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT IT, SO WE THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR OUR ART GARMENT.” PART OF THE REASON THE GUILD WANTED TO DO A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT LIKE THIS IS BECAUSE THE GROUP HAD GROWN CONSIDERABLY IN SIZE: “OUR GROUP HAS EXPANDED A LOT. IN THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS WE WENT FROM A GROUP OF ABOUT FIFTEEN PEOPLE TO A GROUP OF ABOUT FORTY PEOPLE, SO IT’S HARD TO GET TO KNOW FORTY PEOPLE INTIMATELY, SO WE WERE TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER, LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR INTERESTS. AND SO, WE JUST, LIKE, HAD A CONVERSATION AND PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT THINGS THEY WERE INTERESTED IN, AND THEN WE STARTED, I THINK WE PASSED AROUND A LIST OF, JUST LIKE A SHEET THAT PEOPLE WOULD WRITE DOWN KIND OF TOPICS OF THEIR INTEREST, AND THEN WE JUST STARTED MATCHING THEM UP, AND THEN WE PUT, WE DIDN’T WANT TO HAVE LIKE TEN PEOPLE ON ONE PROJECT AND ONE ON ANOTHER, SO WE TRIED TO SORT OF SPLIT THEM UP IF PEOPLE PUT DOWN MORE THAN ONE AREA OF INTEREST. SO, ENVIRONMENT JUST TURNED OUT TO BE FRANCES [SCHULTZ], BEV [HALL] AND I SO.” CHERYL INDICATED THAT THE ENVIRONMENT WAS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO GROUP MEMBER BEV HALL: “I THINK THAT THE ISSUE ABOUT THE FRACKING CAME UP AS WE DISCUSSED, LIKE, WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE VEST … BEV FOR INSTANCE, LOVES TO HIKE IN THE MOUNTAINS AND THAT SHE FEELS CONNECTED TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA. AND I AM INTERESTED IN THINGS LIKE HERITAGE PLANTS AND NATIVE SPECIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I DON’T THINK ANY OF US HAD ANY, LIKE, WE’RE NOT TRAINED ENVIRONMENTALISTS IN ANY WAY. IT JUST SEEMED THAT THAT WAS AN AREA OF INTEREST THAT WE COULD USE AS A FOCUS FOR ART.” TO CREATE THE VEST, THE THREE WOMEN DIVIDED UP THE WORK: “WE DECIDED THAT TOGETHER WE WOULD MAKE A PATTERN AND CREATE THE SHAPE OF THE GARMENT. AND THEN, WE HAD A VERY TIGHT TIME PRESSURE, WE HAD SIX WEEKS TO FINISH IT … SO, WE DECIDED TO PARCEL IT OUT INTO PIECES. SO, FRANCES DID THE BACK, BEV DID THE SHOULDER AREA AT THE FRONT, AND I DID THE LOWER AREA AT THE FRONT. AND THEN BEV SEWED IT TOGETHER, AND THEN I EMBELLISHED IT AT THE END.” TO MAKE THE VEST, THE WOMEN USED FABRIC FROM THEIR COLLECTIONS: “WE KIND OF LOOKED AT THE MATERIALS THAT WE HAD, AND WE HAD QUITE A SELECTION! … AND TRIED TO DECIDE WHAT KINDS OF COLOURS OR TEXTURES, THINGS THAT WE COULD DRAW FROM ON OUR OWN PIECES, AND SOMETIMES WE SHARED THEM WITH THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT WERE – YOU KNOW, IF A PIECE OF MY FABRIC FIT BETTER IN BEV’S AREA, THEN I JUST GAVE HER, AND SHE COULD DECIDE WHETHER SHE’D USE IT OR NOT. AND THEN WE EACH TOOK OUR BITS HOME. BEV DID HER PART FIRST, AND THEN I ADDED MINE TO IT, SO SHE STARTED ON THE FRONT AND THEN I ADDED LATER, AND FRANCES DID THE BACK INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER. SO WE REALLY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THE WHOLE PIECE WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE UNTIL IT CAME TOGETHER AS ONE. AND THEN, ONCE THE PIECE WAS TOGETHER, IT WAS MEANT TO BE SHOWED AT THE TEXTILE GUILD MEETING IN MARCH, AND WE HAD A LITTLE FASHION SHOW, AND WE SHOWED IT OFF, AND RESULTING FROM THE PIECES THAT CAME TOGETHER AT THAT TIME, WE HAD A, WE WERE INVITED TO SHOW THE ARTWORK IN THE DISPLAY CASES AT CASA FOR SIX WEEKS.” CHERYL DESCRIBES THE PIECE: “SO THE IMAGERY IN THE PIECE, AT THE FRONT, WE HAVE THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA REPRESENTED ON THE TOP, THE SHOULDER AREAS. SO, THE MOUNTAINS, THE COULEES, THE TREES, THE VALLEY, THE WATER. AND THEN IT GOES DOWN TO THE LOWER, WHAT WE WOULD IMAGINE THE UNDERGROUND LAYERS LOOK LIKE IN THE EARTH, THE GEOLOGY, THE WATER TRAVELLING UNDERGROUND, THE ROCKS THE SOIL, THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THEN ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE VEST, WE SEE ALL OF THAT DISRUPTED DURING THE FRACKING PROCESS. WE SEE FRACTURING HAPPENING. THE WATER AND THE EARTH ARE GETTING ALL MIXED TOGETHER AND DAMAGED AND, THE BIG EMBELLISHMENT ACROSS THE BACK, THERE IS A SERIES OF GOLD KEYS RIGHT ACROSS THE BACK OF THE VEST, AND THEY ARE, ACTUALLY, WE HAD JUST MOVED OUT OF THE BOWMAN ARTS CENTRE AT THAT PERIOD IN TIME, AND WE HAD A LOT OF STUDIO KEYS LEFT OVER THAT WE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH, SO WE JUST SEWED THEM ON THERE, AND THEY REPRESENT THE DRILLING COMPANY THAT WAS PROPOSING TO DO THE FRACKING IN WEST LETHBRIDGE. SO, IT’S SUBTLE, BUT THERE IS KIND OF A MESSAGE THERE. AND THERE’S ALSO A BUTTON ON THE BACK FROM THE ANTI-FRACKING CAMPAIGN.” CHERYL WAS MADE CUSTODIAN OF THE VEST BECAUSE SHE WAS “SORT OF THE PROJECT LEADER … IT WAS ALSO MEANT TO FIT ME, SO I THINK THAT’S ALSO WHY I AM THE ONE THAT HAS CUSTODY OF IT.” SHE IS PROUD OF HOW THE GROUP COLLABORATION TURNED OUT AND FINDS IT A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO PART WITH THE VEST: “IT IS HARD TO PART WITH IT, BUT I CAN’T, I MEAN IT’S SORT OF A SNAPSHOT IN TIME. I MEAN IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY CURRENT AND IMPORTANT, AND I THINK WE ADDED SOMETHING TO THE CONVERSATION BY HAVING THIS ON DISPLAY AT THE TIME WHERE DECISION MAKING WAS HAPPENING. BUT I DON’T REALLY KNOW, LIKE I’M NOT GOING TO WEAR IT TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY OR SOMETHING, (LAUGHS) SO, I DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO WITH IT SO.” INCLUDED IN THE DONATION PAPER WORK IS A SMALL DESCRIPTION OF THE VEST, FROM WHEN IT WAS DISPLAYED. THE TEXT READS AS FOLLOWS: “WHAT THE FRACK HAPPENED? CHERYL ATKINSON, BEV HALL, FRANCES SCHULTZ OUR WORLD IS A FRAGILE HOME. HOW WE EXPLOIT IT CAN HAVE DRASTIC EFFECTS FAR INTO THE FUTURE. THIS GARMENT IS AN ARTISTIC RESPONSE TO THE CURRENT, MAJOR ISSUE FACING THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE. THE FRONT DEPICTS THE NATURAL GEO-LANDSCAPE OF THE CITY – PRISTINE SCENERY ABOVE GROUND AND THE MANY DIFFERENT GEOLOGIC LAYERS UNDERGROUND. THE BACK ATTEMPTS TO DEPICT WHAT FRACKING MIGHT DO TO THESE GEOLOGIC LAYERS, AS WELL AS THE THREAT TO THE SURFACE. HOUSES AND THE UNIVERSITY SIT AMONG OIL WELLS WITH THE GOLDEN KEYS SYMBOLIC OF THE SOURCE OF THE THREAT. MANY SURFACE DESIGN TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN USED. THESE INCLUDE INDIGO DYEING, SHIBORI DYEING AND DISCHARGING, VEGETABLE PRINTING, TYVEK PAINTING WITH HEAT MOLDING, WAX BATIK, DYE PRINTING, BEADING, EMBROIDERY, COUCHING, MARBLING, ETC.” IN THE TEXTILE SURFACE DESIGN GUILD SPRING 2014 NEWSLETTER THE EXHIBIT IS DESCRIBED: “VESTED INTERESTS IS A COLLECTION OF ART GARMENTS CREATED COLLABORATIVELY BY TSDG MEMBERS. EACH VEST LOBBIES PASSIONATELY FOR A PERSONAL INTEREST HELD BY THE CREATIVE TEAM BEHIND ITS DESIGN. ON DISPLAY IN THE 2ND FLOOR SHOWCASE AT CASA UNTIL APRIL 26.” SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR COPY OF INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, THE EXHIBIT DISPLAY TEXT, AND THE TEXTILE SURFACE DESIGN GUILD SPRING 2014 NEWSLETTER.

Catalogue Number

P20160014000

Acquisition Date

2016-05

Collection

Museum

Less detail