Made in the USA: Reflections on the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912
Created for group exhibition, Commemorations, at the Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich, MA., May – October, 2018. Exhibition curator: Amanda Wastrom
This series of digital prints invites visitors to reflect on commemorations of the 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike against the backdrop of current media debates surrounding public statues, immigration laws, and outsourced factory jobs. The piece consists of two parts: twenty 11×14″ oversize Instagram posts printed on ceramic tile and an Instagram channel, https://www.instagram.com/lawrence_strike1912/ . I chose Instagram as a visual framework because it is how I record my daily life — through photography and short text posts. I wanted to experiment with making a snapshot of those observations larger and more permanent.
Through creating this series, I sought to better understand the Lawrence Textile Strike of 1912, often referred to as the “Bread & Roses Strike and honor one of the strike fatalities, Anna LoPizzo. I was curious about what prompted the community to publicly honor the 1912 victims and the strikers after so many decades. How were the events remembered over time? Who are some of the different voices telling the story and how could I convey their ideas? It was inspiring to speak with people about history, community, labor and activism and I hope this physical and digital commemoration series for Anna LoPizzo and the strike will encourage others to visit Lawrence and investigate on their own.
With gratitude to the people who generously shared their expertise on Lawrence and labor history with me for this art piece, especially: Anneta Argyres, Dexter Arnold, Jim Beauchesne, Kathy Flynn, Amita Kiley, Dave Morris, Linda Siegenthaler, Jurg Siegenthaler. Ethan Snow and Jonas Stundza.
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