Hanging the Laundry

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Hanging the Laundry

Wednesday, 12 November 2008 07:35

As part of A Lowcountry Christmas Celebration on Da’ Sea Islands, The Red Piano Too Art Gallery is hosting a juried art exhibit titled “Wash Day Images.”

A jurist for the show will be Dr. Ada McKenzie, curator of Collections at Penn Center’s York W. Bailey Museum. A call has gone out to local artists’ to submit images depicting “Wash Day” as they perceive it.
Asked why she thinks laundry or wash day is a good theme for an art exhibit, gallery owner Mary Inabinett Mack says, “Actually, I think a whole book could be written on it. Almost everybody growing up in the South can conjure up these images of freshly washed laundry drying in the sun. You have these images of colored wash, of white wash, the separation of pants and shirts, of socks and underwear, of sheets and towels. The laundry experience combined with the Sea Island landscape conveys not only the idea of habitation but of industriousness, dependability, and culture. The image evokes sensory stimulation as well. Who amongst us has not relished the wonderful scent experienced when burying our face in a fluffy towel sun dried on a breezy clothesline or simply thrown over a fence of shrubs to dry?”

Wash Day images are fairly commonplace in art—especially art depicting the Gullah lifestyle. This is a prevalent theme in the early works of Jonathan Green, in the work of Cassandra Gillens and Diane Britton Dunham, and in the work of the late Charleston artist Elizabeth O’Neil Verner, to name a few.
Mack adds, “people my age (72) and older can recall that ‘wash day’ before washing machines, clothes dryers, and even running water was also very laborious—the end product was always a relief and at the same time gave a sense of accomplishment and pride. I suspect much of this will be captured in the images submitted for Wash Day Images at the Red Piano Too Art Gallery.” {mosimage}
The exhibit will open Saturday December 6, 2008 with a reception at the Red Piano Too Art Gallery from 1:00 PM to 6:00PM. The reception is free and open to the public. For information call (843) 838-2241 daily 10 p.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays 1 pm to 4:30 pm.

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