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| House of Maffei, art-quilt 28"x36" |
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| Entitled Italian Laundry |
With modern as well as vintage
photos referenced in my figurative work, I am fortunate to be surrounded
by friends that travel quite a bit. I often ask them to snap
photographs that I can then manipulate for use in my artwork in a
variety of ways. The art-quilt entitled Italian Laundry,
is a perfect example of doing just that. When I was working on my
American Family Album series I wanted to focus on our immigration from
Italy in a couple of pieces. Because my research for the series
continuously resulted in lost tales and interesting stories, the old
adage about hanging out ones dirty laundry kept creeping into my
consciousness. When I heard that a friend was traveling to Italy I
specifically asked for photos referencing this subject. I remember her
surprise to find laundry hanging out in such a fashion everywhere she
went. From the poorest areas to the more affluent, she was not at a
loss for subject matter. This piece truly served as a grounding element
for the entire series.
Interestingly
enough she also snapped a picture of a street sign bearing the family
name that, through the immigration process, had been manipulated and
eventually lost to us. Somewhere along the way, without an Irish
ancestor in the bunch, Murphy had replace Maffei! Only three
generations later and no one had even questioned this obvious Irish name
in the midst of our obvious Italian heritage. When I began my research
for this series I found old letters and photos in Italian apparently
belonging to my great grandfather, along with his seaman book that
recorded his entry from port to port. I watched his name gradually
change spelling from Maffei to Murphy as the years charted his travels.
The art-quilt to the right is my attempt to at least creatively restore
our family name. Among the imagery of laundry and an antique map of
Italy rests a vintage photograph of my grandfather with his father and
uncle, who I was to learn were seamen from Genoa. Thanks to Nikki Vick
for the wonderful images of laundry and the thoughtfulness to also snap a
picture of the street sign bearing our long lost surname.
These family pieces still hang in my home and serve as inspiration for the commission pieces I offer others who also want to tell their own American Family Album story.
These family pieces still hang in my home and serve as inspiration for the commission pieces I offer others who also want to tell their own American Family Album story.
