A posthumous collaboration between artist-activist Jacqueline von Edelberg and the late fiber artist Shirley Englestein
While preparing the galleries for the new exhibit, Fiber-Fashion-Feminism, the gallery staff at The Art Center asked ‘what are we doing OUTSIDE to lead people into the gallery?’ The answer, as it often is, was: ‘what can we do with the Cow?’.
The call went out to Artist-Activist Jacqueline von Edelberg, who had recently yarn-bombed the cow in blue and yellow to draw support for Ukrainian Refugees: before that she made it pink to draw attention to the recent legislative threat to reproductive rights.
Von Edelberg immediately rose to the challenge and created the ‘Femoonista Warrior Cow’, a chainmail armor suit fashioned out of thousands of black rubber O-rings and upcycled unconventional materials based loosely on the vision, and using the materials ‘inherited’ from, the late fiber artist Shirley Englestein’s vision of a samurai warrior.
With Femoonista Warrior Cow Jacqueline aims to inspire women to stand up and speak out. “Fight, scrap, claw, sing, shout — make your unique voice heard as only you can,” she implores. “It might seem as though no one is listening or even cares, but keep speaking out. Sometimes, you’ll get kicked in the teeth so hard, and so often, you’ll think blood is a condiment, but keep at it. Do not waver. Create the world that lives up to your ideals.”
“Jacqueline is an integral part of our ‘Arts in Action’ initiative, a program specifically created to allow The Art Center to react/respond to what’s going on in the world around us,” says James M. Lynch, Executive Director of The Art Center. “Decorating the cow admittedly has a whimsical tone but it is also highly visible and gets noticed by passersby. Jacqueline’s work in other projects made her the perfect adjunct artist to our Fiber-Fashion-Feminism exhibit; it is a remarkable and inspired piece.”
Jacqueline von Edelberg is an artist, activist, social entrepreneur, and unapologetic ‘nasty woman.’ With two decades of applying creative thinking to seemingly intractable real-world challenges, Jacqueline is globally recognized for her public art on progressive issues. Last winter her Atlanta interactive art installation VoteTree helped change the course of history. She is passionate about building coalitions, glittery movements, and digital platforms that drive civic engagement and create systemic change.
Femoonista Warrior Cow will be on display from April 29 through June 11.Edelberg Cow