Q&A: Rita Valley
Q&A: Rita Valley
Installation shot, August 2020, Melanie Carr Gallery. Credit: Melanie Carr.
Firebrand. Rabble-rouser. Whistleblower. These are some of the colorful words artist Rita Valley used to describe herself when we talked on the phone. Words come easily to Valley: she uses text — short phrases or words — that are often culled from the headlines or zeitgeist to engage with the most pressing social issues in her labor-intensive sew works.
Outspoken and political from a young age, twelve-year-old Valley walked down dusty roads from house to house in the rural town of Durham, petitioning her neighbors to stop Nixon from bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War. In her teens, she traveled to Washington, D.C. with other precocious activists, attending anti-war rallies and advocating zero population growth early on.
Yet Valley did not espouse her political activism in her practice as an artist until later. She studied abstract painting in college — first at Bard, then finishing her undergraduate studies at another small, liberal arts institution, Bennington. When she switched from painting to collage, Valley began to notice the constricted way that women were — and are — portrayed in the media. Her artwork has adopted a more pointed tone since then.
Valley’s mother was a seamstress who encouraged Valley to sew, but a young, politically-minded high school art teacher introduced Valley to the notion that sewing could be provocative. The same teacher helped students start an organic garden and introduced her and the other students to installation art, as well as other unconventional ways of making. When Valley and her teacher went to a banner-making workshop, the concept of sewing as a political gesture was planted, resurfacing many years later.
Valley sources the fabrics for her crazy quilts or banners — she uses these terms interchangeably — from anywhere. Friends often donate scraps to her, and her partner, artist Bob Keating, also has a keen eye for picking out patterns that will integrate well into her meticulously-constructed fabric paintings. Layering designs and textures, Valley’s pieces recall the skills she first learned as a painter, but with more bite.
The deeper this country plunges into chaos, the more Valley feels called to use her artwork to inspire action. Our conversation below has been edited for clarity.
Rita Valley, No Future. All images courtesy of the artist.
[Jacquelyn Gleisner] You currently have a body of work on view at Melanie Carr Gallery. These works are part of a series called "PSAs" (public service announcements), and in your artist statement, you say that your role as an artist/activist is "to remind people of their duty to participate in our endangered democracy." In your opinion, how has our democracy become more endangered over the past few months?
[Rita Valley] Our democracy is under threat in so many ways! For the last three plus years, we have seen the erosion of democratic norms: an awful acceleration of voter suppression, a justice department that isn’t independent but acts as the enforcer of presidential whim, too many issues being decided by executive action, undermining the of freedom of the press… I could go on and on. Please vote!!
Rita Valley, Vote.
[JG] In your statement, you also mention that you've been political from a young age. What were some of the first issues that motivated you to speak out?
[RV] I was an active opposer of the Vietnam War. I remember freaking our neighbors out when I carried a petition door-to-door to stop the bombing of Cambodia. I was like thirteen or fourteen at the time! And certainly, my becoming a “youthful feminist” was no surprise! I rebelled against the norms that defined appropriate roles for young girls.
[JG] Every artist I have talked to over the past several months seems to internalize this time differently. How has the pandemic impacted your practice?
[RV] COVID Time has been a very productive time for me. I have been furloughed from my part-time job, and so I have unlimited studio time — that’s a true blessing! But with this time of isolation and quarantine has come the closing of galleries and the suspension of many exhibition opportunities… that’s been hard! I’m glad that things are loosening up a bit. My show at Melanie Carr’s Gallery is so welcome. Online exhibits are fine, but they’re no substitute for actual, physically showing. Visual art needs to confront you head on, in person.
Rita Valley, Money to Burn.
[JG] From the hand-pieced lettering to the embellished fringe, your sewn works are very labor-intensive. When did you learn to sew?
[RV] This is funny: I hated sewing when I was younger. I associated it with Home Ec classes and “women’s work” — this despite my mother being an accomplished seamstress! I wanted to be a painter. I did become an enthusiastic quilter in high school, in part thanks to an open-minded art instructor who showed me that sewing could be ballsy.
[JG] And when did sewing become a part of your practice as a visual artist?
[RV] About twenty years ago, I happened into a fabric store, and it was if a light bulb went on in my head. I suddenly “discovered” sewing and fabric — the colors and patterns and textures. I had also begun experimenting with sewing used fabric Band-Aids (yes, you read that correctly!) to create texts, so I guess it logically followed that I’d create “crazy quilts.”
Installation shot, August 2020, Melanie Carr Gallery. Credit: Melanie Carr.
[JG]. Sewing is often intertwined with the notion of "women's work" and unpaid domestic labor. This topic has been thrust into public discourse during the pandemic. Many mothers are now responsible for overseeing the online education of their children, while other women bemoan an unequal breakdown of domestic chores. How do you think our society can emerge from this pandemic with greater equality for women and mothers?
[RV] Many artists are already unpaid laborers. Think about it: how many people would be dentists (or politicians!) if they were only financially rewarded sporadically? The struggle to create a better world is shared by visionaries like artists — or women — who work hard to create a better world for their families. (Although I can’t speak for mothers particularly as I never wanted children and I am “mother” only to a lovely dog and two horses!) I do think a bright light has been cast on how hard it is to juggle so many responsibilities.
[JG] You've stated that you hope your art changes the world for the better. What does this optimistic version of the world look like to you?
[RV] If I can motivate even one more person to wake up to the importance of getting involved — of voting and having their voice heard — I’ve done some good. I look around and see too much raw material for me to work with: the injustices, the disenfranchisements, the cruelties and I’m (unfortunately!) as cynical as they come. But underneath, I really believe that art can catch your eye and pull you in. That’s why I strive to create work that is initially beautiful but upon closer inspection is provocative and perhaps, disturbing.
Rita Valley and Robin the Good. Photo Credit: Elanah Sherman.
Rita Valley’s PSAs are on view at Melanie Carr Gallery in Essex through August 31. Her works are partially supported by a grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts. Valley lives and works in Southbury, Connecticut with her partner and fellow artist, Bob Keating.
