Jennifer Regan (1934-2016)

Labels by Asher Glazer

Jennifer Regan was a quiltmaker and writer who used both her passions to create what she called “stitched narratives.” All her work is a piece of a greater whole—each work adding onto the story and continuing to speak for the artist and her themes. Born in 1934 and raised in Orchard Park, she took inspiration from a variety of sources, including Franz Kafka, German Expressionism, Black Americana, and Bible stories, as well as feminism. Often Regan embroidered poetry onto her “stitched narratives,” creating one story on top of another. Her inspiration for The Work Ethic came from a medieval woodcut; but while Adam and Eve reside in the Garden of Eden in one section, Adam puts up barbed wire and monkeys pick cotton in others. The words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work sets you free) are present: words associated with the concentration camp at Auschwitz in World War II. Regan leaves us to decipher her mixed narratives.

Aesthetic Label: 
I invite you to look closer at the quilt and try to focus on the tiny details of each piece. Jennifer Regan smartly combined the rigid geometry of traditional quilt making with the freedom and abstraction of freehand stitching, leading to a beautiful texture combination of tight and loose sewing. The imperfect fragility of hand application and the delicate, almost basting stitch on the edge make the piece feel extremely delicate to the eye. Even the work in the figures is gentle and careful. Mixed media including sequins, metallic thread, and a hobbyist bird, were sewn into the work. The quilt also looks much older than it is. Although made in 1990, this quilt looks like it could be from the early 1900s with its antiquated aesthetic. This adds to the concept of it being a mythical narrative from a long time ago, establishing Regan’s storytelling techniques. 

For Kids: 

How can we tell stories through pictures? Jennifer Regan was a writer as well as a quilter, and very often she put the two skills together to tell stories. Regan is following a very long tradition where people have been using quilts to tell their stories through visual communication. What do you think the plot of this story is? Is there even a plot at all? What do you think about when looking at this piece of art? Regan also uses a variety of media like sequins, metallic thread, and even a tiny little sculptural bird. Can you find the bird? Think about how the bird might fit into the storyline, and what actions the bird may take to participate in this quilted scene. Once you are done looking at all the different characters and pieces of visual information, these different puzzle pieces come together to form the finished storytelling image.