The Hooker - and some notes
It's all good. Portrait of Laura Kenney, Rug Hooker “Steven Rhude and I had an exhibit titled "Saving Maud' at Secord Gallery in Halifax, Sept 2017. Through Steven's paintings and my rug hookings we examined Maud Lewis's life, her struggles, and upon her death, t he stewardship of her art and house to the wider commercial and institutional establishments. We wanted to give a fuller understanding of Maud's life and a factual record...and we have more to say. - Laura Kenney, Rug Hooker Note to self on Maud : What constitutes the material of a life lived in the unforgiving spotlight of poverty? And what does it mean to us today? Why does a folk painter stand out for public scrutiny, yet, as we can see and confirm for ourselves, through a life suspended in the vague records of a modernist era gone by, with blurry black and white photographs and film footage suggesting, but not quite defining, the ethos of a person, a woman, a painter, and in man