Tall Tale Tapestry
Sausalito Art Fest | 2018
Project Summary
The annual Sausalito Art Festival is one of the oldest, most prestigious, and most anticipated open-air art events in the country. Each year, the festival’s American Icon Art Competition asks artists throughout the world to submit their interpretation of iconic American imagery, and for the 2018 theme--‘Americans at Work’--I decided to pay homage to the original icons of the American workers: the legendary figures told about in stories by the workers themselves.
The final art piece is a combination of four 11x17 prints which can be organized in any order. The pieces feature Paul Bunyan, who felled the northern forests with his ax; John Henry, who worked the railroads and ultimately gave his life for the rights of his fellow workers; Molly Pitcher, who defied the sexist expectations of the American Revolution to take her place on the cannon line; and Johnny Appleseed, whose work paved the way for farmers for ages to come.
Each figure is seen using their respective labors to form a version of the American flag, and this motif is also present when the pieces are combined into a single unit
