Tapestry Weave Rag Jerga

Agueda Martínez, Tapestry Weave Rag Jerga, 1994, woven cotton cloth on cotton yarn warp, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1995.46
Copied Agueda Martínez, Tapestry Weave Rag Jerga, 1994, woven cotton cloth on cotton yarn warp, 86 1⁄2 x 52 1⁄2 in. (219.7 x 133.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1995.46

Artwork Details

Title
Tapestry Weave Rag Jerga
Artist
Date
1994
Location
Dimensions
86 1⁄2 x 52 1⁄2 in. (219.7 x 133.4 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool and the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
woven cotton cloth on cotton yarn warp
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract — geometric
Object Number
1995.46
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1995.46

Artwork Description

I draw on the loom . . . just what I feel like at the moment.
--Agueda Martínez

Agueda Martínez wove traditions, ideals, and her own ebullient spirit into rugs that are contemporary in design. Here, concentric diamonds, hourglasses, and chevrons echo Chimayó patterns of her Mexican American community. Martínez and her husband, also a weaver, supported their family of ten children as subsistence farmers during the day and weavers at night. They gathered plants for dye and spun scraps of worn clothing into yarn to make rugs. At first, they sold them through blanket dealers, and later, as their work became well-known, from their home.
By the 1970s, "Doña Agueda" Martínez was nationally renowned. In 1975 she received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. The 1977 documentary film Agueda Martínez: Our People, Our Country about her relationship with the land and her family was nominated for an Academy Award.

Exhibitions

Media - 2019.15 - SAAM-2019.15_1 - 137377
Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women
May 31, 2024–January 5, 2025
Renwick Gallery
The artists in Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women mastered and subverted the everyday materials of cotton, felt, and wool to create deeply personal artworks.