at PS1 Close House: 538 S. Gilbert
open hours:
Sat. July 1, 11a-1p
Mon. July 3, 11a-1p
Thurs. July 6, 6-8p
Fri. July 7, 7-9p
Sat. July 8, 11a-1p
Mon. July 10, 11a-1p
Tues. July 11, 6-8p
Thurs. July 13, 6-8p
Fri. July 14, 7-9p
Sat. July 15, 11a-1p
presented in collaboration with Frogman’s Print Workshop
about the artist:
Stephanie Alaniz (they/them) was born and raised in South Texas. They received their Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2016 from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with an emphasis in Printmaking. They then went on to receive their Master of Fine Arts from West Virginia University in 2019. Stephanie’s current work focuses on normalizing insecurities, challenging anti-fat bias, discussing mental health issues, and the intersection of all of these topics. Through printmaking, textiles, drawing, and sculpture they are able to create work about these topics with the hope of inviting the viewer in to reflect on themself and how these topics influence the world around us. Stephanie has exhibited in numerous national and international exhibitions. They have also been included in a number of portfolio exchanges over the last eight years. They are currently on the board of Radical Intersectional Print Guild and have been since its conception in 2020. Stephanie currently lives in Emporia, Kansas where they teach art at Emporia State University and teach courses at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, Kansas.
My Fat Quilts series is a love letter to my fellow fatties. In a society that refuses to value us, I want to take this platform and give us a voice to speak and challenge the norm that has been present for the entirety of our lives and beyond. Existing in a larger body in an anti-fat society is incredibly difficult, people are cruel and hurtful and often treat fat people as if they are the lowest form of life. The use of the word “fat” has been taking back by the fat activist community as a descriptor rather than a negative, for many words such as “overweight” and “obese” are considered slurs, as obese translates from its origin to mean “having eaten oneself fat” and “overweight” suggests that there is a weight that everyone universally must be. This work's intention is to challenge the social norms while deconstructing how we see fat bodies so that we can reconstruct our views through a lens of radical kindness, empathy, and understanding. These large scale quilts feature relief prints on fabric that are then appliquéd to larger quilt tops and assembled quilts. By using the relief process, the action of removing material from the block is meant to reflect the idea that a “good fat person” is one who is actively trying to make their body smaller. However, in the end the block is still a fat person and highlights their fat body. These quilts can become larger and monumental, taking up the space. They can also be folded up, making them smaller as a way to reference how we have been taught to take up as little space as possible especially when existing in public with straight-sized people.
Alaniz lives, educates, and creates art work in Emporia, Kansas on unceded ancestral land belonging to the Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Wazhazhe (Osage), Washtáge Moⁿzháⁿm (Kaw/Kanza), and Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) people. Indigenous people are the past, present, and future of this land.