“Before These Witnesses,” an exhibition created by Daisy Patton, is currently being displayed at The Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery at Cuesta College.
The nine-piece collection explores various complicated ideals of marriage, weddings and love through a lens of sculptural elements, giving these paintings back their life.
On January 30, The Gallery welcomed the exhibition’s opening night. The ceremony was lively with a Cuesta student jazz band playing in the courtyard with students and others admiring the expansive multimedia pieces throughout the night. Harold J. Miossi gallery coordinator, Tim Stark welcomed the audience and proudly introduced “a ferocious maker” as his friend Daisy Patton. Patton joined the community over Zoom and discussed the collection about her political and personal experience related to complex familial relationships, challenging traditional narratives and her creative process on dynamic decisions with collective memories to continue on or to leave behind.
The collection explores the use of sculptural elements, including embroidery and faux flowers. Each of these has its own significance detailing the artist’s underlying themes. “828 flowers without consideration of the swing, along with 1,750 French knots,” were used in the collection.The Daisy Patton, Before These Witnesses, exhibition statement states, the embroidery symbolizes “weaving together history and personal narrative threads.” Along with hundreds of faux flowers symbolize, “the beauty and transience of love and serving as a reminder of the diverse relationship beyond conventional structures.”
“Family photographs [are used] as a sacred relic that has been abandoned in some way,” Patton said. “Painting over them is instead an act of love.” The photos themselves are second-hand sourced, allowing the reclaiming of new kinship.The art is hung lower to the ground to achieve an idea that the individuals in the images can walk out as if they are brought back to life. The art itself is “not quite alive, not quite dead,” as described by Patton. “This art can carry forward these people into the present moment.”
This immersive exhibit will be available until March 14. Click to view Daisy Patton’s artist talk from January 30. The Harold J. Misossi Art Gallery room 7170 is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment. Admission is free.
To find more information, Daisy Patton’s website, Daisy Patton’s Linktree and Daisy Patton’s Instagram
