Unbound
Scott Schuldt
Milford, Connecticut
Unbound, 2007
Beadwork, printed canvas, linen
Her name is Laura Nelson. She was a daughter, wife, and mother. She was lynched with her 14-year-old son by a mob from a bridge in Okema, Oklahoma, in 1911. She should be remembered.
The central image of this piece is a detail from a postcard that showed families (including children) from the nearby town posing on the bridge with Laura and her son hanging below.
At one time, samplers were an important educational exercise for young girls. Vintage samplers combinedvaluable lessons in needlecraft with art, poetry, and schoolwork. Samplers were also used to commemorate births, marriages, deaths, and other significant events in a person’s life. I used a sampler as a device to touch on racial hatred as a learned trait.
Our country has made some strides against racial and social hatred, but most would agree that we fall far short of where we would like to be.
This work became a mourning sampler, an emotional reach to one’s heart where lies the only lasting solution to hatred. The mourning is not only for Laura Nelson, but also for everyone, as we all suffer when we live with hate.
Bio
Scott Schuldt works in hand-sewn beadwork, mixed media, video, and whatever else is necessary to get the job done.