Temporal ambiguity in Hmong representational textile art

Erik Cohen*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Embroidererd representational textiles of Hmong refugees from the war in Laos are generally referred to in the literature as “story cloths”. The article problematizes the concept of “story” in this designation, and points out the complex ambiguity of the temporal dimension by way of analysis of an exceptionally richly embroidered Hmong cloth. Four alternative readings of the cloth are proposed; it is hypothesized that a “mythical” reading will become predominant, as the Hmong integrate the turbulent events of the war into their mytho-historical collective memory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-40
Number of pages16
JournalVisual Anthropology
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1996

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