Blanket Series and Anticipatory Illumination - Josephine A. Zmolek

I am struck by the fundamental essentiality of fabric: protecton from cold, sun, wind and rain. A relatively simple concept: fiber spun into thread woven into cloth. We adorn ourselves in cloth; a mark of who we are. We coordinate colors to compliment our moods; don patterns and symbols to imbue us with the calm of repetition or the power of icon signification. The security, warmth and protection of a wool blanket; the coolness and comfort of cotton; the lightness and translucency of silk, each evoke a way of being in the moment of sense and memory.
Paul’s Blanket comes from a dark San Francisco apartment; a moldy pale yellow clump of wool adorned with a nasty radiator burn. Horrible and wonderful: I can smell that dank apartment in San Francisco that was atop of a hill overlooking the city. Beautiful. I recycled the blanket
(after some gentle persuasion) and from it emerged a story of my husband’s past as it merged into our present together.
Paul's Blanket
Anticipatory Illumination is a dance work I choreographed in 2004. The tensions in our country have escalated to such a degree; so much anger perpetuated by a weighty stink of Fear. “Power of Pride” bumperstickers boast one of the Seven Deadly Sins as a National Value. The land I call Home has become so mean, so unwelcome.

Every fiber of my being cries:
What has happened to us?
Anticipatory Illumination is about the Walk, to the core of what we are, to the center of our potential, to that safe place called Home. Protected by garments saturated with rich colors, luscious to the touch, and adorned with symbols of peace and energy, the pilgrims strive forward with an “upright gait” anticipating the Home that has not-yet-become.