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Surface Design Journal Fall 2004
Editorial Fall 2004
Social Conscience Editorials: Creating a Difference
 When “Social
Conscience” was proposed as a Journal theme at an SDA Board meeting, it was scheduled
in the next slot available, which just happpened to be this particular issue. It seems
unexpectedly apt that it comes out as we anticipate a presidential election. This is the season when Americans shape
the consciences they take to the polls.
Whatever the results in November, the need for creative responses to human problems won’t go away. Projects
and practices generated by heartfelt, mindful awareness of social conditions will always be timely. But “conscience” pushes
one further than just “being conscious”—it prods one to act. We wanted to present situations
where active artistic engagement made a critical difference.
Gradually, our collective conscience is being sensitized to planetary matters, so we looked for happenings on
the international scene. Once again, the universality of textiles became evident. For example, through the efforts
of Aid to Artisans, an organization that pioneered efforts to bring traditional crafts from developing countries
to the global marketplace, the economic status of weavers, stitchers, dyers and felters has dramatically improved.
ATA and other similar groups have also offered valuable experience to artists like Karen Urbanek who have gone
abroad as teachers and mentors.
Given the primacy today of health-related issues, we were thrilled when Ginny O’Brien Lohr suggested an
article on the emergence of programs that encourage the fields of art and medicine to work in partnership. We
couldn’t overlook political art, but wanted to find an expression that came directly from life rather
than ideology. The work of Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, a Mexican American artist, fit that prescription.
Social conscience isn’t formed in a vacuum, so we paid attention when Jessica Hemmings sent information
on a project that paired artists from two diverse cultures. From these artists’ initial encounters with “otherness,” they
moved on to accomplish collaborative works. Hemmings’ report, “A Bridge Between Britain and Japan,” starts
on page 36.
The more we looked, the more we saw, until the issue threatened to spill beyond its allotted pages. So don’t
be surprised if echoes of Social Conscience start to show up in subsequent seasons.
-- Patricia Malarcher
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