Apron Chronicles
Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections
History Colorado Center
1200 Broadway, Denver, CO, 80203
January 23-May 31, 2021
Admission: Adults: $14, Seniors (65+): $12, Students (16-22 with valid student ID): $10, Children (5-15): $8, Children 4 and under & Members: Free.
Review by Kathleen Perniciaro Duggins
Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections is culminating in Colorado after traveling throughout the United States for sixteen years. The exhibit is on view in the Ballantine Gallery on the main level of the History Colorado Center and stretches into the atrium. As you enter the space, pink neon reading “ties that bind us” welcomes you, bathing the area in a warm light and inviting the viewer to consider the exhibit through rose-colored glasses. The personal histories on display make a broad statement in fact, allowing viewers to connect with one, if not more, shared apron story.
An installation view of Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections at the History Colorado Center. Image by Kathleen Perniciaro Duggins.
In some ways, the aprons that prompted this collection of stories become an afterthought to the legacy left by the people who once wore them. [1] The main exhibit is made up of pairs of panels: a portrait of the storyteller next to a text panel describing their personal history. Occasionally, a framed apron breaks the sequence of portraits and paragraphs, but the viewer quickly learns that this exhibit is not truly about the aprons but the stories they have inspired.
Aprons on display as part of the exhibit Aprons: The Ties That Bind Us in the atrium of the History Colorado Center. Image by Kathleen Perniciaro Duggins.
Several aprons are clothes-pinned to the display panel booths that are part of Aprons: The Ties That Bind Us—the interactive companion exhibit in the atrium. More pairs of portraits and stories wrap the walls of the atrium, anchored by a monumental-sized ball of fabric and ribbons. Aprons: The Ties That Bind Us encourages viewers to explore their own memories through other senses like smell and touch, write their own apron stories on index cards, and add the cards to the ribbon ball.
A view of the front of a display booth in the supplemental exhibit Aprons: The Ties That Bind Us with the Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections exhibition in the background. Image by Kathleen Perniciaro Duggins.
A close-up view of the monumental ribbon ball in Aprons: The Ties That Bind Us. Visitors can add their own stories to it. Image by Kathleen Perniciaro Duggins.
EllynAnne Geisel, the exhibit curator, categorizes each apron story using a complex theme like togetherness, regret, servitude, womankind, and optimism. Most of the stories only touch on these ideas, leaving the door open for further interpretation. Many of the photographs also do not include dates. For instance, the light, color, décor, and clothes captured in Kristina Loggia’s portraits [2] hint that the photographs in the exhibit were taken at the beginning of the twenty-first century, but no date is given. The effect is that the images and words become timeless, prompting viewers to consider the apron’s theme in the context of their own lives and personal histories.
Some of the photographs with accompanying texts that are part of Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections. From left to right are the themes of “Togetherness,” “Hope,” and “Happiness.” Image by Kathleen Perniciaro Duggins.
When my family and I are able to share a meal, we play a game and guess the main ingredients of a dish. We savor a small bite of the sauce and wonder what the special ingredient is, even if we have the recipe memorized. The game stops at speculation and we are satisfied with imagining the spices the chef used to create the end result. Savoring the flavor is the game. This is one way my family was taught that full stomachs should not be taken for granted. And this is what I was reminded of when I read about the “Apron of Togetherness”—one of the themes in the exhibit. I remember my cousins and I taking turns being Grandpa’s sous chef while his Sunday gravy cooked all day, and I remember time slowing down as everyone paused to enjoy the first bite together.
The sampling of apron stories shared in Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections is a display of memories and it is the hug we need. The exhibit also gives viewers space to reminisce about their own inherited traditions. After a disjointed year sparked by a pandemic, Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections is a soft reminder to consider the small things that enrich our lives.
Kathleen Perniciaro Duggins lives and works in Denver, Colorado. She received her MFA in Visual Art from Washington University in St. Louis and is Operations Manager for Make West.
[1] A summary of the text by curator EllynAnne Geisel introducing the exhibit Apron Chronicles: A Patchwork of American Recollections at the History Colorado Center.
[2] I was unable to find a credit for the portrait photographer Kristina Loggia in the History Colorado Center exhibit, but this information is available on the exhibit website: https://www.apronchronicles.com (accessed April 29th, 2021).
