Elevate: Barbara Cade

Elevate at 21c presents temporary exhibitions of works by artists living and working in the Northwest Arkansas community.

The program provides hotel guests and visitors with unique access to the work of notable regional artists, while featuring their work in the context of 21c’s contemporary art space.

From the artist: “‘Hairhats’ is a term I coined which references hair shirts, which were shirts woven of coarse animal hair and worn as a form of punishment for sins. The hair is extremely scratchy and irritating. This was a common practice in the Middle Ages, but it still practiced today by some members of various Christian denominations. 

The hairhats in this exhibit were created in 1984 and 1985. They are the last pieces added to my first body of work entitled The Search for Identity/the Age of Innocence which I began in 1971. 

The entire exhibit contains 25 sculptural pieces, an installation, fetishes, dance wands and hairhats, all of which were designed for imaginary rites, rituals and dances celebrating Nature.

However, the creation of the hairhats was a direct response to the clear-cutting done by the lumber companies in Washington state. Not only was it unsightly, but clearcutting resulted in the loss of habitat for the spotted owl.  The hairhats were designed to be worn by the lumber company CEOs as punishment for not honoring nature.”

Barbara Cade

Barbara Cade is a nationally known artist who creates one-of-a-kind tapestries and hand-felted sculptures especially for architectural interiors. Her work is nature-inspired. Over the years, she has taught herself weaving, felting, stitchery, other fabric constructions and hand-made paper techniques. She has taken classes in glassblowing and pottery. With her love of other cultures, she has studied Spanish, African-American history and Native American history. She has a B.A. in German from the University of Illinois and M.A. in German from the University of Washington, and has been listed on the Arkansas AIE artist roster since 1986.

Cade currently lives and works in Hot Springs, Arkansas.