It Was Good Enough For Our Mothers
It Was Good Enough For Our Mothers
Master's Thesis
- MPhD 22
“It Was Good Enough For Our Mothers” visualizes scenes of maternity and generational traditions passed down within my family since childhood.
We grew up among the pastoral landscapes of the conservative American South, where constructed values of faith and labor were tightly preserved.
I revisit forgotten memories while simultaneously exploring my role as a new mother, evaluating the influences I pass down to my child. I begin to acknowledge that I give my son a heritage shaped by my past, whether I intend to or not.
The established authority of my mother (the matriarch) is contrasted with the young innocence of her grandchild. Through a collection of letters to both my son and me, she expresses her inner turmoil in recognizing that the opposite of her intentions occurred. She hoped to break unhealthy patterns she witnessed in her own family, yet unintentionally supported their repetition.
These images are not tied to a specific place but instead reference an imagined rural setting where women accepted domestic responsibilities as a way of life.
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