AFTER an unequivocal experience of the inefficiency of the subsisting federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world.

Alexander Hamilton, Introduction to Federalist No. 1, 1787

Like practically every American, my ancestors were immigrants, and for a number of years I’ve focused on the issue of immigration, first in Europe, and now here. I’m angry and saddened by our country’s brutal policies and wanted to bear witness to the hardship of those fleeing violence, as my grandparents did years ago.

Donna Ruff, Extraño, 2019

At least 545 children who were separated from their parents at the border in 2018 don’t know where their parents are. These separations began as a way to deter Honduran and Guatemalan asylum seekers from entering the country. “There was never any intention to reunite these families,” Efrén Olivares, racial and economic justice director at the Texas Civil Rights Project, explained. Now, as the ACLU attempts to reunite these children with their families, some are unreachable—forcing on-the-ground searches. The pandemic has only made the reunification efforts more difficult since there are only certain days workers can search for parents in Honduras.

The Takeaway podcast, October 22, 2020

In today’s highly charged political atmosphere, and in this unprecedented moment, as a pandemic rages and a culture struggles with the meaning of freedom and leadership, RWFA is proud to present The Subject Speaks Its Own Importance, the gallery’s second solo exhibition by multi-disciplined cut-paper artist, Donna Ruff. A follow up to her 2017 exhibition, The Migrant Series, Ruff not only further explores the time-bending overlay of the Islamic and Judaic inspired mosaic patterning of the Moors over the front pages of The New York Times but also explores the plight of refugees from Honduras and text from the Federalist Papers to create a tableaux of history and current events. The Subject Speaks Its Own Importance is the first event in The Political Season, a series of gallery and online exhibitions we will present online at Artsy with added social media posts. Featured will be current and new work by gallery and invited artists, exploring themes of immediate and urgent social consciousness germane to the state of the nation – and world – today.

Ruff’s themes are history and culture. With the dexterity of a surgeon, Ruff’s cut paper newspaper works transform the most quotidian form of media – the newspaper – into multicultural emblems of humankind’s struggle for safety and shelter. Using the front pages of The New York Times and the London Independent as her canvases, Ruff, a former graphic designer, creates intricate patterns cut into lacey overlays based on Moorish architectural and tile designs. Carefully sliced into the nearly weightless substrate of newsprint, the composition of the motifs allows for information to be removed while also augmenting and furthering the stories’ messages.

Two years ago, Ruff began working with images of refugees from the Honduran newspaper La Prensa, continuing her concerns for migrants and their plight. Included in the exhibition are unique works created by appropriating photojournalist images of women and children taken from the newspaper, enlarged and printed on felt and also acrylic blankets. The felt works are hung directly on walls while the blanket pieces, printed on both sides, hang from cables strung in the gallery like clothesline. The color images are backed with monochromatic representations of the Stars and Stripes. The blankets are, like the newsprint works of The Migrant Series, selectively cut but not by hand or in patterns but by laser in a means to suggest the tattered belongings of a diaspora population.

The blatant disregard of legal precedent, together with the overt threats to constitutional law and procedures by the Trump administration, caused Ruff to gather selected texts from the Federalist Papers, the series of 85 essays penned by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay aimed at convincing New York residents to ratify the new Constitution and published anonymously under the moniker “Publius” in 1787 and 1788. She then reproduced the original text and using the typeface as guides, burned the printed letters. The results infer the combustible nature of paper and the fragility with which words are – or the law is – ephemeral unless cared for.

The Subject Speaks Its Own Importance is on view until December 19. The gallery is open Wednesday – Saturday, 11:00 – 6:00. Appointments are not necessary but encouraged. Due to the nature of the exhibition and social distancing norms, we can accommodate only three people at a time.