By
A quilt seems simple. It’s one of the most common pieces of art in an American home and has potentially become a standard possession that may not receive the respect that matches the talent and amount of time put into its creation.
For two centuries Americans have been creating quilts and during that time-span, American quilters from an array of economic levels have produced a variety of patterns, materials and colors so individualized and intriguing that they have produced a following of collectors and scholars.
An unusual discovery of a group of African-American women in small, rural town in Gee’s Bend, Ala. has pieced together the phenomenon that is the evolution of quilt-making.
The secluded town of Gee’s Bend appears to be a time capsule in comparison to the rest of the world. In 1937 the federal government commissioned two series of photographs of Gee’s Bend. The images have since become some of the most famous images of Depression-era American life.
Today, the people of Gee’s Bend still participate in many of the same labor and pastimes of their forefathers who arrived as slaves in the mid-1800s farming, sewing and producing some of the most unique quilts stitched in the United States.
The quilts now on a touring exhibit entitled “Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt” includes work by women spanning four generations. Creating the quilts from whatever materials available, ranging from remnants to used fabric, the women used their imagination to create abstract, innovative designs that reflect an understanding and talent for structure and design through use of line and color.
“Boldly architectural in design, the quilts of Gee’s Bend have been garnering attention for decades,” stated the Speed Art Museum in a press release. An earlier exhibition of the quilts in New York City at the Whitney Museum of American Art incurred one critic to describe the collection as “some of the most miraculous work of art America has produced.”
Students around the University of Louisville campus have also begun noticing the exhibit.
“The collection is simply beautiful,” said Juanita Williamson, a freshman pan-African studies major. “You get a feeling of the amount of work these women put into their quilts and their personal touches intertwined in the work. These are strong black women leaving their marks in history,” said Williamson.
“These quilts are fantastic and a true glimpse at the past,” said Rachael Pickler, a junior art history major. “Yeah, some of the quilts have modern geometrical patterns, but the old craftsmanship of quilt making has clearly been preserved down to each stitch,” said Pickler.
The Speed Art Museum is hosting the traveling exhibition until March 23 in conjunction with several lecture series from visiting and local professors.
The next lecture on Jan. 31, “Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt Exhibition Lecture” takes time to analyze post-slavery subculture of southern African-Americans and colloquial evolutions through art and culture.
Admission to the exhibit is free for U of L students with a student I.D. card, but on Mon. Jan. 21, the museum is allowing free admission for all patrons in part with Martin Luther King Day to “celebrate the memory of a truly inspirational individual and a leader in the American Civil Rights Movement,” stated the Speed Art Museum.
“I highly encourage everyone to see the exhibit. Even if you don’t typically enjoy art, you cannot help but feel the overwhelming story of each quilt told by its creator,” said Williamson.
