by Onajídé Shabaka - 20 Oct., 2007

   Quilt Masters

    by Onajídé Shabaka

It wasn't that long ago that Gee's Bend, Alabama was just another small community unknown all but a few. Well, those days are now long gone. The ladies of Gee's Bend have been placed on art's world stage and, not without some controversy. The Arnetts, who brought they work out of the back water, have divided the community and triggered lawsuits.

Anyway, this is more about art than the legal issues surrounding it although, that is significant unto itself.

Isolated for decades by geography, outside indifference and extreme poverty but in lives rich with family, church and community, four generations of African American women from Gee’s Bend, Alabama quietly created one of the most astonishingly beautiful and original bodies of work in American quilting tradition. With bold geometric shapes, gorgeous combinations of color, and a sophisticated sense of composition, the quilts of Gee’s Bend have been hailed by The New York Times as "some of the most miraculous works of art America has produced." This exhibition of seventy quilts celebrates a remarkable artistic legacy born of necessity and make-do conditions and artistically equivalent to the most innovative works of 20th Century modern art.

“Downright funny isn’t it? I always loved my quilts, but I never thought it was art like a picture or a sculpture,” says Bendolph. ‘I just made them because we needed something to keep us warm, and I didn’t’ have nothing else. I didn’t have nothing.”

Gee’s Bend remained this precious, almost forgotten place until 1997 when an art dealer named Bill Arnett came down from Atlanta and discovered the women and their quilts.

Jerald Melberg Gallery had at his booth at Art Miami 2007, a series of prints based on the quilts of the women of Gee's Bend. The women have not embarked on printmaking but, images of their quilts have been photographed and then made into limited edition italigos. From Melberg Gallery:

The women of Gee's Bend, a small rural community in southwest Alabama, are celebrated for making exquisite abstract quilts. Based on skills and an aesthetic passed down through several generations, the quilts have been highly praised for their raw beauty, bold geometry and sophisticated color sense.

Some of these unique etchings were made from small quilts sewn specifically for the purpose of creating the prints, and some were made from previously sewn quilts from home. Using a technique called soffgroiinc/, each quilt was laid on a copper plate coated with beeswax to produce an impression of the quilt. Next, the soft ground was etched in acid, transferring the impression of the quilt piece to the copper plate and recording all the seams, textures, and nuances of each different fabric. (catalogue).

Quilting has been just as important as any other part of my visual vocabulary as has been my initial viewing of Roy Sieber's African Textiles and Decorative Arts exhibition from the early 70s. My own family here in Florida has made a sweet contribution that is still in my possession. Coming from the non-professionally trained community have been these women that create from within their own vision and personal tradition.

There is little more that I could add to this large body of writings on the subject of African American quilting and folk crafts so, I strongly suggest you get to the exhibition.

Museum of Art |  Fort Lauderdale
One East Las Olas Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Tel: 954-525-5500

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