The Rhythm of Quilts

Rhythm creates movement in the viewer’s eye in pieces from the African American Quilts Exhibition at the UC Davis Richard L. Nelson Gallery. The quilts were a mixture of sharecropper’s and more modern artists continuing the tradition of quilt making. The original artists were sharecroppers who made the quilts out of the necessity for their families. These artists relied on what they could find and any scraps that would provide the warmth necessary for their families’ survival through the cold of nights and the seasons. The more recent artists are keeping the tradition and art alive although less out of necessity and more for the aesthetic appreciation of the quilts.

The quilt titled “Sharecropper’s Masterpiece” depicts a quilt with a feeling of repetition in the alternating horizontal and vertical curved strips of fabric. The nonobjective nature of the strips creates an undulating rhythm in the piece. The contrast of the varying values of reds, pinks, purples, grays, whites, blacks, and oranges enhance the sense of visual movement through short, flowing vibrations. These repetitions create a rhythm that is legato, or connecting and flowing. The colors of the pieces and the shapes simply allow for the feeling of movement without interruption in each square.

However, the grid, or framework for the overall design, of the quilt stops the flowing rhythm at each square and rotates them from horizontal to vertical to horizontal and so on. These abrupt changes with dynamic contrast are referred to as staccato. The continuity of movement in each square creates a movement that contrasts the stops and rotations of the square. This overall creates some aspect of difference or change among the similarities in the design.

All these elements create a work that is structured by the grid and similarities in shape and color, but compounded by the abrupt stops and direction changes. Although the piece details movement and flow of an undulating rhythm, it is outlined by stops and direction changes suggestive of shorter beats. This quilt rhythm may be representative of the glories and growths in sharecropping, but it also marks the downfalls and hardships. The song, or quilt design, suggests that these contrasting beats, or ideas, build upon one another and make the piece a true masterpiece. On another note, the quilt may serve as the actual land of sharecroppers as the grid detail mimics fields. The changes between each square may represent the season and harvesting differences of the same crop.

The exhibition pieces detail sharecroppers’ social interactions through quilt making. Likewise, the quilts portray the intricate nature of quilts and the resourcefulness of a society trying to survive. The modern quilts represent the desire to remember the traditions and ways of their society and ancestors. Just as sharecroppers worked on quilts to keep their families alive, modern artists work on quilts to keep the past alive.

Image above borrowed From: http://nelsongallery.ucdavis.edu/