DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

(R)EVOLUTION OF THE AMERICAN (DIGITAL) QUILT

 

Traditional quilting can be defined as 2 or more layers of fabric stitched together to create a decorative pattern. Patchwork quilting can be defined as sewing different patches of materials together. I believe these definitions can also work in the non-traditional realm of digital quilts. Instead of stitching different pieces of fabric together, digital quilts stitch different electronic content together: photography, sound, animation, text, etc. Each of the contributed patches may also contain more than one layer of “fabric” or meaning.

 

 

Example of whole cloth quilting

by the Region of York Quilters Guild

 

Image courtesy of

http://runningfreeonwildershores.
blogspot.com/2010_04_21_archive.html

Example of patchwork quilting

 

Image courtesy of

http://pinsandthimbles.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/how-to-make-a-vintage-sheet-quilt/

 

 

The digital quilt can also be viewed as a database of a collection of diverse ideas (and participants), an archive of a contemporary form of collaboration, and a digital curation of a participatory art form. This could be interpreted as a digital museum, which combines the folk arts with the digital arts.

 

Examples of quilting can be found in many cultures. The first known quilted object is a quilted linen carpet1, which was found in Asia and is dated before the first century C.E. There is also evidence of quilting in Europe as early as the dark. By the early 19th century, quilting in America was an established folk art.

 

The American patchwork quilt has gone through many changes and continues to evolve. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the quilt was once a necessity for warmth and economy, a historical record in the form of a family heirloom and an opportunity for creative social gatherings. In 20th century America, the patchwork quilt had become an art object and a collector’s item.

 

Quilts had always straddled between the fields of craft and art, but once the quilt moved into the fine arts museums, the level of group participation had changed greatly.  One could argue that the gaze of the viewer upon the quilt/art object could be considered a lower level of participation. The level of participation could increase if the viewer ventured further to learn more about the quilt. But the participation I am questioning is the relational connection when creating a quilt with others. Although the shift in quilting as an art object was an amazing chance for quilts to be seen for their beauty and craftsmanship, I wonder if this shift changed the collaborative nature of quilting; the gathering of people to work together to create.

 

Not only was the collaborative act of creating quilts in question, the artistic quilt was pushing the boundaries as a fiber art form. There were criticisms of quilts being created by fiber artists not upholding to the traditional craft, being removed from the historical context, and the infusion of gender differences in quilts, to name a few. There are, however, many fiber artists that do take into account the traditions of conventional quilt making: for example, Faith Ringgold. Her story quilts are beautiful examples of combining folk art with fine art.

 


In 1971 The Whitney Museum of American Art had a successful exhibition of Amish quilts. Then, in 2002 the Whitney had another quilt exhibition, “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” 2. These quilts were collaborative works on display and were created for the purpose of function, but were shown as objects of art. It seems as the audience grew, the emphasis on relationships and connection decreased in quilt making.


Gee’s Bend Quilt

Jessie T. Pettway

Image courtesy of

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/explore/catalog/index.htm



Amanda Sikarskie’s essay “Quiltmakers in the Digital Age” (2011) introduces the term3 fiberspace as a place where the traditional practices of quilt making intertwines with the online world. Fiberspace is a place of contact for quilters via websites, blogs, eNewsletters, social media outlets, archives of patterns and techniques, and the academic resource for quilting called Quit Index, to name just a few points of contact4. The social networking possibilities could be viewed as a type of quilting bee. The access to information and the archives to be shared creates not only a community, but an informed and community. I see the fiberspace as the potential of moving toward a more collaborative art form and aesthetic utilizing digital media and traditional crafting.

 

Why Digital Quilts? Although the digital quilt does not offer the tactile warmth of a traditional quilt, it appears that it can give comfort! There is an app on “The Quilt Index” website which one app user found comfort looking at the quilts when at the dentist. Since it is frowned upon to take your “blankie” with you wherever you go, you can take your digital quilt with you via a mobile app with no raised eyebrows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of

http://www.quiltindex.org/galleries.php



 

Along with the access to data and the space to connect with other quilters, the digital realm can be a platform to create a quilt through participation. The potential to reach an expanded and diverse group to create is very exciting. I sent an email to classmates, colleagues and friends to see if they could contribute a piece or a patch for our collaborative digital quilt. The contributions could be anything that could be sent to me electronically, such as a digital photo, audio, animation and text. The only creative directive was the word “GREEN,” which could be taken as literal or figurative as the participant wanted. The contributions were many and varied. The stories behind each submitted piece just added to the many layers of the digital quilt. Many contributors were excited to create something so “crafty” since they did not consider themselves as quilters or artists. Other contributors wanted to be know more about the quilt and where they could see the finished project.

 

 

 For Vimeo, click here.     For YouTube, click here.

 

I hope to make the digital quilt even more interactive and participatory. I would like to enable each patch of the quilt moveable so the viewer can make design decisions and create their own customize quilt. I also envision that each patch would be “clickable” to let the viewer link and “feel” the many layers and stories of the patch and the artist. The creation of the digital quilt is also an evolution of my own art making. I have always been interested in inviting the audience into my art. I have made consistent moves towards greater participation with the viewer.

 

 

The digital quilt might be viewed as visually interesting, but what is even more interesting are the diverse contributors, pieces and stories that were stitched together to make a unified quilt. Fine arts may compel the viewer to engage in the act of looking; the digital quilt can engage the viewer to participate with readily available contribution and contact information. Digital quilts are not created to ignore the important and rich folk art tradition of quilting. It is to increase interest in the folkloric history, the act of collaboration and the importance of creativity in our lives. The digital quilt is one more step in the (r)evolution of this once quiet and visual record.

 

  1. http://www.quilthistory.com/quilting.htm
  2. Fiber Arts, March- April, 2003 http://www.fiberarts.com/article_archive/reviews/group/quiltsofgeesbend.asp
  3. Sikarskie, Amanda G. "Introduction to the Special Issue, “Quiltmakers in the Digital Age” New Directions in Folklore 9 (2011).
  4. The Quilt Index, http://www.quiltindex.org/



DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.