- Hi, I'm Deanna Springer.
On behalf of Nancy Zieman Productions and PBS Wisconsin,
thank you for joining us
for this special educational presentation.
Please add your questions for the presenter in the chat
and stay tuned for a Q&A after the lecture.
Then be sure to explore everything else
The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show has to offer,
including beautiful quilt exhibits
and an interactive vendor mall.
Thank you, and enjoy.
[bright music]
- Hi, on behalf of Textile Center of Minnesota
and Women of Color Quilters Network,
I welcome you to our presentation,
Speaking Without Words: Activism Through Quilting.
My name is Karl Reichert,
and I'm the Executive Director of Textile Center,
a national center for fiber art based in Minneapolis.
In the week that followed the murder of George Floyd
on May 25th, 2020, right here in Minneapolis,
I reached out to Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi,
who's a member of Textile Center's
National Artist Advisory Council.
I was seeking her advice about how we could respond
to the issues of racism and police brutality
that put our city at the epicenter
of a nationwide protest movement.
She replied promptly with an email that read,
quote, "There should be a call to action.
"We need an exhibit.
"I would love to curate one for the Textile Center.
I'm ready to rumble, say yes," end quote.
And of course, we said, "Yes."
Who better to help guide us through these difficult times
than the amazing Carolyn Mazloomi,
who quilters across the nation and around the world know
through her work as the founder and champion
of Women of Color Quilters Network,
as well as an author, lecturer, curator,
national arts leader,
and a phenomenal quilter in her own right.
Within days, Carolyn had outlined the concept
for We Are the Story ,
a series of seven art quilt exhibitions that Textile Center
and Women of Color Quilters Network and Friends
would present here in Minneapolis
during the year that followed the murder of George Floyd.
Among those exhibitions were two juried shows
that would be open to all quilters, regardless of age,
color, national origin, citizenship status,
race, religion, creed, gender,
sexual orientation, and gender identity.
And within two months,
she received more than 430 submissions.
Her profound curatorial vision was a powerful call to action,
citing the final cry as George Floyd made to his mother
during the final moments of his life.
Carolyn wrote in the statement,
quote, "Mama, mama, no greater cry pierces the ears
"and penetrates the hearts of women
"in every corner of the world
"than a child's desperate cry for maternal help.
"Such a cry will cause a mother to instinctively rise up
"and unleash strength that appears humanly impossible.
"There's nothing more powerful
"to mobilize a collective of women
"than the cries of their children.
"Such cries serve to herald in a call to arms
for such a time as this," end quote.
Textile Center was proud to co-present We Are the Story
during this last year, and we were grateful
to our exhibition partners here in Minnesota.
They were the American Swedish Institute,
Weisman Art Museum, Lanesboro Arts,
and Minneapolis Institute of Art.
The exhibitions came together in an unprecedented timeline,
with the first exhibitions opening just three months
after they were conceived.
Addressing issues of racism and police brutality
was an urgent matter, and we also mounted these exhibitions
despite all the challenges we faced
during this COVID-19 pandemic.
The presentation of We Are the Story
was transformative for Textile Center.
It elevated our national profile
and we garnered major national press
that included The New York Times and The Boston Globe .
A condensed version of these exhibitions is now traveling,
and the quilts are currently on view
at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
in Cincinnati, and they run through September 24th, 2021.
Details about future exhibitions
will be posted on our website, textilecentermn.org.
Founded in 1994, Textile Center's mission
is to honor textile traditions,
promote excellence and innovation,
and inspire a widespread participation in fiber art.
We're located in the heart of the Twin Cities
of Minneapolis and St. Paul,
and we provide year-round fiber art education programs
for people of all ages
in all levels of expertise and knowledge in fiber art.
These programs take place in our art center,
around our community, and more and more are being presented
in digital formats online.
We have an artisan retail shop and a lending library
with more than 30,000 publications.
We invite you to visit us here when you're in Minneapolis.
I also want to mention that all the quilts you'll see
in Michelle's presentation today
are included in the new book by Carolyn Mazloomi
published in partnership with us at Textile Center
and Women of Color Quilters Network, and it's titled
We Are the Story: A Visual Response to Racism .
This book showcases the 122 quilts
and the corresponding artistic statements for those quilts,
and it's available for purchase on our website
at textilecentermn.org.
And now, let's talk about quilting.
It is my honor to introduce to you Michelle Flamer,
a self-taught quilter living in Philadelphia,
where she works as a full-time lawyer
for the city of Philadelphia.
Michelle is a member of the Women of Color Quilters Network,
and her quilts have been included in many exhibits
curated by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi,
including our own We Are the Story exhibitions.
Thank you, Michelle, for making time in your busy schedule
to share highlights of this important exhibition,
We Are the Story .
- Thank you, Karl, and thank you Textile Center
for having me today.
I'm very proud to be here as a representative
of the Women of Color Quilters Network.
I'm also especially pleased to have an opportunity
to present a few of these quilts
that were lovingly displayed by the Textile Center
during 2020 and part of 2021.
The quote that you're looking at on the screen
is by our founder of the network
and the curator of this incredible exhibition,
Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi.
"Art can speak things that can't always be said with words."
And that is precisely what these quilts will do.
They hopefully will touch your soul
and your conscience without words.
There were 119 quilts in this exhibition,
as Director Reichert just explained.
I'm showing a few of them today.
I've divided them into three sections:
grief, protest, and hope.
Let's begin with grief.
The world changed on May 25th, 2020,
thanks to Daniella Frazier,
who had the foresight and the courage
to tape the encounter
between George Floyd and Derek Chauvin on her iPhone,
we had a visual record of that tragic event.
As quilters, we respond to the visual.
These quilts in this first section
express the tremendous mourning and grief
that many of us felt, most of us actually felt,
particularly those of us who are mothers.
The first two quilts, Momma Momma,
Invocation , Tomasita Louviere-Ligons,
and Mama Floyd by Christina Johnson.
These quilts express George Floyd's dying last words,
"Mama, mama."
How touching.
How compelling to hear those words.
In Invocation , Tomasita's quilt,
you see the figure rising above,
the yellow figure with the outstretched arms.
Tomasita writes that George
was being received by his mother in that moment,
in that last dying moment.
The Mama Floyd quilt on your right by Christina Johnson
refers to this as a lynching.
Many in the African-American community and broader community
believe that these events
of killing unarmed Black men, women, and children
are a form of lynching.
These two quilts
represent a much more formal display of mourning.
For me, they are reminiscent of a program
that you might receive
if you were attending a memorial service,
particularly the one on the left,
A Mother's Lament by Janice Willis.
There, she shows there's lace, gloves, the flowers.
And then along the side of the quilt,
you have the names of some of the victims
of police shootings and police killings.
On the right-hand side, Mourning by Sauda Zahra,
Sauda uses very traditional symbols of mourning:
the black bunting, the flowers, the entire color palette.
But of course, she gives it a very contemporary spin
by having the "Police: Do Not Cross" signs.
And each disc on that quilt,
again, are the names of some of the victims
of police brutality.
Now, this exhibition was not simply
about the George Floyd incident.
There were broader concepts or ideas
about systemic racism in the United States.
And Ora Clay's quilt that you see, Massacre ,
that responds to the 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma race massacre.
During that period of time,
that Greenwood community in Tulsa, Oklahoma
was known as the Black Wall Street.
It was named that when Booker T. Washington made a visit
to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
There was an incident where a young Black man
was accused of touching inappropriately
a young white woman, and the young man was almost lynched.
He ended up surviving; he was taken to...
Actually, he was secured by the sheriffs.
But during that period of time, the whites in the town,
they looted the homes of the affluent Black community,
and they actually had firebombed the town with airplanes.
And Ora's quilt is very dramatic with the flames
and the structures that are on fire.
She really captures the terror
and the absolute horror that those residents
of Greenwood, Oklahoma experienced in 1921.
I Can't Breathe.
This is the quilt Breath by Peggie Hartwell.
Peggie portrays George Floyd living in vibrant color
on the left-hand side of her quilt.
And then on the right-hand side of the quilt,
you see his death.
And that is symbolized by these passion-dead limbs.
And it's a quite compelling quilt.
In fact, this quilt was chosen for the cover of the book
that Karl alluded to earlier in the presentation.
Many of the women,
particularly the women in the Quilters Network,
really wanted to give face
to some of the female victims of police brutality.
Quite often, the media neglect some of these incidents.
And many of us are familiar with the quilt,
probably the subject matter
of the quilt on the right, Sandra Bland.
And that quilt is simply entitled Sandra by Zoe Lautz.
But then the quilt on the left-hand side of the screen,
Charleena by Clara Nartey,
that portrays a woman that I really knew nothing about.
She had some kind of bipolar disorder.
She thought her home was being burglarized.
She called the police.
When they showed up, she had a knife in her hand
and they just commenced shooting.
They not only killed Charleena,
but they killed her unborn child.
So the five little paisley figures
that you see floating above Charleena's head
represent her four living children
and the one unborn child.
And this shows you how a quilt can inform you.
I knew nothing about this story.
And it's just a way of memorializing and bringing honor
to the memory of this mother of five children
who was unfortunately struck down in the prime of her life.
Enough is a quilt by Allyson Allen.
Allyson made this quilt.
It's part of a series that she did on racism, generally.
And she uses the pop art technique.
That was the inspiration for her quilt here.
It's a very powerful, it's a very powerful quilt.
"How many times can a man turn his head
and pretend he just doesn't see?"
That is a line from a Bob Dylan song.
And it's something that Jane Hill Stokes
has used in her quilt.
Now, what Jane has done here with this quilt
is she's taken the Kentucky graveyard quilt.
She's used that for her artistic starting point.
Many of you, as quilters, are probably familiar
with that iconic quilt.
She combined and actually used
some of her own personal artifacts:
a pair of blue jeans, a napkin, a tablecloth
to construct this quilt.
The flying geese in the middle
are intentionally going around in a circle.
The entire expression of this quilt,
it's an expression of frustration
and an expression of how people lack empathy
toward one another.
How many times can you see something
and allow it to continue and continue?
And all of these tombstones bear the names
of Black men, women, and children
who have been killed at the hand of the police.
These two quilts, Black Lives Matter by Viola Leak
and Enough is Enough: Stop the Killing
by Cynthia Lockhart, again, are expressions
in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
In Cynthia's quilt, Enough is Enough ,
the large eye is a representation of the eye
that watches over us through the centuries.
For 400 years, the eye has seen all of the injustice
that has been met upon Black people in this country.
And that's what Cynthia has done with her quilt.
She's used a lot of interesting fabrics,
including upholstery materials.
There's a lot of hand beading.
Again, the details in these quilts are really incredible
if you have the opportunity ever to see them in person.
This quilt, Murder , Ellen Blalock.
Her artistic inspiration for this quilt
is Pablo Picasso's Guernica .
And it is like warfare,
and she's used many of the expressions
from the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Hands up, don't shoot, murder, I can't breathe."
Again, it's another very compelling
and very powerful quilt
and something that conveys just the utter chaos
and confusion and almost the hopelessness
and helplessness that people feel.
I'll Fly Away by Susan Brubaker Knapp.
It's a very gentle, beautiful quilt.
Susan was inspired by the song,
or it's actually an old hymn called "I'll Fly Away."
There's also an allegory by Toni Morrison.
The idea of flying away
is the idea of flying away from injustice,
flying away from pain, from suffering.
It's very much like George Floyd's dying words, "Mama,"
he wanted return to his mother.
He wanted to leave.
And I've included a close-up, a detailed image
of Susan's quilt.
If you notice, there are very little letters
that she has stenciled on each of the birds.
The letters are representing the names
of all of those people.
And we're not just talking about those
who have been victims of police brutality,
but through the ages,
those who have been victims of terrorism and injustice.
And these names are not intended to be read literally,
but by combining the letters.
And the way she has stenciled this on each bird,
it just conveys the depth
and the amount, number of people through the ages.
Now, in this section, Protest, it speaks for itself.
These quilts are about those who went out and protest.
These quilts themselves are really a type of protest
of quilted or fabric protest.
You will see examples of anger and frustration
as well as actual organized protest.
This quilt by Carolyn Crump, Cracked Justice ,
really says it all.
I mean, Carolyn has been able
to just really capture the temperature
and the environment that America was in
in the summer of 2020.
In the middle of the quilt,
you see Black Lives Matter protesters.
And Carolyn wanted to make a point
that these protests marches now are multi-racial.
White young people are joining Black young people,
and they are all saying, "Stop the police brutality.
"No justice, no peace.
Hands up, don't shoot."
You will also notice that Carolyn captures the looting
that unfortunately went on.
She shows the police on the right-hand section of her quilt,
spraying the protesters with tear gas.
And then throughout the quilt, including the bottom,
Carolyn has very beautifully drawn portraits
of some of the victims of police brutality,
including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor.
And also, what's very interesting
about Carolyn's quilts,
she has pictures or sketches of additional faces
throughout the quilt.
So if you really study this quilt long enough,
you will see other images in the shadows of this quilt.
It is really a remarkable quilt.
Holly Cole was inspired to make this quilt
called Don't Shoot .
She encountered an elderly man walking down the street.
He had a mask on for COVID, and she was just struck
by the fact that the mass said "Don't shoot,"
which was like a Black Lives Matter expression.
And she likened this to double jeopardy.
So you had the pandemic of racism,
and you also had the COVID-19 pandemic.
And this image of this man
really summed up the feeling of 2020.
This quilt is by Betty Leacraft,
and it is the symbols that she draws
from the African diaspora.
These are symbols of protection.
So Betty took a slightly different approach to her quilt,
in that rather than showing an actual symbol of a protest,
she decided to show these are ways,
or this is my hope for the protection of my people.
Okay, Dancing in the Tear[s]/Gas by Eileen Doughty.
Eileen saw some news footage,
and I believe a newspaper photograph of a woman in,
I believe, Seattle, Washington, holding up an open umbrella.
She was part of a protest, and at that moment,
the police started spraying tear gas.
And as the woman ran away with the umbrella in her hand,
Eileen said she was struck by the woman's movement.
It looked as though she was actually dancing
among the tear gas.
And as you can see, you have that white spray of tear gas
in the middle of the quilt.
And the quilt obviously has a lot of movement in it
because you have the single figure of the woman
with the umbrella as she travels down
to the lower right-hand corner of the quilt.
I really like this quilt by Mary Vaneecke,
White Silence is Violence .
"White Silence is Violence" is a slogan
from the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mary presents it here so artfully
and in such stark simplicity,
which makes this statement all the more powerful.
Her straight line quilting,
the color palette, she's using white,
and then the digitized embroidery,
it's a very stunning quilt,
just because it is so simple and so direct in its message.
Here's my quilt, Black Lives Matter.
The title of the quilt is Dear White People .
I made this quilt as an imaginary letter
to some of the members of my church who were not happy
about having a Black Lives Matter sign
put in front of the church.
They questioned and said,
"Well, Michelle, don't all lives matter?"
And my response to that is,
"Well, Black people are two and a half times more likely
"to be killed as a result of a police encounter.
And life itself is an inalienable right."
And I'm from Philadelphia,
so we know our Declaration of Independence.
Each of these letters is crazy pieced and hand-embroidered.
I have included this detail image,
George Floyd with the cross, signifying his death.
It's very interesting.
It says 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
You might see that embroidered.
I think actually it's beaded.
At the time, when these quilts were made in June of 2020,
and that was before we had the entire
or the full forensic report.
So actually, George Floyd suffered
under Derek Chauvin's knees for over nine minutes.
I love this quilt, Bloody Sunday by Sharon Kerry-Harlan.
Sharon's quilt, and Sharon uses a screen printing technique,
her quilt actually is not about George Floyd,
it's about the 1965 march
across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
And that march was led by the late congressman, John Lewis.
The quilt is about voting.
It's about how sacred our voting rights are
and how fragile these rights are in our democracy,
and how we cannot have those rights abridged in any way.
So these images are a representation of our ancestors,
our Black ancestors who fought for us.
And that's why you have those Xs,
which show those who died
in defense of those human and civil rights.
Well, there's nothing more compelling
than the sight of a child.
And this child is saying, "Stop Killing Us."
Very strong quilt by Dorothy Burge.
This quilt brought to mind, for me,
the killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.
The little boy who was playing in the park with a toy gun
and police came and shot him to death.
And Dorothy made this quilt in solidarity
with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Penny Mateer made this quilt
in collaboration with Ms. Wasik.
What Penny's artistic orientation...
What she likes to do is take a traditional quilt block
and then combine it with usually something
from a newspaper or a magazine,
something provocative to make you think.
So she blends both the traditional
with the contemporary.
And this is part of her Protest series.
The men who are in the middle of this quilt
are protesting the firing of Colin Kaepernick by the NFL.
And they're raising their fist in solidarity
for boycott of NFL.
Tipping Point .
This is a quilt by Gwen Schagrin.
She's a Minneapolis artist.
I really wanted to include this in this presentation
because I'm sure she was touched very closely by the events
that gripped Minneapolis during the summer of 2020.
And it was indeed a tipping point of frustration
for most people in this country.
If you look at the bottom of the quilt,
there's a very thin blue line,
and that thin blue line represents the police
and police brutality.
This is a quilt by Edjohnetta Miller.
Edjohnetta speaks about experiencing racism
her entire life.
So she's included in her quilt
images or slogans from the Black Lives Matter movement.
"I can't breathe, don't shoot, hands up."
But in the center, if you can see, it's very small,
there is an image of the Statue of Liberty.
And again, this is a reflection of Edjohnetta's thoughts
about liberty and equality in her place
in the United States as a Black woman.
Edjohnetta very artfully
has improvisationally pieced this quilt.
It's beautiful.
Gloria Gammage, Hands Up , has done this.
This quilt is actually multi-dimensional.
It's comprised of found objects as well as fabric.
And she's actually sketched a few of the victims
of police brutality.
And finally, in this section,
this is a quilt by a Sylvia Hernández.
The quote from Malcolm X says it all.
"That's not a chip on my shoulder,
that's your foot on my neck."
Again, this quilt is improvisationally pieced
by Sylvia Hernández.
She's a very well-known Brooklyn area artist.
The images that you see were silk-screened
and produced by her son.
So Sylvia collaborated with her son on making this quilt.
This quilt was actually on loan
by director and screenwriter Spike Lee.
Spike Lee purchased this quilt from Sylvia,
along with a few of her other quilts.
And we were very grateful to have this
as part of the exhibit.
Well, I wanted to conclude this on an encouraging note.
So there were quilts in this exhibition
where we can derive hope,
whether they are examples of our resilience
or just our hopefulness as Americans.
This quilt, Justice by Dixie.
This quilt shows or actually represents women
who have been killed as a result of police brutality.
Each flower is a representation of a woman.
The soil actually are the police.
It reminds me of the Bible,
beating, you know, your weapons into plowshares.
She used a police uniform and actually deconstructed it
for the lower part of her quilt where the soil is.
But it's a hopefulness about this quilt
because out of destruction, out of death, out of hatred,
you have something beautiful like these flowers.
Everybody Gonna Shine by Rebecca Cynamon-Murphy.
This is a very unusual quilt.
The figure that you see there is Lizzo,
the award-winning singer-songwriter.
Rebecca saw a relationship between Lizzo and George Floyd
because they both chose Minneapolis to be their home.
And in the words of Lizzo and of some of her songs,
"Everyone should shine, everyone should have breath,
"everyone should have an opportunity to sing,
to enjoy the sun."
And so you see the light bulbs on the other side.
And there's a lot of movement and joyfulness
about this quilt.
So unfortunately, while breath and light
were now denied to George Floyd, the rest of us live on,
and we have to fight
for the continuation of those liberties.
This is a quilt by Beverly Kirk, The Sipuel Legacy .
Beverly uses her family history.
There was a 1948 U.S. Supreme Court case
which allowed one of her relatives
to actually attend the University of Oklahoma.
It was a lawsuit, and they prevailed.
They were not permitted to attend the school
because of segregation laws.
Beverly used this quilt as an expression,
not only of the pride that she has in her family,
but I like it because it represents our history.
And we're living at a time now when history is under attack.
And again, this is a quilt that is quite encouraging
and forward-looking.
This quilt by Gwendolyn Aqui-Brooks,
Black Lives Matter.
Again, the hopefulness here
is that in the central figure of the female,
you will see, on the upper left-hand side of the quilt,
there's a little gold kind of a yellow disc,
and that represents the sun rising
over this woman who is protesting.
It Is History by Deanna Tyson.
Deanna is a British artist who submitted a quilt
for this exhibition.
And the quote at the top of her quilt says
"The toppling of statues is not an attack on history,
it is history."
And this is a really fanciful quilt.
Deanna imagines a meeting between President Barack Obama
and Frederick Douglass
while President Abraham Lincoln is presiding.
And both President Obama and Frederick Douglass
are toppling statues
that represent symbols of white supremacy.
I included this in the hopeful section,
this quilt by O Jean Thomas Richmond.
She's an 80-year-old grandmother,
and she has hope that we will one day live in peace
with one another.
She is a Black woman, but she has a multicultural family.
And she, at 80 years old, remains hopeful.
And the very last quilt by L'Merchie Frazier.
This is a stunning quilt.
There is a tension here between the innocence of this child
and the target below the child.
And L'Merchie writes
that there are two ways of interpreting this.
>> HI.
I'M DEANNA SPRINGER AND THANK
YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE GREAT
WISCONSIN QUILT SHOW.
AND THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN FOR
"SPEAKING WITHOUT WORDS:
ACTIVISM THROUGH QUILTING" WITH
MICHELLE FLAMER AND KARL
REICHERT.
AND WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE KARL AND
MICHELLE HERE TODAY.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU BOTH.
>> OH, IT'S WONDERFUL TO BE
HERE, DEANNA.
THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR
JOINING US.
WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM THE Q&A
AND LIVE CHAT AND COMMENTS.
LOTS OF PEOPLE BEING INSPIRED
TODAY.
I'LL SHARE SOME OF THOSE WITH
YOU NOW.
WE HAVE A COMMENT FROM MARIANNE
IN MONONA.
HER COMMENT IS THANK YOU FOR
THIS MOVING AND BEAUTIFUL
PRESENTATION.
ANOTHER COMMENT FROM MARIANNE --
FROM JO, EXCUSE ME.
ARE THE QUILTS YOU ARE
DESCRIBING PART OF A HISTORICAL
TRADITION OF QUILTING ACTIVISM
WITHIN THE BLACK COMMUNITY?
>> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD
QUESTION.
I MEAN, THESE ARE OBVIOUSLY ART
QUILTS, SO THEY WERE NOT MADE
FOR UTILITARIAN PURPOSES AS IN
TRADITIONAL QUILTING.
MANY OF YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH
THE FREEDOM QUILTING BEE IN THE
1960s, AN OUTREACH OF THE
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT LED BY
DR. MARTIN LUTHER MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
SO YEAH.
IN A WAY I WOULD SAY THIS IS
DEFINITELY A CONTINUATION OF
THAT TYPE OF ACTIVISM THROUGH
QUILTING.
IT'S JUST IN A VERY DIFFERENT
WAY.
YOU KNOW, NOW WE'RE USING A
NEEDLE, THREAD AND
COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGES TO
PRODUCE OUR QUILTS.
SO IT'S ADVANCED IN THAT REGARD.
BUT THE HEART AND THE SOUL OF IT
IS STILL STEEPED IN REDRESSING
INJUSTICES.
>> AGREED.
AND A COMMENT ON YOUTUBE FROM A
VIEWER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
I FIND THIS VERY POWERFUL, VERY
POWERFUL APPROACH TO GETTING A
MESSAGE ACROSS.
>> THAT'S WONDERFUL TO HEAR.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT WAS MENTIONED
IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT THE
QUILT, DEANNA, THAT SHOWED THE
TOPPLING OF THE ICONS OF
INJUSTICE OR WHITE SUPREMACY,
THAT WAS ACTUALLY DONE BY A
BRITISH QUILTER.
>> AMAZING.
AND, KARL, WE HAVE QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE BOOK.
WHERE CAN WE FIND THE BOOK?
>> WELL, THE BOOK IS AVAILABLE
THROUGH OUR WEBSITE.
AND YOU'LL FIND A LINK RIGHT ON
OUR HOMEPAGE.
AND IT IS PRICED AT $43.21 PLUS
SHIPPING.
AND SO IF YOU PLACE AN ORDER, WE
WILL GET IT RIGHT OUT TO YOU.
>> AND THE BOOK INCLUDES OVER
100 QUILTS IN FULL COLOR,
BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY, WITH THE
TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS AND THE
QUILT MAKER'S NAMES.
>> AND THE PHOTOGRAPHY WAS
ACTUALLY DONE BY THE CURATOR,
CAROL.
WE PUT THIS TOGETHER ON A VERY
TIGHT TIME LINE.
MY HUSBAND AND I WERE DRIVING
DOWN TO CINCINNATI TO PICK UP
THE QUILTS A YEAR AGO AND SHE
PHOTOGRAPHED ALL THE QUILTS
WITHIN A WEEKEND.
THE BOOK IS DESIGNED BY CAROLYN
CRUMP, ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE
QUILTERS OF COLOR.
SHE DID A BEAUTIFUL JOB IN
DESIGNING THIS GROUP.
>> WE'RE SO GRATEFUL FOR BOTH
CAROLYNS AND THAT YOU'RE BOTH
HERE REPRESENTING THEIR WORK.
WE'RE SO PLEASED YOU COULD BE
HERE.
ANOTHER QUESTION.
WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE MOST
POWERFUL KINDS OF FEEDBACK YOU
HAVE RECEIVED ABOUT THE EXHIBIT?
>> WELL, THE FEEDBACK HAS JUST
BEEN REMARKABLY -- I MEAN, IT'S
VERY PERSONAL.
I THINK EVERYONE TAKES AWAY --
WHEN THEY VIEW THESE EXHIBITS,
THEY HAVE A VERY PERSONAL
REACTION.
GIVEN THESE WERE PRESENTED
DURING A PANDEMIC IT WAS LIMITED
TO HOW MANY PEOPLE COULD VIEW AT
ONE TIME.
I WAS MOVED BY SMALL FAMILY
UNITS WHO HAD GATHERED TOGETHER
SPEAKING SOFTLY AS THEY WERE
LOOKING AT EACH OF THE QUILTS.
AND THE FEEDBACK HERE IN
MINNEAPOLIS HAS BEEN VERY
SPORTDTIVE.
SUPPORTIVE.
THESE EXHIBITIONS HAVE PROVIDED
HEALING SINCE THAT TERRIBLE DAY
WHEN GEORGE FLOYD WAS MURDERED.
>> QUILTING IS VERY HEALING AS A
WAY TO EXPRESS OURSELVES.
THESE QUILTS ARE STUNNING,
COMPELLING AND HEART-BREAKING.
MICHELLE'S EXPLANATIONS ENHANCE
THE EXPERIENCE.
GREAT JOB, MICHELLE.
WHAT MAKES QUILTING A COMPELLING
ART FORM TO CONVEY THESE
CHALLENGING THEMES, MICHELLE?
>> OH, THAT'S A HUGE QUESTION.
I'M NOT SURE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE SAID -- AND
EVERYONE'S HEARD THIS BEFORE.
WHEN YOU HAVE A QUILT, YOU'RE
BORN LIKE UNDER FABRIC OR YOU'RE
COVERED WITH FABRIC, FIRST
EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE AS AN IN
FANTD.
INFANT.
YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER IT, BUT IT
IS.
AND THEN WHEN YOU DIE, SOMEBODY
COVERS YOU UP BEFORE YOU'RE
BURIED OR CREMATED.
SO I THINK WE HAVE THIS
RELATIONSHIP WITH FABRIC, WITH
THE TEXTILE.
IT'S ANCIENT.
AND IT'S A VERY -- IT'S A
VISCERAL EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU'RE
HANDLING TEXTILES.
AND I DON'T KNOW.
FABRIC IS SO MALLEABLE.
YOU CAN TELL STORIES WITH IT AND
IT JUST SPEAKS TO THE SOUL.
>> IT SURE DOES.
IT SURE DOES.
AND A QUESTION FOR BOTH OF YOU
FROM A VIEWER IN THE LIVE CHAT.
DO EITHER OF YOU HAVE A FAVORITE
QUILT WITHIN THE EXHIBIT ?
>> THAT'S LIKE ASKING WHO'S YOUR
FAVORITE CHILD, YOU KNOW?
I THINK THE QUILTS ARE SO
VARIED.
EACH ONE SPEAKS SO UNIQUELY.
I WAS JUST IMPRESSED BY THE
VARIETY OF WAYS THAT ARTISTS
EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND USE
TECHNIQUES.
I DON'T KNOW.
MICHELLE, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT
IT?
>> NO.
I AGREE WITH YOU.
THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT
TECHNIQUES.
THE ONE THAT WE SHOWED FROM THE
WOMAN WHO'S 80 YEARS OLD, SHE
USES -- IT'S ALMOST LIKE A RUG
THE WAY SHE DID THE PIECES OF
FABRIC.
AND IT'S ALMOST -- IT'S VERY
DIMENSIONAL.
THEN YOU HAVE THE MOVEMENT AND
ENERGY OF CAROLYN CRUMP'S QUILT,
SHOWING THE PROTESTING, THE
LOOTING, THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE
BEEN MURDERED.
AND THEN YOU HAVE MUCH MORE
IMPROVISATIONAL QUILTS AND
TRADITIONAL QUILTS.
MY QUILT IS MORE TRADITIONAL IN
THAT IT'S CRAZY PIECE.
SO YEAH.
NO.
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE A
FAVORITE BECAUSE THEY ALL HAVE A
VERY DIFFERENT METHOD OF
WORKMANSHIP AND THEN ALSO JUST
METHOD OF EXPRESSION.
>> GREAT ANSWERS.
AND ANOTHER QUESTION FROM THE
CHAT.
THEY'RE WANTING TO KNOW, DO YOU
BOTH QUILT AND HOW DID YOU GET
STARTED IN QUILTING?
>> KARL, DO YOU QUILT YET?
>> I DON'T QUILT YET.
NOT YET.
AS MICHELLE REMINDS ME, YOU WILL
QUILT SOMEDAY.
AND I KNOW I WILL.
I'M SURROUNDED BY SO MANY
WONDERFUL QUILTERS HERE AT THE
TEXTILE CENTER, AND I LOVE
EVERYTHING FROM THE CONTEMPORARY
QUILTERS TO THE TRADITIONAL.
I THINK IT'S JUST A MARVELOUS
ART FORM.
I TEND TO BE MORE OF A KNITER
AND WEAVER, BUT QUILTING WILL BE
IN MY FUTURE.
>> MICHELLE, HOW DID YOU GET
STARTED?
>> I PROBABLY MADE MY FIRST
QUILT WHEN I WAS ABOUT SIX --
NO.
I'M THINKING 19 YEARS OLD WHEN
MY FIRST NEPHEW WAS BORN.
I WAS GIFTED WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL
BERNINA WHEN I WAS 16 YEARS OLD.
I WAS GOING TO TRY TO LEARN HOW
TO MAKE GARMENTS AND I WAS A
MISERABLE FAILURE AT THAT.
I STARTED WORKING ON A QUILT AND
PUT IT AWAY FOR A NUMBER OF
YEARS AND KIND OF PICKED IT BACK
UP IN MY MIDDLE YEARS AND I
HAVEN'T LOOKED BACK.
I REALLY ENJOY IT.
MY FIRST LOVE IS EMBROIDERY.
YOU HAVE THESE HOBBIES THAT KIND
OF LEAD INTO OTHER THINGS AND
YOU CAN ALSO APPLY WEAVING IN A
SENSE TO QUILTING AND KNITTING.
IT'S JUST ALL KIND OF
INTERRELATED.
SO FOR ME MY FIRST LOVE
CONTINUES TO BE EMBROIDERY AND I
APPLY THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
IN THE QUILTING.
>> AND IT SHOWS WITH YOUR CRAZY
QUILTS, MICHELLE.
YOU CAN SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL
STITCHES WITH YOUR PATCHWORK.
THEY'RE JUST GORGEOUS AND WORK
WELL TOGETHER.
MORE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
COMING IN.
A COMMENT FROM LEE.
THANKS FOR THE INSIGHTS ON THE
QUILT CONSTRUCTION.
SO MUCH PAIN AND HOPE.
AND A QUESTION.
ARE THERE FUTURE PLANS FOR THIS
EXHIBIT TO TRAVEL?
KATIE H. IS IN ST. LOUIS AND
THINKS MANY IN THE CITY WOULD
LOVE TO EXPERIENCE THESE QUILTS
IN PERSON.
>> YOU KNOW, WE HAD HOPED THAT
WE COULD REALLY ARRANGE A
NATIONAL TOUR.
AND IT'S REALLY TOUGH TO GET
THAT PUT TOGETHER WITH A VERY
GRASSROOTS EFFORT.
IT'S RIGHT NOW AS WE'RE
RECORDING THIS, IT'S IN
CINCINNATI AT THE NATIONAL
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM
CENTER.
I THINK THAT WILL BE ABOUT ALL
FOR TOURING AT THE MOMENT.
IF THERE IS A SPECIAL
EXHIBITION, I'M SURE I'M CURATOR
WILL REACH OUT TO ARTISTS AND
ASK THEM TO PARTICIPATE AGAIN.
BUT IT IS RECORDED IN VIRTUAL
EXHIBITIONS ON TEXTILE CENTER'S
WEBSITE AND THEY'LL BE UP
INDEFINITELY AS WELL AS THE
BOOK.
SO I THINK THIS IS A
PRESENTATION THAT'S VERY MUCH IN
THIS MOMENT, BUT IT TAKES A LOT
OF WORK TO TOUR A QUILT SHOW.
>> WE SO APPRECIATE CAROLYN'S
WORK WITH IT AND ALL OF YOUR
WORK, TOO, BOTH OF YOU.
MORE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
COMING IN.
THIS IS SO REFRESHING.
I'M SO GLAD TO SEE QUILTS THAT
HAVE CRITICAL MESSAGES TO SHARE
WITH THE WORLD.
YOUR EXHIBITS INSPIRE ME.
THANK YOU FOR GIVING US MORE
BACKGROUND ABOUT THE QUILTS.
AND THAT'S FROM JANE.
AND DIANE IS SAYING THIS
PRESENTATION IS OUTSTANDING.
IS THERE A WAY I COULD USE IT
FOR MY CHURCH GROUP?
>> YEAH.
I THINK THAT WE WANTED THIS
SHOULD BE SHARED OPENLY, AND SO
WE HOPE THAT PEOPLE WOULD USE
THESE PRESENTATIONS.
WE ALSO HAVE OTHER VIDEOS OF
CONVERSATIONS, IN FACT ONE THAT
MICHELLE LED WITH QUILTER SYLVIA
HERNANDEZ IN BROOKLYN BACK I
THINK IT WAS IN FEBRUARY.
AND ALL OF THOSE ARE ON OUR
ARCHIVES AT TEXTILE CENTER
MM.ORG FORWARD SLASH WE ARE THE
STORY, THERE ARE LINKS TO ALL
THOSE VIDEOS AND YOU ARE WELCOME
TO USE ANY OF THOSE IN YOUR
COMMUNITY GROUPS.
WE WANT TO CONTINUE THIS
CONVERSATION.
>> AGREED.
ANOTHER COMMENT OR QUESTION.
THESE QUILTS SAY MORE THAN ANY
SPEAKER OTHER ARTICLE.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND
QUESTIONS TODAY.
AND ANOTHER QUESTION.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE VIEWERS TAKE
AWAY FROM THIS EXHIBIT ?
>> WELL, FOR MYSELF, I JUST HOPE
THAT THEY WILL OPEN THEIR HEARTS
TO THE MESSAGES IN EACH QUILT.
I THINK ONE OF THE MOST TERRIBLE
THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN TO A
NATION REALLY IS THE LACK OF
EMPATHY.
AND YOU DO HAVE TO HAVE SOME
CONCERN FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHEN
YOU LOOK AT THESE QUILTS.
I THINK THEY INSPIRE THAT.
AND SO FOR ME THAT WOULD BE THE
BIGGEST TAKE-AWAY, JUST TO HAVE
EMPATHY, TO UNDERSTAND THIS
INJUSTICE THAT OCCURS AND JUST
TO BE AWARE OF IT AND DO WHAT
YOU CAN TO CHANGE THE FUTURE IN
YOUR OWN COMMUNITY AND EVEN IN
YOUR OWN FAMILY AND YOUR CHURCH.
>> AND I THINK I WOULD ADD THAT
AS ARTISTS, YOU CAN SPEAK
POWERFULLY THROUGH YOUR ART.
AND I THINK WE WOULD LIKE THIS
TO BE A MOTIVATION FOR PEOPLE TO
REALLY THINK ABOUT HOW CAN I USE
MY ART TO REALLY EXPRESS HOW I'M
FEELING ABOUT INJUSTICES IN THE
WORLD OR, YOU KNOW, IT CAN BE
FROM THE VERY -- THE TRAGIC, THE
CHALLENGING, YOU KNOW,
PROVOCATIVE ISSUES TO THE GOOD
NEWS OF FEELING THAT THINGS --
YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S REALLY
POSITIVE CHANGE, ALSO, TO
CELEBRATE.
SO I THINK ART SPEAKS AND IT'S
REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ARTISTS TO
NOT HOLD BACK AND TO LET THEIR
VOICES BE HEARD AND IT DOESN'T
HAVE TO BE THROUGH WORDS.
IT CAN BE THROUGH THE IMAGES YOU
CREATE.
>> WELL SAID TO YOU BOTH.
MICHELLE, KEEP ON QUILTING.
KEEP ON SHARING YOUR QUILTS WITH
US.
KARL, KEEP CURATING AND SHARING
THE EXHIBITS WITH US.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO
CONNECTING WITH YOU BOTH IN THE
FUTURE.
KARL, PLEASE LET US KNOW AGAIN
HOW WE CAN CONNECT WITH YOU
THROUGH THE WEB.
>> SO TEXTILE CENTER MN.ORG.
YOU CAN FIND EVERYTHING ON OUR
HOMEPAGE.
AND "WE ARE THE STORY," YOU CAN
PUT THAT INTO OUR SEARCH AND
YOU'LL FIND ALL THE INFORMATION
THERE.
>> AND, MICHELLE, HOW CAN WE
CONNECT WITH YOU?
>> I DON'T HAVE A WEB PAGE OR A
WEBSITE.
I'M NOT SURE.
>> I KNOW YOU'RE A FACEBOOK.
>> I AM.
I'M ON FACEBOOK.
THERE WE GO.
I'M A FACEBOOK.
I'M A LITTLE DIGITALLY LIMITED.
BUT YES.
>> GREAT.
WE'LL FIND YOU ON FACEBOOK.
GO AHEAD.
>> MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS ON OUR
WEBSITE.
IF YOU WANT TO GET AHOLD OF
MICHELLE, YOU CAN EMAIL ME AND
I'LL BE HAPPY TO PASS ON YOUR
MESSAGES TO MICHELLE.
>> AND I'D BE VERY HAPPY TO
COMMUNICATE WITH ANYONE OUT
THERE.
I LOVE COMMUNICATION.
THANK YOU.
>> IT'S GREAT COMMUNICATING WITH
YOU BOTH TODAY AND THANK YOU FOR
SHARING YOUR TIME WITH US TODAY.
AND I SO APPRECIATE YOU BEING
HERE.
THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU.
>> AND THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR
TUNING IN TO THE GREAT WISCONSIN
QUILT SHOW AND EXPLORING
EVERYTHING WE HAVE TO OFFER AT
quiltshow.com, INCLUDING THE
BEAUTIFUL EXHIBITS.
PLEASE GO EXPLORE AND ENJOY.
THANK YOU.
- Deanna Springer: Thanks again for joining us.
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