Fabric of Life: African Textiles and Quilts from the American South
Birmingham, AL—The Birmingham Museum of Art presents Fabric of Life: African Textiles and Quilts from the American South, on view December 14, 2008 – March 8, 2009. This exhibition compares the cultural roles of these textiles, studies what is known about the artists who made them, and celebrates visual affinities and traces of influence across the Atlantic.
On view through March 1 in a companion exhibition are objects based on the design of West African Kente cloth. These treasured objects are on loan from Birmingham families.
“The Museum is fortunate to have a truly outstanding collection of Alabama-made quilts and textiles from Africa, which enables us to present this exciting pairing of the two,” says Gail Andrews, Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art. “We are very pleased to offer this opportunity to see exceptional objects that, because of their sensitivity to light, are rarely on view.”
Textiles' Common Language
African textiles are known for their brilliant color and masterful, inventive sense of design. Whether made according to tradition from hand-spun cotton or wool, or produced in modern industrial African textile mills, fabric has long been central to African society. Fabric colors, patterns, and designs are frequently encoded with meaning, and serve as markers of ethnic and personal identity, as well as status, wealth, and achievement. Textiles are given as gifts, used as currency, commissioned to mark great occasions, fashioned into clothing, household linens, carpets, and used in important initiation and funerary rituals. The skills involved in the traditional production of textiles—spinning, weaving, dying, knotting, and stitching—are occupational secrets, sometimes traced to ancient myths about the beginnings of humanity itself.
"African textiles are layered with so much information," says Emily Hanna, Curator of the Art of Africa and the Americas. "The colors, patterns, and symbols all speak to the rich cultural traditions in which the fabrics were produced. That these textile traditions have survived is a testament to the continuing importance of visual culture in Africa."
Across the Atlantic in the American South, quilts are as deeply rooted in regional culture, and as beautifully expressive and creative in their craft and design. Whether stitched from scraps of old work clothes, or featuring patterns and motifs handed down for generations, quilts communicate volumes about the communities in which they were produced. Quilting in this country is a blended tradition, enfolding techniques and aesthetics from America’s African ancestors along with its Anglo-European ones. The Middle Passage brought hundreds of thousands of Africans and their descendants to the South and with the people came their memories of color, design, shape, and pattern. Because the identities of quilt makers are so often unknown, we are left to search for the visual traces of African influence in this great American art form.
The quilts in this exhibition are drawn entirely from the Museum’s collection of more than 300 Alabama-made quilts, a generous gift from Robert and Helen Cargo.
Fabric of Life and Kente in the Community are generously supported by the Wachovia Foundation. Fabric of Life also is generously supported by The Birmingham News. General exhibition support is provided by the City of Birmingham and the Alabama State Council on the Arts, with assistance from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Kente in the Community
This companion exhibition to Fabric of Life features treasured objects borrowed from Birmingham families that are made from Kente cloth or bear the Kente design. Kente cloth is a woven fabric from Ghana, West Africa. Traditionally worn by royalty, it has become for many in the African Diaspora a symbol for pride in African heritage. Made of strips of brilliant gold with colorful interwoven patterns, Kente is instantly recognizable, and its designs and motifs are now found on clothing, hats, graduation sashes, dolls, jewelry, books, and other objects.
Please add to your Calendars:
December 14, 2008 - March 8, 2009
Fabric of Life: African Textiles and Quilts from the American South
Discover the beautiful, expressive designs shared by African textiles and Alabama-made quilts. This exhibition compares the cultural roles of these works, examines the artists who made them, and celebrates African influences on a great American art form. Rarely on view, the objects in Fabric of Life are drawn primarily from the Museum's superb collection of Alabama quilts and African textiles.
Kente in the Community (closing March 1, 2009)
This companion exhibition of objects based on the design of West African Kente cloth features treasures on loan from Birmingham families.
Related Programs
Thursday, February 5, 10:30am
Art & Conversation
$5 Museum members; $10 non-members
Birmingham Museum of Art Director Gail Andrews and Curator of African Art Emily Hanna lead a discussion of the works in the galleries of the exhibition Fabric of Life: African Textiles and Southern Quilts (December 14, 2008-March 1, 2009).
Sunday, February 8, 2pm
Annual Friend Lecture: To Be Heard and Be Seen: 20th-Century Ewe Textiles
Nii Quarcoopome, PhD, Curator of African Art, Detroit Institute of Art
Kente cloth is made by several groups in West Africa. The most recognized kente is made by the Asante people of Ghana and is worn by those who govern, such as kings and chiefs. Among the Ewe people, who are neighbors of the Asante, kente is an expression of a person’s individuality, wealth, and status rather than leadership position. Quarcoopome will discuss design, technique, and meaning in traditional Ewe kente textiles.
February 21, 2008, Noon-5 pm
Fanciful Fabric of Life Family Day
Enjoy art activities, drumming and dance performances, storytelling and a family-style discussion of Kente cloth. We invite you and your family to share and create with us!
Sunday, February 1, 11am-4pm
Celebration of diverse cultures and spiritual connections in the Museum’s galleries.
11am-2pm: Jazz Brunch in the Terrace Café (Reservations at 205.254.2775).
2pm: Sunday Topic Tour: Sacred Treasures in the Kress Galleries
3pm: Performance by Avondale Church of Christ Gospel Choir (winner of the 16th Street Baptist Church choir competition)
3:30pm: Curator-led tours of the African and Folk Art galleries
4pm: Refreshments served in the Main Lobby
Birmingham Museum of Art
Founded in 1951, the Birmingham Museum of Art today has one of the finest collections in the Southeast. Its collection of more than 25,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts represents a rich panorama of cultures, including African, American, Asian, European, Pre-Columbian, and Native American. Among other highlights, the Museum’s collection of Asian art is considered the finest and most comprehensive in the Southeast, and its collection of Vietnamese ceramics one of the finest in the world. The Museum also is home to a remarkable Kress collection of Renaissance and Baroque paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts from the late 13th century to c.1750, and its 18th-century European decorative arts includes superior examples of English ceramics and French furniture.
The Birmingham Museum of Art is located in the heart of the City’s cultural district. Erected in 1959, the present building was designed by architects Warren, Knight and Davis of Birmingham, with a major renovation and expansion by Edward Larrabee Barnes of New York completed in 1993. The facility encompasses 180,000 square feet, including a splendid outdoor sculpture garden.
ADMISSION to Fabric of Life, Kente in the Community, and the Museum’s permanent collection is FREE.
MUSEUM HOURS:
Tues—Sat, 10 am to 5 pm; Sun Noon—5 pm; closed major holidays
Go to www.artsbma.org or call 205.254.2565.
|
