Musical Scales

Made of old dresses, blue jeans, and bed sheets the African American Quilts on display at The Richard Nelson Art Gallery are beautiful artworks dating from the 1800s to present. Through repetition, color, contrast, and variety the quilts displayed at the gallery each have their own unique rhythm. The quilts offer many stories, and hold emotions that span time. Using rhythm and repetition, the patterns created by the different materials used give a rare feel to each quilt, making it impossible to absorb what the entire exhibition has to offer.

Piano Keys, created in 2009, is made entirely out of hand-dyed cotton corduroy. Due to the use of color and vertical shapes this piece has a sense of cascading movement. The jumping colors create a rhythmic pattern that reminds one of the ups and downs of a musical scale. The cool colors cascade downward as the warm colors rise up to crash in the middle in an explosion of reds.

The constant change in scale and the progressive rhythm of this quilt keep your eyes moving, always jumping from one color to the next. The unpredictable pattern of vertical lines gives energy and life to the quilt allowing its creator to tell a story of excitement and passion.

Each quilt tells its own unique story. Some are tranquil and safe carrying with them the sense of history, while others use eye-catching colors to create bold rhythms and tell new stories. The connection between the past and the present is represented through the use of recycled materials, and these materials bring a particular presence to the quilts, as if the materials were telling a story all by themselves.

Image: Piano Keys, 2009; 108" x 77", Hand-dyed Cotton Corduroy, Cotton Batting, Hand-dyed Muslin Backing.