|
|
|
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
April 30, 2009
|
|
|
Contact: Amy E. Milne, Executive Director
|
|
|
|
Quiltmakers Inspired
by President Obama Documented
|
 Asheville, North
Carolina, April 28, 2009- More than 50 quiltmakers inspired by President
Obama have been interviewed for Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories, an oral
history project for the Alliance for American Quilts. Throughout the
presidential campaign, Karen Musgrave, volunteer and co-chair of the
project, kept reading stories and seeing
more and more images of quilts inspired by Barack Obama. Wanting to capture
this moment in our history, she began interviewing those quiltmakers for
Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories. These interviews have been added to the
more than 900 interviews in the project. Photographs of the quilts can also be
seen as an online book at http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/Obama_qsos.php.
"I want to thank all the quiltmakers who shared so openly
their thoughts and experiences in the interviews. This "feminine medium"
continues to take ordinary materials to create something of great meaning and
to provide us with an important glimpse of our history," said Musgrave.
The quiltmakers were eloquent about what inspired their quilts. Carolyn
Crump, a gifted art quilter from Houston, Texas who employs an unusual
three-dimensional applique style, said, "I don't know too many people that
listened to his speeches or came in contact with him that didn't want to be a
better person... The quilt that I designed is part of me and when I'm dead and
gone that quilt is going to be here, and that is part of me that I left behind
saying this man touched my life."
Indeed, like several of the
quiltmakers interviewed for the project, Crump said she isn't done making Obama
quilts: she plans to make a total of 44, tracing his path from childhood to the
presidency.
All the quilts and the stories behind them are a unique
expression of the maker's impression of the "Obama phenomenon." Now that Obama
is President, these quilts have become even more significant. The quiltmakers represent a board spectrum of political views from avid Obama supporters, to Hilary supporters to staunch
Republicans. Their skills range from beginner to professional. Participants
also include those from two exhibits, "Quilts for Obama: An Exhibit Celebration
of our 44th President" and "President Obama: A Celebration in
Art Quilts."
Many of the quiltmakers drew upon the iconography of the
campaign. Others took the literal image of Obama a step further and used
elements of culture and Pop Art in their quilts, while others simply did a
literal interpretation. The themes of
family, patriotism, Africa, civil rights and
hope were also popular. 
The Alliance
for American Quilts is a national nonprofit organization that supports and develops
projects to document, preserve, and share the history of quilts and
quiltmakers. The AAQ brings together groups and individuals from the creative,
scholarly and business worlds of quiltmaking to advance the recognition of
quilts and their makers in American culture. For general questions about the AAQ or to obtain code for embedding the Barack Obama Quilt Q.S.O.S. Project virtual book into your website, contact Executive Director
Amy Milne, amy.milne@quiltalliance.org.
Specific questions about Q.S.O.S. can be directed to Karen
Musgrave,
karenmusgrave@sbcglobal.net or call 630-579-1024.
Quilts pictured in this press release include: "Living the Dream," by Diana Bracy (top), detail view of "From Vision to Victory," by Carolyn Crump (middle) and "Obama Equals Hope," by Jeanette Thompson (bottom).
|
|
The
Alliance for American Quilts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from the Alliance,
please follow the SafeUnsubscribe link below. Visit our Constant Contact signup page if you would also like to receive the AAQ eNewsletter, or if you have been forwarded this email from a friend and would like to begin receiving AAQ press releases.
|
|
|
|
|
|
