Crowded quilt show misses the point
The exhibition “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend’ was a sensation when it toured the country in recent years, prompting raves from critics and admiration from visitors. The show spotlighted the work of a group of women in the isolated community of Gee’s Bend, Ala., who carry on a tradition of quilting that dates back to slave times. The stunning color and designs of their work - so inspired and dynamic - grew out of rags and necessity, but stand in easy comparison to sophisticated abstract paintings.
The quilts were discovered, purchased and promoted by William, Paul and Matt Arnett of Atlanta and their company, Tinwood Ventures, and now command prices in the tens of thousands. They have since been featured in coffee-table books and licensed for use on a range of products from silk scarves to greeting cards and bed linens.
Like a Hollywood blockbuster, that show spawned a sequel, “Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt,” now showing at Tacoma Art Museum. Organized in conjunction with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the show features quilts owned by the Arnett family.
This time around, though, the feel-good success story that circulated with the first show has been marred by lawsuits against the family by quilters Annie Mae Young, Loretta Pettway and Lucinda Pettway Franklin, who allege fraud, mishandled finances and copyright violations. The Arnetts deny the allegations.
The Tacoma museum has remained neutral on the controversy, and director Stephanie Stebich told The Times the show is meant to celebrate the talent of the quilters. They certainly deserve it.
Trouble is, the quilts are displayed so badly, it’s hard to appreciate them. They are crammed together on the walls of a cavernous gallery more suited to oversize sculptures. The whole point of taking these quilts off the bed and putting them on museum walls is to focus the viewer’s attention on their individual merits, the special skills of each quilter. Instead, what we get is a hodgepodge of competing designs, colors and time periods. Newly made quilts with crisp colors and synthetic fabrics butt uneasily against vintage quilts with frayed edges, faded colors and a patina of use.
The subtleties of Loretta Pettway’s gorgeous 1975 “Bricklayer variation,” for example - an asymmetrical wonder of coral and buff-colored corduroy - can easily be overwhelmed by so much competition. Not only are the quilts crowded side by side on the walls, but they hang in a double row, one above another, adding to the visual assault. It feels more like a quilt competition at a county fair than a well-considered museum presentation.
Sheila Farr: sfarr@seattletimes.com