I read about it. I saw photos of it. I just didn't expect the rush of feelings I would have seeing it in person. Walking into the main room of the Armory in NYC brought tears to my eyes.
The exhibit, "INFINITE VARIETY, Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts", included 650 red and white quilts hung in spirals from the ceiling of the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. It was breathtaking and amazing and inspirational. It was nothing like I had ever seen before and I don't think I will ever see anything like it again. Just magnificent!
It seemed like there were no 2 alike.
The ceiling must have been at least 40 feet high.
The lighting was just unbelievable. Every quilt, no matter how high it was, glowed. The dark walls and ceiling made the quilts seem like they were floating.
It was impossible to pick individual quilts to photograph. I was told that this one was embroidered four and sugar sacks that were bleached and then stitched.
This was the back wall.
The program describes the quilts as ordinary coverings, largely anonymous with unknown provenance. I would have to strongly disagree with the first part of this statement. These quilts were far from ordinary. Maybe that would be a museum curator's point of view, but any quilter could tell you that's not true. Each of these quilts has a story involving its creator and then an additional story from the collector, Mrs. Rose, and were stunning in their simplicity of color. It was so hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to ..... it would be the red and white one.
If you would like to see more photos head to: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1587925@N24/ , you can also download a free app for your iPhone of all 650 quilts from the Apple itunes store as Infinite Variety and check out Pat Sloan's blog for lots of links.
We couldn't visit New York without eating and visiting The City Quilter. Of course we had to see if they carried my book. Guess what? One left. My friend Angela bought the last copy. Sold out!
That was so cool to be out there with the author of the book! Whole day was nothing but pure fun!
ReplyDeleteOm my what a good time we had...I am still in awe of what we saw!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting your photos and comments - they are great! It is fun to relive the experience. It was a great day spent with great people!
ReplyDeleteThank you Cheryl for sharing the pictures of this amazing show. You are so right the red and white is striking and certainly takes on a different personality than I would have imagined. Thought your Funky Town pattern was the best, but I look at it as not only a fun and care free design but now with a sophisticated eye.
ReplyDeleteOne of those wonderful exhibits I was also lucky enough to see.
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