The exhibition Pixels & Pieces, on view through June 8, 2008, considers how quiltmakers’ use of one-patch patterns anticipated the way computers use pixels--the acronym for “picture elements”-- to create visually dynamic abstract patterned and pictorial images. One-patch patterns are quilts made of same-sized and same-shaped units of cloth (e.g., a quilt made completely of 2” square pieces).
Three of the quilts in Pixels & Pieces are on loan to the Museum for this exhibition. We would like to acquire the these three quilts for the Museum’s permanent collection. Please make a contribution to help us acquire these important examples of pictorial imagery in one-patch quilts.
Victorian Postage Stamp Landscape Quilt
Maker Unknown
c. 1880
104” x 79.5”
Silk
Created in what is known as the “postage stamp” style because of its use of small pieces of fabricabout the size of a postage stamp, this is a rare example of a one-patch pictorial quilt. The fact that a similar quilt titled House in the Country and dated c. 1830 exists in the collection of the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska suggests the need for further research to more accurately date the piece and to survey tapestry, rug and cross-stitch embroidery patterns of the period as possible precedents for this work. But regardless of whether it is a completely original design, it clearly is a work of great ambition.
Please make a contribution to fund the acquisition of this incredible Victorian postage stamp landscape quilt for the permanent collection.We need to raise $2465 to acquire this quilt. If you donate the full $2465, you will be acknowledged every time the quilt is exhibited.
You may make a contribution online, by phone at 408-971-0323 x14 or by mail (see address below).
Flower Garden Basket Quilt
Unknown Maker
c. 1940
75” x 80”
Unlike most 1930s and 40s one-patch quilts using hexagons, this quilt was conceived and executed as a still life. The fact that a quilt of this exact same design, but in different colors, was the Nebraska state winner of the 1975 Great Quilt Contest sponsored by the U.S. Historical Society and the Museum of American Folk Art suggests there likely was a printed source for this pattern.
Yo-Yo Coverlet
Maker Unknown
c. 1940
61” x 62”
This coverlet is atypical of most yo-yo coverlets. Its
square shape suggests it was not made to cover a
bed. The diamond-in-the-square geometric pattern
that gives depth to its surface visually references
that of a genre of 19th century Amish quilts much
valued by collectors because of their distinctly
modernist aesthetic. In addition, however, the
coverlet features floral-like clusters of yo-yos more
often found in flower garden quilts.
Technically, this textile is not a quilt, as the yoyos
are made individually and attached together.
However in this example, a backing fabric was added
to the piece, perhaps to make it more functional as a
decorative cover.
To make a donation by mail, send your check to the address below. Please indicate which quilt(s) you would like your donation to help acquire.
San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
Re: Pixels & Pieces Acquisition Fund
520 South First Street
San Jose, California 95113
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