{"took":7,"timed_out":false,"_shards":{"total":6,"successful":6,"skipped":0,"failed":0},"hits":{"total":{"value":118,"relation":"eq"},"max_score":null,"hits":[{"_index":"main_quilt_index_quilt_1_25_","_type":"_doc","_id":"f65nWZEB8akQsUwef7Rj","_score":null,"_source":{"kid":"50-145-116","InstNameF003":["Women of Color Quilters Network"],"InstProjNameF003a":"Women of Color Quilters Network; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project","essay":"Artist Statement from the exhibit We Who Believe In Freedom: Narratives of Survival and Victory: I can honestly say I think everything influences and inspires me to create. Nina Simone once said, “One’s art should reflect the times in which you live.” Injustice and inhumanity have influenced some of my pieces, while others were influenced by my love of music, namely jazz and the blues. I also like to incorporate images of historical figures in my work, delving deeply into the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library for research to tell those stories in cloth. Doing the research is just as exciting as creating the artwork. I first discovered Bert Williams on the cover of an old issue of African American Legacy Magazine. It was his eyes that drew me in, I needed to know his story. W. C. Fields, a vaudevillian entertainer of the era, who appeared in productions with Williams, described him as \"the funniest man I ever saw – and the saddest man I ever knew.” Why would a black man perform in blackface?
To know his story, you’d need to understand the time in which he lived, and the limited opportunities he faced as an entertainer.
Fast forward almost 100 years later, and the fashion houses Gucci and Burberry, in recent months, have had apologized for black faced articles of clothing. NBC Morning News journalist, Megyn Kelly, had her contract terminated after controversial comments about blackface, and the Governor of Virginia wore blackface on the pages of his medical school’s year book entitled “Cork and Curls”, a reference to burn cork and curly wigs.
To be very clear, if you're not black, it is never okay to wear blackface. Bert Williams’ last performance was in Detroit at the Garrick theater, he collapsed on stage and died a few months later in New York from pneumonia.
I photo copied actual play bills and posters for the background of this piece. I want the viewer to see the Man behind the Mask.","TypeObjF008":"Finished quilt","QuiltTitleF009":"2 Face - Nobody's Business but My Own","OverallLengthF012b":"30\"","PredomColorsF014":["Tan","Cream","Pink","Black","Gray","Red","Brown"],"OverallColorF14b":["Multicolor"],"LayFormatF024":"Pictorial","FiberTypesF035":["Cotton"],"FabPrintF037":["Hand-dyed"],"ConstrucF038":["Machine Piecing"],"ConstrucF038b":["Machine Applique"],"MatUsedF048":"Cotton","QuiltTechF049":["Machine quilting"],"DateFinishF023b":"2018","DateQuiltF023":"2000-2025","ReasonsF060":["Art or personal expression"],"PresUseF062":["Artwork/wall hanging"],"LocMadeF057a":"Rochester Hills","ProvStateF057d":"Michigan (MI)","ProvCountryF057f":["United States"],"TopSourceF064":["Original to maker"],"ExhibitListF067a":"We Who Believe In Freedom: Narratives of Survival and Victory","OtherSourceMat":"Mazloomi, Carolyn L., ed. We Who Believe In Freedom: Narratives of Survival and Victory. Paper Moon Publications, West Chester, OH, 2019, p. 26-27.","Maker Associator":"62-185-6","QuiltTopF054":"Shipp, April Anue","QuiltedByF055":"Shipp, April Thomas","NameGroupF120":"Women of Color Quilters Network","Owner Associator":"50-146-2","OwnerNameF082a":"Mazloomi, Ph.D., Carolyn","OwnershipF082":"Private","OwnerCityF084":"West Chester","OwnerStateF086":"Ohio (OH)","OwnerCountryF086b":["United States"],"AccessF080":"Restricted","HolderF080a":"Women of Color Quilters Network, all rights reserved","photocredit079a1":"April Thomas Shipp","ReposFile":["https://kora.quiltindex.org/files/50-145-116/ShippApril_TwoFaces.jpg"],"zoom":["https://kora.quiltindex.org/files/50-145-116/ShippApril_TwoFaces-z.jpg"],"verify":"yes","verifiedby":"Beth Donaldson","dateverified":"2023-09-18","dateverified_era":"CE","Pattern":"2 FACE - NOBODYS BUSINESS BUT MY OWN","Maker":"[\"SHIPP, APRIL ANUE\"]","Date":"2000-2025","Contributing Institutions":"MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online at Michigan State University","Publisher":"Quilt Index","Resource Type":"Still Image","file medium":"image","file format":"jpeg","project_id":"50","form_id":"145","owner":"7","created_at":"2023-09-18 17:58:04","updated_at":"2024-02-26 14:36:56"},"sort":["2 FACE - NOBODYS BUSINESS BUT MY OWN"]},{"_index":"main_quilt_index_quilt_1_25_","_type":"_doc","_id":"Ra5nWZEB8akQsUwef7Rj","_score":null,"_source":{"kid":"50-145-58","InstNameF003":["Women of Color Quilters Network"],"InstProjNameF003a":"Women of Color Quilters Network; Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project","InstInvContrNumF004":"CHSLM293","description":"Marla A. Jackson with Kearston Mahoney, Sommer Ferguson, Tori Mitchell, Sylvan Mitchell, Teagan Harmon, Desiree Powell, Nia Rutledge, Bella Myers, and Breanna Bell \r\n46664 \r\nLawrence, Kansas, USA | Cotton fabrics, bias tape, acrylic paint; trapunto, quilted, painted \r\n \r\nThis quilt was made as a project in the Beyond the Book program I founded. The program is designed to help students literally go beyond the book and develop a better understanding of history through art and quilt making. For the background of this quilt, students ice dyed cotton fabrics the colors of the South African flag. Mandela's face includes the colors red, black, green and yellow to represent the people of South Africa. The students chose to include a famous quote by Mandela "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall". \r\n \r\nNelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years at Robben Island, Victor Verster, and Pollsmoor prisons; while at Robben Island he worked breaking rocks. To represent this there are prison bars on the top of the quilt over rocks and includes Mandela's prison number 46664. The first three digits meant that he was the 466th prisoner, and the last two digits indicated the year, 1964, he went to prison. His cell number continues to remind people of his quest for freedom.","essay":"This quilt was a collaboration between nine high school students in the beyond the book program with Marla A. Jackson as the director. The Beyond the Book program is designed to help students literally go beyond the book and develop better understanding of history through art and quilt making. \r\n \r\nThe students involved are Kearston Mahoney 16, Sommer Ferguson 17, Tori Mitchell 16, Sylvan Mitchell 15, Teagan Harmon 9, Desiree Powell 15, Nia Rutledge 16, Bella Myers 15, and Breanna Bell 16. The students ice dyed cotton fabrics the colors of the South African flag and used that as the background. They also used bias tape and the traputo quilting technique. The group included an acrylic painting of Mandela's face which was painted on cotton fabric. Mandela's face includes the colors red, black, green and yellow to represent the people of South Africa. \r\n \r\nThey also chose to include a famous quote by Mandela "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall". Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years at Robben Island, Victor Verster prison, and Pollsmoor prison. To represent this there are prison bars on the top of the quilt over rocks because he worked on the prison breaking rocks. There is also a blue background behind the bars to represent the sky. The quilt also has Mandela's prison number, 46664. The first three digits, 466, mean that he was the 466th prisoner, and the last two digits, 64, represent the year he went to prison 1964. While Mandela was in prison his cell number represented his vision of freedom for the people of South Africa.","TypeObjF008":"Finished quilt","QuiltTitleF009":"46664","SubjQuiltF025":"Nelson Mandela","OverallWidthF12a":"29.25\"","OverallLengthF012b":"29.5\"","ShapeEdgeF013":"Straight","PredomColorsF014":["Black","Blue","Green","Red","Yellow","White"],"LayFormatF024":"Nontraditional or art","FiberTypesF035":["Cotton"],"UniqueF037b":"Ice dyed fabric, acrylic paint.","ConstrucF038g":["Embroidery"],"QuiltTechF049":["Stuffed work"],"ConstrucBindF046":["Separate binding applied"],"ContInscripF020":"Hand written on back of quilt (no label)\r\nMarla Jackson\r\n\r\nPainted on front:\r\n46664\r\nNelson\r\nMandela\r\n\r\n\"The greatest glory in living lies\r\nnot in never falling, but in\r\nrising every time we fall.\"\r\n\r\nMachine appliqued on front:\r\n27","OverCondF015":"Excellent/like new","FeaturesF053":"Description of Method and Materials:\r\nIce dying\r\nSouth African flag background\r\nCotton fabric\r\nMandela's face made out of cotton fabric painted with acrylic paint and water\r\nMandela's famous quote\r\nTraputo quilting techinique\r\nRocks\r\nPrison 27 years\r\nSignificant of his numbers\r\n466th prisoner\r\n64 year he went to prison\r\nVictor Vester prison\r\nPollsmoor Prison\r\nFirst 18 years Robben Island\r\n\r\nColors in face represent people of South Africa\r\n\r\nHis prison cell represented vision of freedom (for his people)\r\nBias tape","DateFinishF023b":"January 4, 2014","DateQuiltF023":"2000-2025","PresUseF062":["Artwork/wall hanging"],"LocMadeF057a":"Lawrence","ProvStateF057d":"Kansas (KS)","ProvCountryF057f":["United States"],"ExhibitListF067a":"Consceince of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela; International Quilt Conference Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, July 2014; The Kentucky Museum, Bowling Green, KY, September 8, 2015-January 31, 2015; National Afro American Museum and Cultural Center, Wilberforce, OH, April 7-October 7, 2016; LookOut! Gallery, Snyder Phillips Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, May 7-September 15, 2017.","RelItemsF088a":"MacDowell, Marsha; Mazloomi, Carolyn. Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela. Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, 2014; page 64.","QuiltTopF054":"Jackson, Marla","QuiltedByF055":"Jackson, Marla","OthPeopleF056":"Rutledge, Nia; age 16","MakerGroupNameF097":"Beyond the Book Program","CityF106a":"Lawrence","StateF107":"Kansas (KS)","CountryF108":["United States"],"GenderF098":["Female"],"EthnicF101":"African American","OwnerNameF082a":"Marla Jackson","IdentPersonF006":["Quiltmaker"],"OwnershipF082":"Private","OwnerCityF084":"Lawrence","OwnerStateF086":"Kansas (KS)","OwnerCountryF086b":["United States"],"AccessF080":"Restricted","HolderF080a":"The copyright belongs to the owner/artist.","DateDataF006b":"2014","photocredit079a1":"Pearl Yee Wong","ReposFile":["https://kora.quiltindex.org/files/50-145-58/CHSLM293.jpg"],"zoom":["https://kora.quiltindex.org/files/50-145-58/CHSLM293-zoom.jpg"],"verify":"yes","verifiedby":"Beth Donaldson","dateverified":"2018-04-10","dateverified_era":"CE","Pattern":"46664","Maker":"[\"JACKSON, MARLA\"]","Date":"2000-2025","Object Associator":"50-147-1","Contributing Institutions":"MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online at Michigan State University and Michigan State University Museum","Publisher":"Quilt Index","Resource Type":"Still Image","function":"Image - large display (550 or more pixels)","file medium":"image","file format":"jpeg","legacy_kid":"74-19F-44","project_id":"50","form_id":"145","owner":"1","created_at":"2020-04-26 06:44:50","updated_at":"2024-02-23 19:16:45"},"sort":["46664"]},{"_index":"main_quilt_index_quilt_1_25_","_type":"_doc","_id":"bK5nWZEB8akQsUwef7Rj","_score":null,"_source":{"kid":"50-145-97","InstNameF003":["Women of Color Quilters Network"],"InstProjNameF003a":"Women of Color Quilters Network; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project","essay":"My piece recognizes Leah Tutu beyond the traditional role of supporting the male activist by raising children, keeping the home fire burning, and being a good wife and mother. I commend her revolutionary work as a founding member of South African Domestic Workers Union in the battle for better working conditions, wages and educational opportunities for South Africa's domestic workers. Her work has few photos, fewer articles and little mainstream understanding of its importance in the struggle for international human rights. In fact, when I first researched women of colour human rights activists around the world, non-governmental organisation 'experts' told me there were none - that 'traditional' women did not become human rights leaders.
I want to send this thank you quilt card to Leah Tutu. My sister, please know someone noticed that you kept gardening as the tanks rolled by your house. Someone noticed that you encouraged other women to keep going, at a great personal sacrifice. Your terrible struggle keeps many other struggles alive. Thank you. Here is a 'Belated Thank You for Leah Tutu.
Austin is a fibre artist who uses family photos and hand-dyed and hand-painted fabric to capture African-American work and life. She has completed community art projects in the U.S., the Bahamas, China, and Kenya.
Coakley learned basic sewing under her grandmother's guidance, then developed a passion for quilting. She continues to hone her skills through quilting workshops domestic and abroad. He work has been featured in the Detroit News and has been included in many exhibitions, including Chrysler Corporation's \"Artists At Work\" exhibition. Sharing skills through teaching quilting classes is her greatest love.
