Quilts: Unfolding personal and public histories in South Africa and the United States

Marsha Macdowell

doi:10.17159/2617-3255/2020/n34a17

Abstract

Quilts and related textiles are a particularly capacious textile medium through which the intersection of materiality and narratives can be explored. There are thousands of extant historical examples to be found in public and private collections, and the "quilt world" of the early twenty-first century is robust and enormous. There are literally millions of individuals around the globe who are involved in some aspect of quilt production, preservation, and study. This article provides a brief overview of quiltmaking and quilt studies in the United States and in South Africa. It draws upon samples of work from both countries to illustrate how, through their needles and their stories, quilt artists provide unique windows into personal and public histories.

Highlights

Quilts and related textiles are a capacious textile medium through which the intersection of materiality and narratives can be explored
In this article I provide a brief overview of quiltmaking and quilt studies in the United States and in South Africa
Quiltmaking is an art form that can be found in communities and cultures around the world, but it has been a strong material culture tradition in northern Europe and in those countries – such as the United States and South Africa – which share intertwined political, social, and economic histories with the British Empire

Summary

Introduction

Quilts and related textiles are a capacious textile medium through which the intersection of materiality and narratives can be explored. Quiltmaking is an art form that can be found in communities and cultures around the world, but it has been a strong material culture tradition in northern Europe and in those countries – such as the United States and South Africa – which share intertwined political, social, and economic histories with the British Empire. Sometimes the terminology used in South Africa and the United States to describe a quilt or a component of a quilt might differ, but the basics of a quilt – a whole textile, usually rectangular in format, made by piecing and/or patching separate scraps of fabric together and intended either for use as a bed cover or a wall hanging – are recognised in common across passage of time and extent of space (Nettleton 2019) In both countries, indigenous peoples sewed together animal hides for bedding and clothing (du Plessis 2017; MacDowell & Dewhurst 1997), but the tradition of using patchwork, appliqué, and piecework to make textiles for bedding and as art, was primarily introduced to North America through settlers from Great Britain. Quilts intentionally made as art, such as those done by countless textile artists in the United States and South Africa, are treasured for both the visual statements they make and the stories they convey

Quilt documentation and study

Collective projects engaging women in making narrative textiles

Entwining local and global histories through quilts and stories