intuit: "revelation! the quilts of marie “big mama” roseman" show
DESCRIPTION
May 5 - September 2, 2006TRANSCRIPT
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
Revelation! The Quilts of Marie “Big Mama” Roseman
May 5 through September 2, 2006Curated by Martha Watterson and Doug Stock
1. 2.
3. 4.
5. 6.
7. 8.
1. Untitled (White with flowers and face/ “Little Black Man”), n.d.Mixed media72 x 64 in.The Collection of Margaret and Leroy Jackson
2. Untitled (Quilt: small pink, brown, and green patches), n.d.Mixed media57 x 55 in.Collection of Chip Tom
3. Untitled (Quilt with multicolored yarn), n.d.Mixed media70 x 89 in.The Collection of Margaret and Leroy Jackson
4. Untitled (Duck quilt), n.d.Mixed media98 x 55 in.The Collection of Margaret and Leroy Jackson
5. Untitled (Towel work with writing), c.1970sMixed media 43 x 27 in. Collection of Donald Roseman
6. Untitled (Quilt: blue, brown, and a few pink patches), n.d.Mixed media 57 x 55 in.Collection of Chip Tom
7. Untitled (Pillow with plastic leaf), c. late 1960sMixed media12 x 12 x 3 in.Collection of Donald Roseman
8. Untitled (Burlap pillow), n.d.Mixed media12 x 12 x 3 in.Collection of Donald Roseman
9. Untitled (Red with imagery), n.d.Mixed media60 x 39 1⁄2 in. Collection of Hamza Walker
10. Untitled (Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer), n.d.Mixed media73 1⁄2 x 59 3⁄4 x 2 1⁄4 in. Collection of David Kargl and Elizabeth Shinar
11. Untitled (Foot warmer), c. late 1960sMixed media23 x 17 x 3 in.Collection of Donald Roseman
9.
12.
14.
11.10.
13.
15. 16.
12. Untitled (Patches with face), n.d.Mixed media71 x 71 in.Collection of the City of Chicago, Public Arts Program
13. Untitled (Quilt: red with text and imagery), n.dMixed media93 x 53 in.Collection of Chip Tom
14. Untitled (Peacock with boots), n.d.Mixed media63 x 80 in.The Collection of Margaret and Leroy Jackson
15. Untitled (Peacock), n.d.Mixed media100 x 80 x 1 1⁄2 in. Collection of David Kargl and Elizabeth Shinar
16. Untitled (Bird with top hat/gingham), n.d.Mixed media94 x 65 in. Collection of the City of Chicago, Public Arts Program
756 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60622
312 243-9088 www.art.org [email protected]
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-5 Thursdays, 11-7:30
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
Like many self-taught artists, Marie “Big Mama” Roseman
(1898-2004) did not begin to express herself artistically until
later in life. Although she had been quilting for years, Roseman
began creating her sculptured, illustrative quilts, pillows and
other textiles in the 1970s, when she was in her 70s. Roseman
made hundreds of works in the ensuing 30 years, but due to
flooding in her home, only a few survive today.
Roseman’s quilts share some of the features often found in
African-American improvised quilts. However, the defining
individual artistic features of Roseman’s works are her unique
embroidery, the cryptic appliqué text which she incorporated
into some of her works, and the three-dimensional sculptural
elements she often attached to them. According to her family,
she would use whatever materials were given to her, and it
is likely what she had available helped determine her final
artistic products.
By embroidering animals and designs with a thick yarn
onto her quilts and textiles, she created not only illustrations
but narratives. Roseman often used an appliqué technique to
create words and figures on her works. Additionally, she added
found materials such as plastic and cloth flowers, lace, and
buttons, which created a sculptural effect.
Roseman sewed both by hand and with a traditional pump-
pedal sewing machine, a model she preferred to the electric
machine her family had bought for her. She used her bed as
her quilting frame, and her grandchildren would often join her
there while she worked.
Born in Tippo, Mississippi, Roseman was of African Amer-
ican, European and Native American ancestry. While her family
history and personal background do not exclusively explain
her artistic motivations, they do illuminate her diverse cultural
experiences and some of the influences her personal life may
have had on her creative process.
While still in Mississippi, Marie married Jessie Roseman,
and they had three sons and one daughter. She and Jessie
moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1947. At home, she would
quilt through the night, telling her extended family that she
could watch and guard the house while they were sleeping.
Roseman left her house infrequently. After the 1950s, she
rarely ventured beyond her home environment to attend church
or to go out. Her own family, friends, garden, and TV would have
most likely been her main influences. She created her own
world in her home, and during this time created huge numbers
of quilts and textiles.
Her textile work appears to have been influenced by
natural elements, with frequent references to flowers and vine
shapes. This artistic choice could have been inspired by her
relationship with the organic world through her role as a Native
American healer and herbalist, a talent she learned from her
father and grandfather.
Roseman created many dolls, which she gave as gifts
to the children in her life. She would even attach small dolls
to her quilts, possibly a reference to her experiences
delivering children.
As we present the works of Marie Roseman, and as
improvised quilts are being presented by the museum
community into high art, we should consider how we are
changing the meaning of them when we hang them vertically
in an exhibition space. In the 1967 story Everyday Use for your
Grandmama by Alice Walker, a mother and her two grown
daughters explore the meanings of memory and narrative in
their grandmother’s quilts.1 One of the daughters, Maggie,
sees the quilts as special, treasured, useful objects. Her sister,
Dee, sees the quilts as symbols of her own transformation.
She believes they should be cared for as artistic objects. The
quilts become a touchstone for reflection and identity for both
daughters and their mother.
The contrast between hanging a quilt as a painting and
using a quilt as a bedcover is illustrated in George Bataille’s
theory of horizontality.2 Quilts go back and forth into both
worlds: the vertical world of high culture (gallery) and the
horizontal world of humanity (the bedroom).3 When exhibiting
quilts in the museum context, we should explore meanings
behind both uses, and how the presentation of them shifts our
interpretation and understanding of them.
This exhibition gives us a glimpse into the idiosyncratic
and bold body of work by Marie Roseman. With her unique
and original embroidery and three-dimensional designs and
figures, Roseman transcends the utility of improvised quilting
into the artistic. Her works are a true revelation.
Special thanks to all who assisted and supported
this exhibition.
Martha Watterson
Revelation! The Quilts of Marie “Big Mama” Roseman
1 Alice Walker, “Everyday Use,” in In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women (New York: Harvest Book, Harcourt, Inc., 1967), p. 47-59.2 Kathryn Hixson, The Topologies of Anne Wilson’s Topologies, (Boston: UMass Art Gallery, 2003), p. 35-41. In her essay, Hixson discusses Yve-Alain Bois and Rosalind Krauss’ interpretation of George Bataille’s theory or horizontality. 3 Ibid.