+

The 9/11 National Tribute Quiltat the American Folk Art Museum

Christiana Oh

+What is a Quilt?

A quilt is traditionally a bed covering composed of three layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding and a back.

A quilt is distinguishable from other types of blankets because it is pieced together with several pieces of cloth.

+

The most decorative fabric surface is called the “top”, and is the design focus.

The “patchwork” of the top is typically made of a series of blocks (all identical, or of diverse design), which are made sequentially and then assembled.

+

+

+Significance of Quilts

There are many traditions regarding the design and characteristics of quilts

Quilts may be made or given to mark important life events such as marriage, the birth of a child, a family member leaving home, or graduations.

Quilts are a part of many cultures: Native American, New English, Hawaiian, British, Japanese quilts are namely a few.

+Quilts as Pieces of Art…

Today, quilts are no longer deemed as merely ‘bedding’.

Quilts have evolved into unique mediums of art; they are exclusive because they unite different colors, patterns, and textures. Modern artists have taken advantage of this distinct quality

This deeply-rooted tradition has evolved into a modern form of artistic expression

+

+What is the 9/11 National Tribute Quilt….?

The 9/11 National Tribute Quilt is a piece organized by the Steel Quilters of the United States Steel Corporation as a response to the attack on the World Trade Center.

This small quilt club received quilt blocks from all fifty states as well as Canada, Spain, Denmark, and Australia. The quilt measures eight feet high by 30 feet wide, and is constructed of 3,466 blocks in six panels. The four central panels form a montage of the twin towers of the World Trade Center against the New York City skyline.

Each block is made from 3-1/2 inch blocks; each block dedicated to one of the innocent lives lost.

The entire piece is 8 x 30feet.

+

+

+

+

+

+How is the National Tribute Quilta Piece of Art? I argue that each block is a piece of art and that each

person who made a block is an artist.

Each block is an artistic representation of a person, not in a direct form (such as an image of a person), but seeks to express the victims in different styles of abstract forms

These blocks come together to depict a powerful image that evokes a universal sentiment of sadness and mourning; yet this image is a collection of diverse pieces that differ from one another

This piece is not just an image; it relays an event, evokes strong emotions of sadness, yet is a symbol of hope for peace and understanding

+Why is it artistically valuable?(why should we take this seriously)

This piece is masterfully unites the strengths of quilts as artistic mediums; the powerful artistic vision adds a new dimension to this piece.

Quilts Artistic Vision

• Can display the aesthetic appeal of diverse materials, colors, and textures

• Can be made by multiple artists

• American tradition of recording events on artistic media

• Originally did not convey any message

• Conveys the myriad of different people who all perished due to a single event

• Piece is a joint work by multiple, different artists

• Emotionally unites us through many different emotions: sadness, mourning, and hope

+

END.