Claire Dixon and Dr. Marian Wardle, Visual Arts

With this grant, I set out to design a quilt exhibition that would satisfy two distinct interpretations of quilts that have emerged in the last few decades. One camp, which Susan Bernick further separates into “art” quilt culture and “feminist” quilt culture, aims to elevate quilts from their folk art status because of their extraordinary design quality and because of their similarity to modern and post-modern art movements. The other camp—the less self-conscious one—consists of the average quilt makers who have at times been venerated and at times been ignored, but who have continued nonetheless in the tradition handed down by their mothers.

I was initially resistant to choose sides. As an art student, I recognized that many quilts, such as those in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, possess a rare quality that transcends the circumstances and reasons for which they were made, and enables them to speak to people who are unfamiliar with their particular contexts. This ability to have and create meaning outside of the maker’s original intentions qualified the quilt for status within the fine arts. On the other hand, the events surrounding this cultural realization in the early 1970s appeared to me too contrived and too rife with agenda not to question. I have since come to the conclusion that those who claimed to represent quilt makers in the 1970s, and who proudly called their quilts works of art, never truly believed it themselves. If they had, the women who have quietly continued to make the traditional quilts that were so celebrated then, would receive the same kind of attention today as artists who merely use quilts as a reference for what they consider more important statements.

Underlying this thesis, of course, is a subtle strain of anti-feminism. Feminists, using quilts as a symbol of American women, made a mistake in seeking “elevation” of either quilts or women. Such terminology implies that neither of them were good enough the way they were because they had not gained approval based on a more masculine set of criteria. The divisions among different types of quilt makers today is indicative of the divisions that exist between different types of women in general.

Interestingly, quilting organizations that I consider true representatives of the traditional quilting community recognize a wide variety of quilting styles as works of art. For example, the International Quilting Association’s catalogue, “The Twentieth Century’s Best American Quilts,” includes everything from applique, to patchwork, to more pictorial and consciously abstract designs. While leafing through this publication, it occurred to me that quilts are a marvelously unique art form. They not only transcend categorization as either folk or fine art, but at the heart of the quilting movement is the refusal to categorize at all. True representatives of quilts, and therefore women, are inclusive, not exclusive. The most important qualities in quilting are simply fine craftsmanship and effectiveness of design, “effectiveness” being a very broad term.

This is the thought process I went through as I set about writing the proposal for a quilt exhibition. The plan I presented to the curatorial department of the BYU Museum of Art in April included several distinctive characteristics that grew out of this thinking.

First and foremost, I narrowed the scope of the proposed exhibition to include only quilts made in Utah. This allowed for greater feasibility but presented a different set of problems. For example, many quilts relevant to Utah culture were not necessarily made by women who have ever lived here. In addition, quilts made by prominent Utah pioneer women were often pieced together in other states and brought as reminders of the womens’ former homes. And because the two categories largely, but not totally overlap, it became very important for me to specify whether I wanted to highlight only LDS quilts or all Utah quilts. So far I have decided to stick with all Utah quilts in order to present a more full picture of the history of women in this state.

The most distinctive aspect of the proposal, however, is the suggested method of displaying the quilts. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that quilts transcend categorization as either folk or fine art. Because the way art is displayed implies for the viewer how it is to be interpreted, I suggested that the quilts be both displayed on the walls so that their design quality would be fully appreciated, and on beds, so that their function would not be ignored. In doing so, I hoped to communicate to the viewer that the function of an object does not detract from its beauty, or even its ability to have importance for those who are not a part of its original context.

In addition to this type of display, I also suggested in the proposal that quilts from different time periods but of a common pattern, such as log cabin, be repeated throughout the exhibition. This would demonstrate the importance of tradition in the quilting genre and show that these traditions (in the form of patterns) have been kept alive amid radical changes in how quilts are made, displayed, and interpreted.

I am happy to report that the curatorial board liked my ideas. I had originally intended to go no further than simply making this presentation, but because of the board’s approval, I am now further required to present a formal proposal to the Museum’s entire Exhibition Planning Committee. This proposal will include specific examples of quilts that would be used in the exhibition and present conclusions based on these examples.

The work that has been so generously funded by the Office of Research and Creative Activities this last year has helped me to lay the groundwork for a project that is growing all the time . I appreciate the support that I have received from ORCA, and hope to relay further developments as they arise. As things now stand, Utah Quilts: Expressions of Tradition and Innovation, is tentatively scheduled for the Summer of 2002.