Reprise and Repetition

While I haven't been actively quilting I have been thinking about quilts and art and how ideas, scenes, colors, and designs are reworked by artists and changing technology.

In Chicago I photographed this painting of the Italian Riviera by Claude Monet because it reminded me of something I'd seen.

Bordighera by Claude Monet, 1884. Italian Riviera

Eventually I remembered my photo from Coit Tower in San Francisco. Both feature views of saltwater though Monet's has a town in the mid-ground while mine has the bridge. Similar greenery surrounds both on all sides. I like the way nature takes the foreground and background, adds the detail, and keeps drawing my eyes from the man-made objects.  Putting the darkest objects in front brings needed cool shade to a hot summer day.

The Bay Bridge from Coit Tower, San Francisco

The Art Institute of Chicago staged Music and Movement: Rhythm in Textile Design. It was only four small rooms but covered the world and the ages. The ones I've thought about most though are all from the 1970's.

Music and Movement exhibit
 at the Art Institute of Chicago

At least half the textiles were dress and upholstery fabrics including Gallop, a stunning knit by Hans Krondahl from 1972 which ignited memories of Eedweard Muybridge's photography.

Gallop (screen print dress fabric of knit nylon)
by Hans Krondahl for Katja of Sweden, 1972. 

Leland Stanford, one of California's governors and later founder of Stanford University, hired him to prove whether or not all a horse's feet left the ground when galloping. Horse in Motion resolved that question.

Horse in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge, 1878.

The zoetrope projects circular paper strips of still photos that appear to move when the device spins. Muybridge made improvements he called the zoopraxiscope in 1879. As such he is considered the founder of the motion picture industry. 

The Cantor Center in Palo Alto exhibits one of these machines as well as a viewing of a moving photo series.

Zoopraxiscope by Eadweard Muybridge,
Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University

The fabric also nods to the Carousel Bar at the Fairmont with its murals of performing horses and in fact, any scene with racehorses - from the Kentucky Derby to Ben Hur.

Murals at the Carousel Bar,
Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco

Robert Brady's 1974 tapestry of Josephine Baker was prominently displayed.  An American vaudeville dancer, Baker famously performed her Danse Savage in 1925 Paris dressed only in a skirt of artificial bananas. She became a successful artist, worked for the French Resistance, and insisted on desegregated audiences for her shows when she toured the US.

Baker and Brady were close friends for years. He finally established a home in Cuernavaca, decorating it with the lavish colors of his adopted country and artwork created by himself and his friends. Now the Museo Robert Brady, it includes a statuette of Baker in her iconic costume.

Wool and cotton Josephine Baker
tapestryby Robert Brady, 1974.

The Baker tapestry reminded me of The TVA Quilt I'd seen years ago; fortunately I found this image through the internet. In 1934 Ruth Bond and Rose Cooper headed a club that made the quilt they named Uncle Sam's Helping Hand to "honor the part black people were playing to transform the South." It is still on display at TVA building in Knoxville.

Uncle Sam’s Helping Hand
quilt designed
by Ruth Clement Bond
and quilted by Rose Lee Cooper, 1934

For Bessie's Blues Faith Ringold, a well-known author and quilter, repeated images of blues singer Bessie Smith in a layout that references both traditional quilts and Andy Warhol's pop imagery. The colors also repeat those of the Baker tapestry.

Bessie's Blues by Faith Ringgold, 1997

My initial impression was cyanoprint but it's actually acrylic paint.

I like the subtle variations of blue that help the blocks retain their edges, the color scheme, and the repeats with variation. Oh, those borders fabrics mixing curves from oversized florals with simple rectangles. And then finding another soft background floral so the rest of the work floats on top.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Quick Trip to Chicago

After manipulating the corners of the inner border, I decided on this spinning effect. It requires a  partial seam but that's easy enough especially on such long strips. It just blends with the spinning pinwheels. {The other choice was a courthouse steps arrangement. I forgot to snap a photo and I'm not going back. This woman is on a deadline.}

Scientific Pinwheels quilt layout

DH and I flew to Chicago last weekend for baseball. We'd had the trip planned since last year and he encouraged me to take a break. I could have taken a photo of the entire Wrigley's sign but loved that the Cubs flew state, city, and team flags for their opponents.  We arrived early the first day for a stadium tour. Wrigley Field is the second oldest baseball stadium. Their rich history combines well with some recent updates.

Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs

The next day we toured the Chicago Institute of Art. Silly me. I thought it was mainly a school but they have an enormous collection of art: paintings, sculptures, textiles, artifacts. Having learned from previous experience we selected five galleries to tour thoroughly and left the rest for another visit.

I never realized Seurat's painting was so large. And there was always a crowd in front of it.

Crowds viewing A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
by Georges Seurat, 1884.

The painted border is an interesting detail I never knew existed. This is not a mat. It's painted on the edge of the canvas. So quilters aren't the only ones who add borders.

Detail  of the border of A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
by Georges Seurat, 1884.

I thought this was a "one-off" paint technique until I saw Vincent van Gogh's Fishing in Spring, the Pont de Clichy (Asnieres) nearby.  Influenced by Paul Signac and Georges Seurat, the Neo-Impressionist style emphasizes scientific use of color theory. You can see many aspects of Seurat's technique in this painting including the bright red mat Vincent painted around his picture.

Fishing in Spring, the Pont de Clichy (Asnieres)
by Vincent van Gogh, 1887.

Chicagoans rallied to preserve their city's landmarks and the Chicago Architecture Foundation leads river tours of the varied skyscrapers of downtown. We thoroughly enjoyed ending the day with a sunset cruise while watching the lights go on. So informative, so lovely.

Nighttime Chicago skyline from the river

When buildings are torn down, artifacts are offered to various foundations and museums. The Institute displayed several in their Grand Staircase. Don't you love the Art Deco elevator screen?

Artifacts of Chicago's past
at the Institute of Art

Now that we're home I can finish the Scientific Pinwheel quilt. Good thing because the new dad visits soon.

Enjoy the day, Ann