Metro Pulse/Artbeat/The Roots of Racism

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What:
The Roots of Racism

Where:
Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Drive

When:
Through March 11 (with children's work displayed through mid-April)

The KMA's colorful quilts and tiles explore racial relationships

by Heather Joyner

Quilts are down to earth, reminding us of mothers and grandmothers. They are often stunning assemblages of pure color and geometry; manifestations of a simpler time remembered that can temper our confusing lives. Yet they also function as vehicles for telling stories or making individual statements. In quilts, the humble presence of hands balances whatever messages they attempt to convey; the very human effort required to create something meaningful from bits and pieces strengthens and legitimizes our motivations. As fugitives from uniformity and mass production, quilts ring true.

The art critic Robert Hughes writes, "Quilts are a particularly—if not uniquely—American form, an art based on 'making do.' This frugality grew out of religious belief—every household worthy of its name had its scrap bag." According to Hughes, today's "high art" view of folk art (including textiles) "is tinged with benign condescension: here it is, the innocent social birdsong of early America." But one Civil War-era use for quilts was far from innocent. Numerous slaves stitched together patches that, when combined, served as maps along the Underground Railroad. Hung over fences, ostensibly to dry, quilts helped guide runaway slaves to safety.

These days, quilts unite a range of artists, school children, and families of AIDS victims as well as African Americans and little old ladies. And that impressive variety of perspectives can be seen in all its glory at the KMA throughout the coming weeks. Roots of Racism: Ignorance and Fear exhibits 54 quilts selected by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi. A long-time activist for women's rights and race relations, Mazloomi is author of the award-winning book titled Spirits of the Cloth. In addition to the above art quilts, there are ceramic tile squares crafted by students at Bearden and Northwest Middle Schools, and at Austin-East, Carter, Central, and Jefferson County High Schools (under the guidance of artist Peter Rose). There are also paper quilts made by kids from Beaumont and Sequoyah Elementary Schools.

The art quilts are created by women named Louise, Longfellow, Shirley Jo, Mei-Ling, and Joy, among others. Utilizing everything from vinyl and screen-printed photography to more traditional materials, they address such topics as violence, prejudice, idealism, and the nature of interpersonal relationships.

One quilt called "Injustice" by Almerphy Frank-Brown features a horrifying image of two lynching victims hanging from a tree, evoking Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit." Another spells out words from "God Bless the Child." Framed by a vibrant Manhattan skyline, "Racism Is Woven Throughout The Fabric Of Our Lives" presents a litany of terms relevant to racial issues. Kianga Hanif's "A Good Man Gone" contains dolls as well as words. Without sentimentality, it recounts the accidental and pointless death of one woman's son. As effective as the quilts are at employing language, strictly visual pieces are no less striking. Rayna Gillman's "Green Circle" revolves around a grouping of linked paper-doll-like figures with a single doll placed outside their sphere. Bordering areas of neon green almost pulsate with color. "Beyond Belief" by Lauren Camp has lines of newspaper text, but they are secondary to the overall picture. Flowers against a smattering of Stars of David—alluding to the scraps of felt pinned to ghetto inhabitants—hint at a state of grace. Clustered as they are, the stars seem as countless as the Nazi crimes perpetrated against those forced to wear them.

And then there are the fascinating and beautiful children's tiles and quilts. Regarding the collaborative experience in which Beaumont and Sequoyah students went back and forth to each other's schools, student Steven Simpson writes, "We had to listen to each other and not make rude comments. Most of all, we had to work together...all our work paid off, because we had a masterpiece. I could tell art is in everyone." One of the Beaumont/Sequoyah paper quilts shows a whip printed with the words fear and ignorance and surrounded by heads in profile, their innards visible. Says fourth-grader Eliza Dawson, "Our design was how brains get fear and ignorance whipped into them." Describing his group quilt's "then and now" approach, Kevin Horn remarks, "Notice the dates on the quilt. Notice how they overlap everything. This is because they were painted at the last minute when my mom [looking at a past-tense perspective of African Americans seated in the back of the bus] pointed out that some brain-dead grown-up might look at the bus and say, 'Those racist little kids!' [meaning us]...the point of our quilt was to show the changes in the ways black and white people interact."

Fifth-grader George Talley writes that he "accidentally knocked a brush loaded with red paint while it was in the cup, flinging a splatter of red paint across the picture. We didn't try and cover it up because it was like blood, representing the blood shed in wars based on cultural and racial differences." Sarah Baugh perhaps best sums up the project when she says, "When our quilt hangs in the art museum, I hope that people will feel that all people are created equal—we are all God's creations sharing the world together. We must respect each other and who we are."

Amen.