AlaArts Awards '07:Gees Bend Quilters

one of the things that I've been most surprised that has been the international fame of this exhibition I mean I've been in museums since 1968 and I've never seen a phenomenon like this if you'd ask this women these women Bayou artists until recently they would have said no we're just doing this because it comes naturally so our definitions of artists and outsider artists are all thrown into question these quilts are important as contemporary art for several reasons the first being that they represent a tradition that has been passed on for a number of generations in a very small area in America Gee's Bend Alabama the quilts reflect the history of that area and of this country in their making and it asks all of us about genius you know and this project is important to me personally as an African American people are moved they cry they want to know the women what it came to be something and I know it so because I don't see them on the wall I fell in love with the art it's all left over things that have been discarded by others the way they the artists have been discarded by society and they take these discarded pieces and give them new and transcendent life when they say well we gon see how a quilt I would expect to see the new quit but when I walked in and saw all these old quilts it brought back the arm the memory of the hard time brought back Dee all struggle the pain the night that I was on awake from being hungry it brought all that back and I was thankful that I had opportunity to go and see all this history from Gees bein and knowing that I was part of it a part of it and I was welcomed with the people's they had to quit hanging in a museum awesome beer well he is telling us it was odd oh yeah I never thought I would get honor and praise by the quilt yeah ten or twelve fifteen years ago I didn't think this would happen we were selling quit but we didn't think this would happen until beer came along he told us that we had art week and I didn't know what I'd wait well he's gonna have all this beautiful art way healing on your mattress and things he's just going to mattress and trying to pull out and metal Chris we have up on there he said this is fine I like I said I'm worried he said yeah this is awkward women have said and I'm sure they said it to you they never realized that the world would respect them as human beings with respect what they did is being important and respect them with respect their culture respect their community and I'll tell you - I thought he was crazy about all the little wheels so what's wrong with you cooks like no good for nothing but when you don't know just standing back in me and wait and see what it'll burn and I did shut up and waited did it seem and see now what the Lord had done for Jesus being you

Channel: rssuttonplace

Views: 12,859

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Alabama, Arts, Awards, AlaArts, sutton, place, gees, bend, quilters

Id: 16lOdYmLSi0

Length: 4min 34sec (274 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 22 2008