Vermelle “Bunnie” Rodriguez, director of the Gullah Museum( Pawley’s Island, SC) talks about the Africanisms represented in the Gullah/Geechee Culture. Rodriguez is an avid story quilter and member of the local quilting circle in her community.
The Skin Quilt Project
About The Skin Quilt Project:
The Skin Quilt Project, is a documentary that explores colorism in the African-American community through the stories of African-American quilters, and the artform that was passed down through generations to celebrate its culture. The quilters featured in the film speak of the influence of the African American quilting tradition in encouraging an appreciation for African-American cultural heritage.
Colorism has been a long disputed issue within the African-American community, however, filmmaker, Lauren Cross, speculates that African-American quilters are much more grounded in their African roots, and as quilt historian Carolyn Mazloomi states ” we joined by the thread of a needle” leaving no room the “color-complex.”
As many African-American quilters come from the families of quilters who’ve passed down quilting techniques to their children and grandchildren, today’s quilters represent African-American men and women who have become concerned with telling the story of their cultural heritage. In The Skin Quilt Project, quilters tell the story of skin color politics in African-American culture, yet realizing the power of quilting to empower self-confidence their community.
About the Artist:
Lauren Cross is a writer, activist, and interdisciplinary artist working in mixed media, photography, media arts, and installation art. Her current research interests include the issues of colorism and the “color complex” within the African American community, and her current work addresses ideals of beauty, race, and skin complexion in media imagery. She is also the founder and editor of CVAAD Projects( www.cvaad.com), an online blog and resource for contemporary visual art of the African diaspora. She received her BA in Art, Design, and Media from Richmond, The American International University in London, England, and she is a MFA in Visual Arts candidate at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. She currently teaches at Stonehill College, Easton, MA.
For more information,
please contact us at:
info@skinquiltproject.com
Quilting and Participant Links:
www.artbysshine.com
www.wendellgeorgebrown.net
http://blackthreads.blogspot.com
www.bluetrianglequiltguild.com
www.africanamericanartquilt.com
http://auburn.edu/academic/other
/geesbend/home.html
www.carolynlmazloomi.com/
http://richerichardsonartquilts.blogspot.com/
www.myspace.com/darianurbangriot
www.myspace.com/mahoganylbrowne
The Skin Quilt Project features fiber artists Wendell George Brown and Michael Cummings in the upcoming documentary, here they discus the misconceptions of gender in African-American quilting and the history of male influences in textile/fiber arts.
0 This post is tagged with: The Skin Quilt Project Michael Cummings Wendell George Brown African American male quilters quilters quilt black quilters
The Skin Quilt Project features quilt historian Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi discussing her journey into researching and documenting contemporary African American quilts.
The Skin Quilt Project featured in Glimpse Journal's Color issue!
Check out Page 78-81 to read about Director, Lauren Cross and The Skin Quilt Project in Glimpse Journal!
Director of Music and composer for The Skin Quilt Project, Solomon Cross!
Introducing the official Director of Music & Composer for The Skin Quilt Project score, Solomon Cross. Solomon Cross is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where he received his Masters in Music,and the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston in Houston,Texas where he earned his bachelors. He will be releasing his debut album, Be Free on November 27, 2009. Only 4 days left to pre-order your copy for only $10! Feel free to check out his website( www.solomoncrossonline.com) for more details.
African American Quilting Scholars in The Skin Quilt Project!
The Skin Quilt Project will be interviewing two of the most cutting-edge African American quilting scholars of today, Ms. Kyra Hicks (Arlington,VA) and Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi( West Chester, OH). Both have contributed extensively to the development of writings on the African American quilting tradition, as well as elevating the history and stories of the African-American quilters that they feature.
Kyra Hicks is the author of Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook(2003), Martha Ann’s Quilt for Queen Victoria(2006), and her recently published book This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers’ Bible Quilt and Other Pieces(2009).
Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi is the author of Spirits of the Cloth: Contemporary African American Quilts(1998); Textural Rhythms: Quilting the Jazz Tradition(Paper Moon Publications, 2007); and Quilting African American Women’s History: Our Creativity, Champions and Challenges(Paper Moon Publications, 2008). She is also an independent curator of exhibitions such as Threads of Faith(2004); Quilting African American Women’s History: Our Creativity, Champions and Challenges(2008); and she also assisted curator, Roland Freeman with the inaugural exhibition, Quilts for Obama: Celebrating the Inaugration of our 44th President. Dr. Mazloomi is the founder of the Women of Color Quilters Network, an organization built to foster and preserve the art of quiltmaking among women of color. Her new book The Journey of Hope in America: Art Quilts Inspired by Presideny Barack Obama is scheduled for release in December 2009. The Skin Quilt Project participant Sherry Shine’s art Quilt is featured on the cover.
Quilting in South Carolina and the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor!
What a treat we’re in for during on the upcoming trip to South Carolina, with an amazing lineup of African American and Gullah quilters!
To give you an introduction, the Gullah/Geechee culture is one of the most-defined groups of African Americans who have managed to maintain a strong connection to their African roots, some of their tools of expression being basket-weaving and quilting traditions! The Gullah/Geechee cultural presence can be traced from the coasts of North Carolina all the way down to Jacksonville, Florida. To find out more about the Gullah/Geechee culture check out the link to the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.
There is also a great rooted history of the African American culture in places like Charleston and Georgetown, South Carolina leading back to the transportation of slaves from Africa. I’ve often heard about the historic slave market in Charleston, but in the context of The Skin Quilt Project it has new meaning. If anyone has ever read the book, Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad( Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard, Ph.D) you know exactly what I mean. The story is about a woman in Charleston, SC who revealed a secret code used in the underground railroad during slavery. It’s a fascinating and thought provoking book that suggests the cultural connections between the history of the African American quilting tradition, slavery, and the Underground railroad. Despite it’s interesting points, the theories in the book have also been questioned by many scholars and historians as they debate whether there was truly a “secret code” during slavery. Where it’s true or not it’s certainly an interesting take on the African American quilting tradition.
During the upcoming trip we will also be visiting a variety of historical sites that will allow us to visualize the history of the African American experience in the south.
We’re excited to be interviewing quilters Wendell George Brown, Cookie Washington, Vermelle “Bunny” Rodrigues at the Gullah Museum, and Dorothy Montgomery. Please stay tuned for more updates on what we found!
0 This post is tagged with: Gullah Geechee Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor South Carolina slavery slave trade African Africanslaves quilting African heritage slaver market
The Skin Quilt Project featured in Glimpse Journal's Color issue!
Stay tuned to the upcoming “Color” issue of the Glimpse Journal, an interdisciplinary journal that examines the functions, processes, and effects of vision and its implications for being, knowing, and constructing our world(s). Director of The Skin Quilt Project, Lauren Cross has contributed a essay to the Glimpse vol 2.3, Color issue detailing the conception of the documentary and her personal experiences with colorism. Check out the posting on the project on the Glimpse Journal blog!
On the set with The Skin Quilt Project!
On the set of The Skin Quilt Project with Dr. Midge Wilson, Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at DePaul University(Chicago, IL), quilter Mrs. Auian Ward featuring her beautiful wealth of quilts(Houston, Texas), and artist Carolyn Crump in the studio( Houston, Texas).
Photo credits:
Photos of Mrs. Auian Ward and Carolyn Crump by Lauren Cross
Photos of Dr. Midge Wilson by Jewelette Christopher
Spoken Word poets featured in The Skin Quilt Project!
The Skin Quilt Project will feature the collaborative work of New York poets Mahogany Browne and Darian Dauchan performing a new poem about the African American quilting tradition. I’m so excited about what they’ve put together, they are both notable poets( and performers) who have spread their artistry across the country and we’re honored to have them apart of the project. Be sure to check out their work on myspace.com!
Mahogany Browne: www.myspace.com/mahoganylbrowne
Darian Dauchan: www.myspace.com/darianurbangriot
