Description:
Visual description: This quilted textile piece, oriented vertically, features five alternating blue and white horizontal bands with printed designs and photographic negatives. The three blue stripes contain scenes of Black figures in dress of various historical periods. The two white bands contain iron-bottom, leaf-like patterns, layered on top of one another. The shapes are elongated and symmetrical, rendered in a warm beige color against a lighter background, each identical in their perforated holes and dashes. The top white band contains fewer, darker patterns, pointing upwards, while the bottom white band features, more and lighter of these shapes, pointing downwards. The middle blue stripe is bracketed by two strips patterned with the colonial American flag, while the bottom blue stripe is bordered by strips of a more modern iteration of the American flag, with inverted colors. The entire quilt is bordered by a thin white cloth striped with blue. (Text: Naomi Meyer '27)
Label Text:
This quilted reimagining of the American flag highlights the ways that Black people are integral to the history of the United States. The fabric is an apt metaphor for how Black experiences and accomplishments are interwoven into the American story. Amaki used photographs printed as negatives to reveal the faces of this history ranging from the famous-the singer Billie Holiday (center row, far left)-to the familiar-Amaki's Aunt Celie and Aunt Bee in the 1920s (bottom row, far left). Amaki chose to not forget the faces that influence and create future generations of Americans and made a clear statement about the importance of their inclusion.
DeLyna Hadgu '21 (2021)
Tags:
African American; slavery; social commentary; flags; people; photographs Subjects:
Women artists; photographs; African American art; Flags; Human beings; Slavery; Cotton Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2014.73 |
