Quilts Not Art Claims Famous Feminist
Below is the opening line of a critique by famous feminist Germain Greer in The Guardian regarding a quilt exhibition of Edrica Huws works.
Making pictures from strips of cloth isn’t art at all - but it mocks art’s pretentions to the core
Now, I do have to admit that not all quilters are artists nor do all quilters aspire to be such. For example, the Gees Bend quilters did not set out to make art but were discovered to be artists of objects they deemed only utilitarian and such can be said of the Amish who do not believe in ornamental objects for the mere goal of an ornament. But does creating something that is visually pleasing and creatively stimulating not art?
According to Germain Greer who is responsible for this critique, quilts cannot be considered art because they are constructed with “strips of cloth” that do not stand the test of time. That fabric fades and dissolves as time goes by. She goes on to say “women have frittered their lives away stitching things for which there is no demand ever since vicarious leisure was invented.” I don’t know about you but the term “frittered” just makes me steam a little. I think she sounds a little jealous. But I am only reading into that. I would hope that as a feminist she would allow someone to be free to do what makes them happy and if “painting” with fabric instead of oils is the artists medium then she should be praising the women who break barriers pressing into the art world instead of demoralizing them for their talents. The great thing about the world is it is diverse and allows opportunities aplenty for everyone.
Here is a You Tube video of some of the Edrica Huws exhibit:
quilting, Edrica Huws, Germain Greer, Gees Bend Quilts, quilts, art quilts, Amish quilts
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:54 pm
How anti-intellectual of Ms. Greer to make such a statement. When I was at Syracuse University School of Visual and Performing Arts in the late seventies, I took a class on Media in the Arts, with “media” meaning the vehicle you used to express yourself. The teacher of the class gave a lecture on the design elements of quilting, gushing on about how clever the women were, using limited materials to make these beautiful items.
As far as quilts not standing the test of time, my mother owns a quilt made by her grandmother and it is still as fresh as the day it was made. Maybe art is in the eye of the beholder, but it does no good for anyone to belittle the accomplishments of others.
August 26th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Did Ms. Greer attend college? Not only do I have a museum that would like to debate with her but anyone who puts that much time into a passion is an artist.