I always look forward to Friday's New York Times because it has a whole section on art, with reviews of several current shows. And this morning's paper started out well, with a review of a fiber art show in Boston that wasn't the least bit condescending, didn't refer to anybody's grandma, and talked about "the timeless, haptic allure of fiber art." Bravo!
But farther down the page, by the same reviewer, came a description of a show by Sanford Biggers, an African-American artist who makes paintings, collages, sculptures and videos. One of the pieces that the reviewer described is a large sculpture made from antique quilt fragments.
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| Marianne Boesky Gallery |
The reviewer explains that antique quilts "are central to the art of the African diaspora" (true) and "were signposts used on the Underground Railroad" (FALSE!!!!!!!).
I am so sick of hearing this fake news, which has been debunked so many times, such as here by the scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. Just as disappointing as hearing that these are or aren't like your grandma's quilts.
Then there's the "slave quilt" on Antiques Roadshow http://willywonkyquilts.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-stuff-of-legends-part-4-slave-quilt.html?m=1
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard about that one...
Deletewhat is it about quilts that bring out the cliches and glib assumptions?
Sigh. All we can do is keep pushing forward with the truth. Why don't you write a response to the article?
ReplyDeleteI did send a correction/complaint message to the newspaper; will let you know if anything more ever happens.
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