DOI: 10.5176/2382-5650_CCS13.30
Authors: Sarah E Tucker
Abstract:
The quilt is a textile produced by joining two or more layers of cloth by means of a line of stitching. Each layer of cloth can be formed by joining/piecing together a number of smaller fragments to make a larger piece—patchwork, or by sewing pieces of cloth to a ground fabric, known as appliqué. The result is both functional and decorative and the lexicon of designs can be an indicator of both cultural and individual identity, and can be found in many different cultures.
The quilt is often written about in terms of nostalgia, or as a salvage craft: “...traditionally sewn painstakingly from recycled materials, (they) show the triumph of invention over poverty”.1 This methodology, however, has its limitations particularly as it represents a reductive approach to a medium as rich and varied as this one.
As an alternative, this paper will explore the quilt in terms of the Deleuzian smooth space, the material manifestation of a concept that marks out networked, relational, and transversal thought that has the potential to link both the most similar and the most disparate of ideas.
The ability of the quilt to communicate differences in material culture will be explored by considering the Ralli quilts of the Indus region, the Tivaevae of the Cook Islands, and two quilts made by contemporary Australian artists.
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