QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-5017
Who documented this quilt?
Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Quilts and Human Rights; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Michigan State University Museum
Michigan Quilt Project Number:
08.0007
If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:
2008:120.1
Object label:
So Many Twin Towers
Diana N'Diaye
Washington, D.C.
2007
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2008:120.1
Essay:
My work is inspired by traditions of visual storytelling and improvisation in the quilts created by Sea Island needle artists. My ancestors and elders are my muses, always with me in my dreams at my sewing table. This piece was created as a gut response to the bombing of Afghanistan and other inhumane and inappropriate reactions to the bombings on 9/11. These actions and subsequent invasion of Iraq, violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have added innumerable innocent deaths and ruined lives to the toll of the tragedy of the twin towers.
N'Diaye is an anthropologist, visual artist, Cultural Heritage Specialist and Curator at the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and a Research Associate, Michigan State University Museum. N'Diaye grew up in a Carribean family where she learned at an early age a love of needlework from her elder aunts and a love of working with cloth from her mother Patricia Croney and her teacher, New York couturier Zelda Wynn. She also counts artist and quiltmaker friend Faith Ringgold as an early mentor and influence. In the early 1980s, Dr. N'Diaye was a member of the Urban Fiber Artists. Her work was featured in the juried exhibition Folk Art-Traditions and Innovations at Harmony Hall Gallery, Fort Washington, Maryland, in 2007.
Quilt's title:
So Many Twin Towers
Quilt top made by:
N'Diaye, Diana
Quilted by:
N'Diaye, Diana
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Made the quilt
Where the quilt was made, city:
Washington
Where the quilt was made, state:
Washington D.C.
Where the quilt was made, country:
United States
Time period:
2000-2025
When was the quilt finished?
2007
Why was the quilt made?
Art or personal expression
Quilt is presently used as:
Artwork/wall hanging
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's city:
Washilngton
Quiltmaker's state:
Washington D.C.
Quiltmaker's country:
United States
In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?
Urban
Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:
African American, Carribean
Quiltmaker's educational background:
PhD, Anthropology and Visual Studies, Union Institute Graduate School, Cincinnati, OH, 1997
Quiltmaker's occupation:
Anthropologist, visual artist, Cultural Heritage Specialist and Curator at the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and a Research Associate, Michigan State University Museum
Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:
African American, Carribean
Other notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:
learned at an early age a love of needlework from her elder aunts and a love of working with cloth from her mother Patricia Croney and her teacher, New York couturier Zelda Wynn. She also counts artist and quiltmaker friend Faith Ringgold as an early mentor and influence.
Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?
In the early 1980s, Dr. N'Diaye was a member of the Urban Fiber Artists
This is a:
Finished quilt
Shape of edge:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
Brown; Gold; Green; Purple; Red; Turquoise
Quilt's condition:
Excellent/like new
What is inscribed on the quilt?
Article 28 Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized Article 30 Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein. Printed on strips of pinked, grayish-brown fabrics.
Method used to make the inscription:
Printed in the fabric
Location of inscription:
on block
Describe the quilt's layout:
Medallion or framed center
Number of quilt blocks:
1
Medallion size:
20 1/2" x 25 1/2"
Arrangement of quilt blocks:
Straight
Number of borders:
2
Describe the borders:
Inner, 1 3/4" purple and gold chevron weave fabric on 3 sides, not on the top Outer, 4 1/2" green silk
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:
Metallic
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Machine Piecing
Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?
no
Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:
Machine Applique
Novelty techniques used to make the quilt top:
Folding
Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:
Attachments (beading, charms, buttons, etc); Photography/ photo transfer
Embellishments used:
Ribbon thread
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
Describe the binding:
Metallic piping
How is the binding made?
Back turned to front
What kind of filling is used in the quilt?
Cannot tell
How thick is the quilt?
Medium (3/16?)
How are the layers held together?
Machine quilting
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Outline
Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:
My work is inspired by traditions of visual storytelling and improvisation in the quilts created by Sea Island needle artists. My ancestors and elders are my muses, always with me in my dreams at my sewing table. This piece was created as a gut response to the bombing of Afghanistan and other inhumane and inappropriate reactions to the bombings on 9/11. These actions and subsequent invasion of Iraq, violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have added innumerable innocent deaths and ruined lives to the toll of the tragedy of the twin towers.
Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:
Quilts and Human Rights, Michigan State University Museum, January 15 - August 24, 2008
Source of the information on this quilt:
Museum employee
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's name:
Diana, N'Diaye
Quilt owner's city:
Washinton
Quilt owner's state:
Washington D.C.
Quilt owner's country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Made by owner
Details
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?
Made entire quilt
If the source helped design the quilt, describe their input:
Designed the pattern
The quilt was made to be used for:
Artwork/wall hanging
Who photographed this quilt?
Pearl Yee Wong
Copyright holder:
Michigan State University Museum
Cite this Quilt
N'Diaye, Dian. So Many Twin Towers. 2007. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Quilts and Human Rights; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-5017. Accessed: 04/18/24
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