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