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Baron Samedi Visits His New Orlean’s Cousins

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-5647

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:

10.0174

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

2010:115.1

Object label:

Baron Samedi Visits His New Orleans
Diana N'Diaye
Washington D.C.
2008-2010
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2010:115.1

Essay:

I began this quilt as an artist in residence at Michigan State University. It was inspiring to work right in the gallery surrounded by the powerful quilts assembled for the exhibition celebrating the Declaration of Human Rights. I was honored that the University chose to acquire the finished work. I thank Pat Turner, UC Davis, for including the piece in
progress in a presentation at the American Folklore Society on “Katrina quilts” and Marsha MacDowell for showing interest and patience as I completed it.

The boat and the water have been both the sites of despair and death and means of escape and hope economic and physical lifelines for Haitians and the people of African descent in New Orleans. Baron Samedi in the sacred traditions of Haiti- and in New Orleans, is both guardian of the cemetery and the lwa of procreation/fertility/virility. He combines both the origins of life and the decay of the body. He inspires acts of conception and leads souls to the afterlife.

The inner border alludes to the oil spills that represents new water related difficulties that impact the lives, peoples and cultures of the region. I always saw the image of the crowded ships that brought Africans across the Middle Passage to these shores and the Caribbean as powerful but as I sewed the images to the quilt marking the stitches with attention to the number of human beings whose bodies lay side by side, I suddenly had a visceral sense of what it must have been like to be on that ship.The boats that bring Haitians on the risky journey to the US borders (as depicted in the quilt) are equally as crowded as were some of the boats attempting to rescue Katrina survivors. It was tempting to include images from and allusions to the recent earthquake, but chose to deal with water related issues only in this piece.

I wanted the quilt, though depicting devastation to be beautiful even in the depiction of tragedy, in homage to the people of both Haiti and New Orleans who continue with so much tragedy with spirit and creativity.


-- Diana N'Diaye

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 Caribbean 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.

Quilt's title:

Baron Samedi Visits His New Orlean’s Cousins

Subject of the quilt:

Hurrican Katrina

Quilt top made by:

N'Diaye, Diana

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Washington, D.C.

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Time period:

2000-2025

When was the quilt started?

2009

When was the quilt finished?

2010

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative; Memorial

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's state:

Washington D.C.

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

African American, Caribbean

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

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. 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.

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

71 1/2"

How long is the quilt?

53"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Rounded

What color is the quilt?

Blue; Gray; Pink; Red; Yellow; White

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Type of inscription:

Signature; Date

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Diana N’Diaye

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

2010

Method used to make the inscription:

Attached label; Computer generated

Location of inscription:

on back

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Number of quilt blocks:

1

Medallion size:

40 1/2" x 20"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

Inner, 1 1/2” solid red; middle, 3 1/2” batik; outer, 4” organza

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton; Cotton or polyester blend

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Satin

Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:

Organza

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique; Machine Applique; Fusible Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Photography/ photo transfer

Embellishments used:

Beads attached

Materials used to make the back:

Satin

What color is the back of the quilt?

Pink

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

1

Fabric structure of the binding:

Satin/sateen

How is the binding made?

Back turned to front

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cannot tell

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting; Machine quilting

Describe the quilting designs used:

Intricate wreaths and 1/4" cross hatching

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

The artist appliquéd the medallion and borders onto a pre-made pink satin, quilted baby quilt.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new; Sewing scraps

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Another quilt

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

MSU Museum, August-December, 2010, The Michigan Quilt Project Showcase.

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Unknown

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

I began this quilt as an artist in residence at Michigan State University. It was inspiring to work right in the gallery surrounded by the powerful quilts assembled for the exhibition celebrating the Declaration of Human Rights. I was honored that the University chose to acquire the finished work. I thank Pat Turner, UC Davis for including the piece in progress in a presentation at the American Folklore Society on "Katrina quilts" and Marsha MacDowell for showing interest and patience as I completed it. About the quilt: The boats and the water have been both the sites of despair and death and means of escape and hope economic and physical lifelines for Haitians and the people of African descent in New Orleans. Baron Samedi in the sacred traditions of Haiti-and in New Orleans, is both guardian of the cemetery and the lwa of procreation/ fertility/ virility. He combines both the origins of life and the decay of the body. He inspires acts of conception and leads souls to the afterlife. The inner border alludes to the oil spills that represents new water related difficulties that impact the lives, peoples and cultures of the region. I always saw the image of the crowded ships that brought Africans across the Middle Passage to these shores and the Caribbean as powerful but as I sewed the images to the quilt marking the stitches with attention to the number of human beings whose bodies lay side by side, I suddenly had a visceral sense of what it must have been like to be on that ship. The boats that bring Haitians on the risky journey to the US borders (as depicted in the quilt) are equally as crowded as were some of the boats attempting to rescue Katrina survivors. It was tempting to include images from and allusions to the recent earthquake, but chose to deal with water related issues only in this piece. I wanted the quilt, though depicting devastation to be beautiful even in the depiction of tragedy, in homage to the people of both Haiti and New Orleans who continue with so much tragedy with spirit and creativity. The appliquéd and beaded quilt includes both machine and hand quilting, digital images and novelty prints, recycled and new textiles.

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

MSU Board of Trustees

Cite this Quilt

N'Diaye, Dian. Baron Samedi Visits His New Orlean’s Cousins. 2010. 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=12-8-5647. Accessed: 03/29/24

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