Introduction
Quilting is a unique technique for creating quilts from scraps of different fabrics, a popular pastime for African American women. The impossibility of self-expression found a response precisely in this type of creativity. With the help of symbols, African-American women declared their importance and expressed that they could also be involved in art. Currently, the surviving canvases are exhibited in museums and inspire contemporary artists.
Examples of Symbols
While working on the quilts, African-American women used bright fabrics, creatively connecting them and turning to biblical symbols and everyday stories. Harriet Powers, an enslaved woman from Georgia, created unique patchwork quilts expressing her position (Robinson 1). She said simple ideas through symbols: the portrayal of equal blacks and whites and the inclusion of African Americans in biblical stories. In many works of African Americans, there are also symbolic images of women, emphatically free and strong (Robinson 1). Symbols on patchwork quilts have become a means of expressing an essential part for many women: sisterhood and the beauty of black women.
Efficiency and Meaning of Symbols
The depiction of everyday and biblical scenes, exaggerated female figures, and equivalent blacks and whites signify the inner desire of the canvas creators to become full-fledged members of society. Quilting has played a significant role in the Black rights movement as it has become a way of self-expression for those who have been prevented from speaking for centuries. At the moment, the work of women is considered important and recognized. African American women remain a strong example of how to talk about what matters by proclaiming the need for equality and the beauty of freedom. Perhaps quilting has become not only one of the symbols of African American national culture but also a way in which many black women have become visible and significant.
Work Cited
Robinson, Shantay. “The Quilting Tradition”. Black Art in America, 2018. Web.