George Washington Quilt, Florence Peto, 1968
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2011
Pam and I spent this afternoon reviewing the quilts that will be in the Presidents exhibition and talking about where they would hang in the gallery. Generally, they fall into a few categories: presidential quilt patterns, quilts that incorporate commemorative handkerchiefs, quilts that incorporate commemorative fabrics, pictorial quilts, and then several quilts that do not fall into any category. The quilts are evenly spread into these categories -- about five or six in each. Since our gallery is chopped up into several smaller galleries, grouping these quilts together might work out very well. It would be nice to arrange them so that when the visitors arrive in the gallery, the first thing they see will be quilts using commemorative fabrics, then the first small gallery could be used for the handkerchief quilts, etc., saving the pictorial, and contemporary, quilts for last. I don't know if this will actually work out, but it might.
Pam and I also talked about a small wall in the gallery that is round. It is in a central location and now there is a large poster related the the current exhibition hung on that wall. Pam suggested painting it red or blue for the president's exhibit. I will have to think about that. Any dark color will be distracting and heavy up there. Perhaps a very light blue? We will probably have a curator's statement that will be posted on that wall.
Pam has very recently found two signature quilts she may bring in for the exhibit. They have the signatures of presidents and first ladies. The stumbling block with getting these is that they are not appraised. The quilts are in possession of a relative of the maker in Michigan. If the nephew (I think) is willing to take them to get appraised and can get it done in time, we can borrow the quilts. One quilt has signatures of all the presidents beginning with Reagan; the other has all the signatures of the first ladies beginning with Bess Truman. Since we have many quilts representing multiple presidents of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it would be nice to have one of the presidents of the 20th Century. Also, we have no other signature quilts. The matching first ladies quilt is a bonus. I really hope we are able to borrow this pair. They are very different visually from anything else in the exhibition.
This afternoon, during our meeting, Pam called a friend of hers and asked if she had a quilt for the exhibition. Her quilt is a contemporary art quilt called Hillary on the Run. She wanted to include this one because it represents conservative politics -- but does it? This is not a presidential pattern, or does it become one because the maker gave the quilt that name? This one person, the quiltmaker decides? No, I don't think so. My vote is not to include this quilt. It doesn't fit. Hillary was never elected, which brings up the subject of one other quilt slated to be in the exhibition: the Henry Clay quilt. Clay ran for President in a field of four, and was not a frontrunner. At this point, he is the only non-president represented in the exhibition. Should his quilt be there? The design is tumbling blocks, and Clay's picture is on one block in the center. I don't know off hand what the provenance of the quilt is; perhaps that is notable?
In addition to having a few potential quilts hanging out in the wings, there are two quilts that require expensive fine arts shipping. Pam and Connie have to make the decision on whether to spend the money to get those quilts. These two quilts are spectacular. I really hope they come to the NEQM in January! Then there are a few quilts Pam does not have commitments on. We may not get those.
I am frustrated that we don't know which quilts will be in the exhibit. And it's pretty challenging to write labels for quilts I don't even have decent images of. I'm sure it's been done before and somehow I will make it happen. I can write labels, but I could write better labels if I could see the quilts, or at lease better images of them.
I followed up this day at the museum by spending a few hours this evening making excel spread sheets, separating the quilts by the above categories. I created documents with images of the quilts in them, again by category. It is very helpful to have a visual of all the handkerchief quilts all together, all the pictorial quilts, etc. There are a handful of quilts I don't have images of yet. On Friday I am going to print these documents, take them up to the gallery and visualize each room with the quilts hanging.
Pam and I spent this afternoon reviewing the quilts that will be in the Presidents exhibition and talking about where they would hang in the gallery. Generally, they fall into a few categories: presidential quilt patterns, quilts that incorporate commemorative handkerchiefs, quilts that incorporate commemorative fabrics, pictorial quilts, and then several quilts that do not fall into any category. The quilts are evenly spread into these categories -- about five or six in each. Since our gallery is chopped up into several smaller galleries, grouping these quilts together might work out very well. It would be nice to arrange them so that when the visitors arrive in the gallery, the first thing they see will be quilts using commemorative fabrics, then the first small gallery could be used for the handkerchief quilts, etc., saving the pictorial, and contemporary, quilts for last. I don't know if this will actually work out, but it might.
Pam and I also talked about a small wall in the gallery that is round. It is in a central location and now there is a large poster related the the current exhibition hung on that wall. Pam suggested painting it red or blue for the president's exhibit. I will have to think about that. Any dark color will be distracting and heavy up there. Perhaps a very light blue? We will probably have a curator's statement that will be posted on that wall.
Pam has very recently found two signature quilts she may bring in for the exhibit. They have the signatures of presidents and first ladies. The stumbling block with getting these is that they are not appraised. The quilts are in possession of a relative of the maker in Michigan. If the nephew (I think) is willing to take them to get appraised and can get it done in time, we can borrow the quilts. One quilt has signatures of all the presidents beginning with Reagan; the other has all the signatures of the first ladies beginning with Bess Truman. Since we have many quilts representing multiple presidents of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it would be nice to have one of the presidents of the 20th Century. Also, we have no other signature quilts. The matching first ladies quilt is a bonus. I really hope we are able to borrow this pair. They are very different visually from anything else in the exhibition.
This afternoon, during our meeting, Pam called a friend of hers and asked if she had a quilt for the exhibition. Her quilt is a contemporary art quilt called Hillary on the Run. She wanted to include this one because it represents conservative politics -- but does it? This is not a presidential pattern, or does it become one because the maker gave the quilt that name? This one person, the quiltmaker decides? No, I don't think so. My vote is not to include this quilt. It doesn't fit. Hillary was never elected, which brings up the subject of one other quilt slated to be in the exhibition: the Henry Clay quilt. Clay ran for President in a field of four, and was not a frontrunner. At this point, he is the only non-president represented in the exhibition. Should his quilt be there? The design is tumbling blocks, and Clay's picture is on one block in the center. I don't know off hand what the provenance of the quilt is; perhaps that is notable?
In addition to having a few potential quilts hanging out in the wings, there are two quilts that require expensive fine arts shipping. Pam and Connie have to make the decision on whether to spend the money to get those quilts. These two quilts are spectacular. I really hope they come to the NEQM in January! Then there are a few quilts Pam does not have commitments on. We may not get those.
I am frustrated that we don't know which quilts will be in the exhibit. And it's pretty challenging to write labels for quilts I don't even have decent images of. I'm sure it's been done before and somehow I will make it happen. I can write labels, but I could write better labels if I could see the quilts, or at lease better images of them.
I followed up this day at the museum by spending a few hours this evening making excel spread sheets, separating the quilts by the above categories. I created documents with images of the quilts in them, again by category. It is very helpful to have a visual of all the handkerchief quilts all together, all the pictorial quilts, etc. There are a handful of quilts I don't have images of yet. On Friday I am going to print these documents, take them up to the gallery and visualize each room with the quilts hanging.
Holiday Express Train
Tuesday, Nov 22, 2011
The NEQM Holiday Express Train was set up today. This is a holiday display that began last year. The houses, train stations, churches, and all the buildings were made by museum staff and volunteers. They are made of fabric and collapse for storage. The two trains were running. The village was adorable. While wives look at quilts, husbands and kids like to look at the trains! This Saturday there is a holiday parade in Lowell. The NEQM hopes to attract additional visitors with display. Last year was the first time it was set up. Every year a little more is added. Hopefully, it will continue to grow and become a nice attraction inside the museum.
Today I continued to learn about labels, and looked at a lot of labels from photographs I have been taking when I have visited museums here in New England. I am reading a book called Exhibit Labels by Beverly Serrell. I like her writing style and she gives lots of examples. She talks about interpretive labels and active visitor participation. Her point is to engage the museum visitor with the object. I love the idea. Now I just have to figure out how to do it.
Today I also sat down for about an hour and looked at two scrap books that are part of the museum's collection. They were donated by the family of Hala Brownell. She made these scrap books in the 1920's and 30's. They consisted of newspaper and magazine articles about quilting, quilt patterns, and knitted spreads. She also included pretty pictures and poems. I found an article in there about commemorative handkerchiefs, believe it or not. Unfortunately, I didn't find the name of the publication anywhere on it. We have five quilts in the exhibit coming in January that have commemorative handkerchiefs in them.
The NEQM Holiday Express Train was set up today. This is a holiday display that began last year. The houses, train stations, churches, and all the buildings were made by museum staff and volunteers. They are made of fabric and collapse for storage. The two trains were running. The village was adorable. While wives look at quilts, husbands and kids like to look at the trains! This Saturday there is a holiday parade in Lowell. The NEQM hopes to attract additional visitors with display. Last year was the first time it was set up. Every year a little more is added. Hopefully, it will continue to grow and become a nice attraction inside the museum.
Today I continued to learn about labels, and looked at a lot of labels from photographs I have been taking when I have visited museums here in New England. I am reading a book called Exhibit Labels by Beverly Serrell. I like her writing style and she gives lots of examples. She talks about interpretive labels and active visitor participation. Her point is to engage the museum visitor with the object. I love the idea. Now I just have to figure out how to do it.
Today I also sat down for about an hour and looked at two scrap books that are part of the museum's collection. They were donated by the family of Hala Brownell. She made these scrap books in the 1920's and 30's. They consisted of newspaper and magazine articles about quilting, quilt patterns, and knitted spreads. She also included pretty pictures and poems. I found an article in there about commemorative handkerchiefs, believe it or not. Unfortunately, I didn't find the name of the publication anywhere on it. We have five quilts in the exhibit coming in January that have commemorative handkerchiefs in them.
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