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‘Great American Quilt Revival’ to be shown at Western on Feb. 23
“The Great American Quilt Revival,” a documentary film about events that propelled quilting from a folk craft to a mainstream art form, will be shown at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center.
For centuries, quilts have been the stamp of a family’s identity, communicating messages in their patterns, and still giving warmth on cold nights, said Suzanne McDowell, center curator. The art of quiltmaking took a dramatic turn in 1971, McDowell said, when the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York hung quilts on the walls of the museum like paintings.
Quilt author/teacher Georgia Bonesteel, right, and her son, Paul Bonesteel, produced the film to be shown at Western Carolina University Tuesday, Feb. 23.
The exhibit sent shock waves through the modern art world and ignited a worldwide awareness of American quilts. That American phenomenon is detailed in the new documentary, McDowell said.
Co-produced by Bonesteel Films and quilting teacher-author Georgia Bonesteel, the film examines the history of quilting through the eyes of several quilters and historians, including Cuesta Benberry, Jonathan Holstein, Jean Ray Laury and narrator Georgia Bonesteel.
For 30 years, Bonesteel has been a leader in the quilt world, and has shared her enthusiasm and love of quilting on public television since 1979. The film gave her a chance to work with her son, Paul.
“Paul forced me to look at the fantastic story of the American Quilt Revival from outside the quilt world, looking in,” Bonesteel said. “I think this has helped make this film interesting to everyone -- not just quilters.”
The free documentary presentation is the final in a series of events complementing the “Airing of the Quilts” exhibit at the Mountain Heritage Center. On display through Feb. 28, the exhibit features more than 40 regional quilts.
For more information, contact the Mountain Heritage Center at 227-7129.
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