Above: African American quilt from the collection of Maude Southwell Wahlman. Courtesy of Oceanside Museum of Art

"SIGNS AND SYMBOLS"
African American Quilts from the Collection of Maude Southwell Wahlman
January 14 – March 18, 2012
Reception, February 4, 11 a.m.

This dazzling display of ten quilts from the collection of Dr. Maude Southwell Wahlman presents an indigenous American art, an alternative aesthetic tradition quite different from that seen in widely known European-American quilts.

African American quilts are characterized by strips, bold colors, large designs, asymmetry, multiple patterns, and improvisation. These quilts are unique in American arts because they show a combination or creolization of African textile ideas and symbols with American traditions.

This exhibition is one of a series of programs that is a part of Oceanside Public Library’s Big Read event. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. The 2012 Oceanside Big Read presents the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God," the acclaimed novel by African American writer Zora Neale Hurston.

The exhibition will open with a preview reception on Saturday, February 4 at 11:00 a.m. The reception is free and open to the public.

The nation's strongest tradition of African-American quilting survives today in the Southern United States, practiced by women who have pursued their art in face of difficult economic, social, and political odds. The exhibition honors 20th century African American quilt artists, some of who were contemporaries of Hurston, and also celebrates a living art form still practiced today.

About Dr. Maude Southwell:
Dr. Maude Southwell Wahlman, Professor of Global Arts at University of Missoury-Kansas City, has done extensive fieldwork in Africa, and throughout the South and New England, where she discovered and interviewed many African-American quilters, and documented their work. Her prize winning Yale dissertation, "African-American Quiltmaking: Origins, Development, and Significance," is recognized as landmark in the field. Dr. Wahlman has organized seventeen exhibitions, written four books, eleven exhibit catalogs, and over thirty articles on African and African American arts, and lectures widely in the United States.

Location: OMA: 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside, CA 92054. Google Map
760.435.3720

Museum Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 4pm
Sunday: 1pm - 4pm
Closed major holidays: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & New Year's Day

Admission: OMA Members free
General admission $8
Seniors 65 + $5
Students free with ID
Military and their dependents free with ID
North American Reciprocal Museum Program Members free with ID