January 30, 2004
Contact: Jo Ann Lloyd
(805) 756-1511
Cal Poly Staff Member Quilt on Display in New York City Exhibition;
Piece Created to Dispel Negative Stereotypes of Black Women
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Denise Campbell, Cal Poly’s special assistant
to the
provost for university initiatives, has turned her scholarly pursuit of
African American quilt history into a means of conveying spiritual
messages of inspiration and healing. Her latest creation, titled “Would
the Real Jemima Please Stand Up and Claim Her Inheritance?” is part
of
an exhibit that recently opened at the Gallery of the American Bible
Society in New York City.
The show, “Threads of Faith: Recent Works from the Women of Color
Quilters Network,” examines contemporary African American quilts
produced by a community inspired by faith, the Bible and American
Christian traditions, according to Campbell. The exhibition has earned
very favorable reviews in both The New York Times and New York Newsday
Inc. online.
“The 53 quilts on display testify to the continuing responsive
nature of
this traditional art form,” Campbell said. “The quilts record
personal
histories, make political statements, celebrate family values, and
reflect the role of faith and Christian tradition in shared history,
regardless of personal religious belief. Faith connects these African
American artists both to their individual pasts and their collective
legacy.”
Campbell’s quilt, the first in her Jemima series, is intended to
dispel
negative stereotypes about black women. The quilt was inspired by sacred
scripture from the Bible’s “Book of Job.”
“Jemima, whose name means ‘beautiful as the day,’ was
the eldest
daughter of Job’s restored life,” Campbell said. “God
intended Jemima to
be remembered as a symbol of beauty and restoration.
“Popular man-made images of Jemima evolved from a grotesque caricature
of a black woman slave on a pancake box,” Campbell said. “Scholars
suggest that by interrogating and deconstructing such negative
representations, we begin the process of rendering them ineffectual.
“My quilt is intended to reclaim God’s truth about the name,
image and
inheritance of Jemima and reveals the uncelebrated significance of one
of the most widely told biblical stories of patience, faith, healing and
restoration,” Campbell said.
Campbell, who just returned from the exhibit’s New York City opening,
said it was the
largest opening in the history of the American Bible Society Museum.
After the New York installation ends April 17, the quilt exhibition is
expected to travel to various locations throughout the United States.
Her quilt, which took approximately 500 hours to complete, appears as
one of the catalog cover images and is also featured on the Web site in
the last catalog section, “We Have Come This Far By Faith.”
To see it,
go online to www.americanbible.org, click on “Threads of Faith,”
and on
“We Have Come This Far by Faith.” The quilt features detailed
hand
embroidery, appliqué techniques and close-hand quilting.
A quote and more information about Campbell’s quilt and the exhibit
are
also available on the Newsday Inc. Web site at
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/newyork/nyc-blackhist0130.story and
The New York Times online edition at
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/30/arts/design/30QUIL.html?8hpib.
Now pursuing a Ph.D. in cultural studies at Claremont Graduate
University, Campbell serves as a research assistant to Carolyn Mazloomi,
the exhibit curator and author of the exhibit’s accompanying book,
which
can be purchased online from the American Bible Society Bookstore.
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