International Quilt Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The Taft Museum of Art explores the longevity and craft of indigo-dyed textiles in its newest exhibition, Indigo and the Art of Quiltmaking. Opening October 4, the exhibition displays 20 quilts—each featuring indigo-dyed fabric—from the largest publicly held quilt collection in the world.
The exhibition will display the quilts in chronological order, from the early 1800s to 2014. The 20 works come from countries including Nigeria, Japan, and India, and showcase a range of indigo dyeing techniques.
Indigofera tinctoria, the scientific name for true indigo, has been used as dye for nearly 6,000 years because it does not wear down and lighten over time like most other dyes. The process begins with fermenting the leaves of the indigo plant, and then reducing the dye, which requires removing the oxygen from it. After the dye turns a green hue, it is deoxidized, then turning to the rich blue-purple color we know.
The process of indigo dyeing can look like a magic trick. Watching the process, you can see the dye change color in real time as it oxidizes on the fabric. Designs are created using specific resisting techniques, which prevents dye from moving through to other parts of the fabric.
International Quilt Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The 20 quilts are provided by the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska—the largest quilt museum in the world, with nearly 11,000 pieces in its complete collection.
Whole Cloth Quilt with “Flying Geese” Border, an intricate quilt from early 1800s New York, is one of the more intricate pieces in the exhibit. The un-attributed piece is one of two whole cloth quilts in the entire exhibit, which explains the vast attention to detail in its intricate indigo patterns.
“I think that even visitors who are not quilt enthusiasts will be surprised by how the quilts in this exhibition drawn them in with their sophisticated designs, serene colors, and fascinating history, not to mention incredible craftmanship,” says Angela Fuller, curator of the exhibition.
According to Fuller, her favorite piece is Rella Hall Thompson’s String Squares. Thompson, a child to once-enslaved parents, used cotton twine to quilt her pieces in the winter months. The result is an 85-by-68.5-inch multicolored quilt made up of squares of fabric strung together with twine.
For interested quilters, the Taft will offer workshops throughout the duration of the exhibition to design textiles with indigo or learn more about the quilting process at demonstrations with local quilters.
Indigo and the Art of Quiltmaking will be on view at the Taft Museum of Art’s Fifth Third Gallery from October 4-January 11. Tickets are $15 Wednesday to Saturday. Sundays and Mondays are free.
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