Blocks and Strips 2003

Editor: So, this textile piece, "Blocks and Strips," was made in 2003 by Sally Mae Pettway Mixon. It’s a very striking design, simple, yet… powerful in its geometry. What do you see in this work, beyond just its visual appeal? Curator: Immediately, I am drawn to the grid, which resonates with so much cultural history, doesn’t it? Think of city planning, modernist art, even weaving itself—a pre-programmed grid. This quilt appropriates that powerful symbol but disrupts its rigidity with those handmade stitches. Does it make you think of anything beyond the visual? Editor: The handmade element makes me think about how much labor is embedded in such a simple object. Maybe… resilience? Curator: Resilience, yes, I think you're right to associate it with resilience! The Gee’s Bend quilting tradition, from which Mixon comes, tells a story of a community marked by both hardship and remarkable creativity. These women took what was available and transformed discarded fabric into objects of beauty, warmth, and, significantly, art. Do you notice how the dark strips are very bold? Editor: I do. They almost feel like… bars. But also, like pathways, somehow. Curator: Precisely! Symbols rarely carry just one meaning, do they? They hold multiple possibilities, just as this quilt carries the weight of history and hope within its stitches. Perhaps Mixon is commenting on social constraints. And doesn't it spark memories and familial comfort? Editor: Definitely. Now, seeing the context, I appreciate how it holds the past and also transcends it, becoming something new. Curator: Absolutely. These objects become so much more when we think about the memories and symbolism that imbue their designs. A humble quilt becomes a canvas for cultural memory.