Quilt c. 1938

Editor: This is "Quilt," a watercolor and pencil drawing from around 1938 by Clyde L. Cheney. I find the geometric shapes strangely comforting. What cultural echoes do you hear when you look at this piece? Curator: The arrangement of shapes and colors really strikes me. A central star, cross-like division…consider the resonance of the star as a symbol – navigation, destiny, even divinity. It’s placed within a cross, an incredibly potent symbol across cultures. Editor: I see what you mean about the symbolic power. The cross form seems so basic but is present across time and space. Curator: Exactly. And then look at the way these forms interact with the specific colors; do the colors remind you of anything? Is it the type you may have seen in similar drawings, weavings or textiles? Editor: The red and green are interesting… is there anything significant in the colors or color pairings? Curator: Red and green evoke certain seasonal, almost primal, connections to life and death. But what strikes me here is the flattened, almost diagrammatic approach. Do you see how Cheney’s rendering avoids three-dimensionality? What do you suppose this communicates? Editor: Perhaps it invites us to contemplate the essence of the forms rather than getting lost in illusionism? Like, it invites a pure consideration of meaning, or memory? Curator: Precisely. It reminds us that the power of images lies not just in representation, but in the collective stories they tell and how it contributes to how it impacts future representation. Editor: This really opens up so much more to consider than I initially realized! It is less simple. Curator: It’s like rediscovering a familiar word and understanding its etymology: old, complex roots.