San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
520 South 1st Street
San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 971-0323
$8 entrance, $6.50 students/seniors, children 12 and under are free
While I have visited over a dozen cultural or entertaining
locations over the last four weeks, the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
stands as the most inspirational and is my favorite new discovery. I am baffled that I didn’t even know this
place existed.
Opening in 1977, this was the first museum in the United
States to showcase quilts and textiles as an art form – hard to believe, since
quilts are such a traditional part of American culture. It has existed in a variety of locations over
the years but came to its permanent home on 1st street in
2005. It is a large, clean facility
lined with palm trees out front on what appears to be a newly renovated block –
there is an open area with a large sculpture and landscaping immediately
opposite the storefront, so I felt very safe despite its "edge of downtown" location. We found free
parking on the street right out front as it was the weekend, but parking is
metered on weekdays. As a bonus, there
is a pottery studio with a small gallery only 100 yards away. More on that in a future blog.
The museum itself has five designated spaces. To the right of the front entrance is an open
workspace where they hold museum events, such as lectures and classes. They are actively engaged in outreach to children,
schools, and the community at large, holding classes for beginners and advanced
artists. Some upcoming events include
“The Basics of Hand Sewing,” “Inside Quilt National,” and “Bead Embroidery for
Quilters.” They also promote quilting
and textile arts events elsewhere, such as the Crocker Arts Museum in
Sacramento where there is currently a historical quilt exhibit.
To the left of the entrance is a museum gift shop with lots
to look at or buy. However, the woman at
the front desk told us that they are planning to close the gift shop and use
the space for more participatory work – perhaps put in a bank of sewing
machines for classes. I admire that they
are choosing outreach and classes over commerce!
The three other spaces in the museum are galleries. The wide front hall currently holds an exhibit
showcasing the 1973-76 work of one particular quilting artist, Ros Cross. Her quilts are three-dimensional and
interactive, with flaps, stuffed geometrical shapes, and hanging pieces – very
inventive and playful.
A second smaller gallery currently displays small quilts,
approximately the size of pillowcases, which are Northern California-inspired
pieces made by members of Studio Art Quilt Associates. Many Incorporated the beaches, trees,
landscapes, agriculture, and activities we are so fond of.
Finally, the largest gallery, encompassing three spacious
rooms, displayed contemporary art quilts from Quilt National 2013, a juried
exhibition that has existed for almost 20 years sponsored by an art center in
Ohio. For the most part, these were
full-sized quilts that launched traditional quilt making into a modern art
form. So many techniques and ideas were
represented, some very dark and edgy, some representing urban life and
landscapes, some very abstract. More than I expected incorporated text and photographic images printed on fabric. Unfortunately,
photographs are not allowed in this part of the gallery, but I was able to find
some of the featured quilts online (and see the link to the slide show below). My
favorite was a quilt by Lorie McCown entitled “My Grandmother’s Dresses.” It looks more like a painting than a quilt,
and I love the colors and the concept of the quilt pieces as dresses hanging on
clotheslines in the wind. I am going to
attempt to make my own version of this quilt while I am here in San Jose where
my mom can help me through the tricky parts.
I’ve never been particularly interested in quilting; I like receiving
them as gifts and have several in my home, but I have never much wanted to make
one until visiting this gallery. These
modern quilts helped me to rethink what a quilt is – it doesn’t have to be a
feminine geometrical pattern of floral squares and triangles any more.
Here is a link to a slide show that contains images of quilts hanging on the walls of the gallery:
I visited with my cousin Emma, who is not only interested in
textile arts, but practices them as well – she is a superior knitter and writes
a knitting column for the San Jose Examiner.
Talking over exhibits with someone who knew more than I did about what I
was seeing added that much more to the experience. Going to this gallery as well as the San Jose
Museum of Art with her reinforced for me the joy of sharing art with someone
who appreciates it at approximately one’s own level and enjoys perusing pieces
at a similar pace. We usually read the
artists’ statements and explanatory plaques together, then discussed briefly
what we admired about a piece or what confused or unsettled us. We also played a little game invented by our
Aunt Vickie that is a favorite of mine in any gallery: in each room, after
looking at everything, we’d each have to share which piece we would take home
with us if we could. You can learn a lot
about a person this way!
Before leaving the museum, we had a brief conversation with
the staff member at the front desk. She
informed us about the upcoming events and encouraged us to take along
informative fliers. She also reminded us
that it is not just a quilt museum, but also an art gallery for textiles, such
as two dimensional or sculptural pieces that incorporate fabrics, hand-woven
cloths, unique clothing, knitting, etc.
She lamented that oftentimes, visitors will come and be upset when there
are no quilts on display. While I think
I’d be happy regardless of the exhibits, I suppose the lesson here is to call
or check the website before visiting if you are hoping for something
particular.
Speaking of exhibits, here are features from previous years that I wish I’d seen:
“Metamorphosis: Clothing and Identity”
“Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority
Nationalities”
“Folk Indian Textiles”
“Scrap Art”
“Contemporary Chinese Fiber Art”
“Hawaiian Quilts”
“Creating Community: Quilts as Women’s Shelter”
Also, here are the upcoming exhibits after the ones I’ve
written about move on:
Starting July 26: International TECHstyle Art Biennial 3
This features “work by
artists merging fiber media with new information and communication
technologies in their artistic processes, as a medium of artistic expression,
and/or in the content of their work.”
Also July 26: Vel
Garrick: Conversational Watercolor Quilts
This artist uses scraps of hundreds of
novelty fabrics, like prints of cartoon characters or animals that you’d find
in the children’s section of a fabric store, to piece together large mosaic
quilts that look like soft watercolor paintings from far away but are a
cacophony of color, shapes, and contemporary culture close up.
Coming November 15: Antique Ohio Amish Quilts
This exhibit will feature over forty quits made between
1880-1950 by the Amish living in Ohio.
This region also has historical links to quilting and the Underground
Railroad, which is not part of this exhibit but something I find fascinating.
I give this museum my highest recommendation for anyone who
is interested in sewing, quilting, and other fabric arts. If you are one of those people, I have
two novels to recommend as well: How to
Make an American Quilt, by Whitney Otto and The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier.
