Rosa Ella Kincaid: Untitled-

On a recent trip to the Nelson Art Gallery on Thursday October 29th, I had the privilege to view some spectacular quilting work. The exhibit, entitled “African American Quilts” had a display of amazing quilting artwork. Some of the works, which date back to the 19th century, showed an amazing use of color, shape, pattern, and structure. The unity that existed in the artwork was truly a sight to see. It’s funny how some things can be so abstract, but yet have the ability to form and function as one single design. I truly enjoyed all the designs that I had the privilege to view…

It is always interesting, when viewing quilts, or artwork of similar nature, to really see and visualize the patterns that are represented in the work. Even when the goal of the designer or artist may not necessary be to create a piece that is consistent in design, there is always some sort of shape and pattern that remains constant. One particular piece that I found to be extremely beautiful on my trip to the Gallery was an untitled piece, created by a woman by the name of Rosa Ella Kincaid. Born in 1886 in Washington D.C., Rosa provided the audience with a striking example of how rhythm and pattern can be viewed in her quilt work. Though the colors and fabrics may not have been “color coordinated” in the since that we as designers understand it to be, but there was extreme detail given to the particular color choices and patterns, that were used throughout the piece. In her piece, were are a lot of abstract shapes, from triangles to rectangles, which were all been joined together to create the final work of art. Perhaps one of the most striking features of the quilt was a strong pattern created by little women images. From the positioning of the bonnets one the characters heads, to the placement of their bodies, to the color of their clothes, the women characters which were placed throughout the entire quilt, helped to provide the audiences with not only a strong repeating pattern of shapes, but also provided both order, and closure to the work. The visual hierarchy was complete in this quilt because your eyes followed the entire quilt from top to bottom. A quilt of the artist's design helps designers like myself, become familiar with how shape, space and color help to create the full “picture.” Through this understanding of these concepts, we as designers are able to better interpret and understand the meanings of other artists’ work.