a weep and a sleep

This full-size quilt by the artist Anna Von Mertens is a recent acquisition to the AMAM collection and is currently on view in the Education Hallway.  One hour that shaped the American experience is charted here through the procession of stars moving across the sky. This movement represents the passage of time from the moment that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot, in the early evening of April 4, 1968, until the time he was pronounced dead. This work visualizes the arc of the stars as they would have appeared had they not been obscured by the sun. Encapsulating several levels of human perception, this hand-stitched quilt invites us to contemplate how we relate to shared historical experiences. This quilt was created as part of the artist’s series As Stars Go By, which examines moments of violence from throughout American history that dramatically altered the future of the country. Other events illustrated in the series include the Battle of Wounded Knee, the Battle of the Bulge, Hiroshima, and the September 11 attacks. Von Mertens visualizes these acts as pivot points, not just in historical terms, but also scientific terms, as she depicts the star rotation patterns above these moments in time. Towards the right-hand side of the quilt, one can see the North Star, Polaris, as it barely moves in the sky (being just one degree off the celestial North Pole). The other stars chart longer paths since they are further removed from the Earth’s axis of rotation. During the hour and four minute time frame captured here, the stars have moved approximately 15 degrees across the sky. Von Mertens’ stitch-work is faithful to the stars’ movement and apparent colors, from blue to whitish-yellow to orange, which reflect their temperatures and star types. Through its physical size (it measures three and a half feet wide, by eight-feet long)  and metaphorical scale, the work captures an almost vertiginous sense of motion and proportion. Image: Anna Von Mertens (American, b. 1973) 6:01 pm until 7:05 pm, April 4, 1968, from the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee (looking in the direction the shots were fired), 2006 Hand-stitched cotton Gift of Michael (OC 1964) and Driek (OC 1965) Zirinsky in honor of the Oberlin College Class of ‘65, 2015.28.4

Jen Bervin, The River, Sequins, silver paper, mull, tryvek, and thread. Brooklyn Studio, 2011

[a study of light, deserts, blue]

“Today I lost one of my dearest friends, Catherine Coulson. Catherine was solid gold. She was always there for her friends — she was filled with love for all people — for her family — for her work.  She was a tireless worker. She had a great sense of humor — she loved to laugh and make people laugh. She was a spiritual person — a longtime TM meditator. She was the Log Lady.” - David Lynch

The media and the military still have a lot to learn.

Joanna Newsom, in an interview with UNCUT Magazine. (via onlynewsom)

Image: University of Colorado Boulder

-Nicole

Sylvia Plath  (via talisman)