L'Amérique comme patchwork

Résumé 0

This paper seeks to map out the relationship between America and its unique cultural art form, patchwork quilts, by looking into some of their patterns, figures and values. Quilts are first perceived as icons of American identity. Within this context, they are then examined from various perspectives including individual, collective, national memory, and more broadly, in their interactions with time. Several types of expression specific to the historical tradition of American patchwork are investigated, as an allegory of domesticity but also as an art form which has both social and political implications. Lastly, the art and tradition of patchwork are repositioned within the context of American painting, where they have inspired and nurtured a number of contemporary trends.