Bisa Butler

Bisa Butler

09/18/21

QSOS-210

video

https://youtu.be/bJ9aD8KB_Jo

Bisa Butler

Carolyn Mazloomi

Remote

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<title>Touchstone quilt</title>
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<partial_transcript>Thank you-- Bisa, we're so happy to have you, at this event, and being able to interview you is really, very special. I have known you for over twenty years, and I've been, um, tracking your rise, not just through the quilt community but the whole period. It's been-- it's been phenomenal.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Bisa Butler discusses the first quilt that is up on the screen, a figurative patchwork portrait of a woman. She says it's an important quilt to her because it was one of the early pieces she made when she was still deciding what she wanted to say with her quilts. This piece references a photograph taken by Prentice Polk, a prominent photographer from Tennessee. The photograph is titled "The Boss." Bisa saw a powerful member of the Black community in this woman, and in spite of her worn clothing and handkerchief, she sees her as a queen figure. This piece was sold to the prolific Kinsley collection in 2006, from which it is currently being exhibited in the Tacoma Museum of Art</synopsis>
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<time>311</time>
<title>Art school education / Getting started quilting</title>
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<partial_transcript>Bisa, would you, um, tell us how you got started in quiltmaking-- I know that you're a trained painter, how did you transition into quiltmaking?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler was originally trained as a painter, going to Howard University in the 90s. The professors she studied under were influenced by the Black Power aesthetic from the 60s, and the AfriCOBRA movement (African Coalition of Bad Relevant Artists. As such, they passed on those values, including the belief that Black art should be for and represent Black people. The mentors of Butler's mentors, meanwhile, were prominent Harlem Renaissance artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Lois Jones, and Alma Thomas. Butler says that her people have always and continue to suffer in this country under various forms of inequality, and it is her and her peers' charge to use their talent to help their people, which is what she aims to do with her quilting practice. She didn't begin quilting until she made her first sampler quilt later on in graduate school, which is where everything started to come together for her.</synopsis>
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<time>501</time>
<title>Work space / Learning quiltmaking</title>
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<partial_transcript>Bisa, let me ask you, uh, where do you create your quilts? Can you-- do you have, um, a studio outside your home, or inside your home or, can you describe for-- for the audience?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler works on her quilts in her home, and doesn't have an external studio or a specific room for her work space. She started quilting when she was pregnant, when the smell of paint made her feel nauseous, and continued while she had to stay at home with her young children. Quilting became her solace, and provided her with a nurturing, protective feeling. She appreciated that quilting at home served her lifestyle needs at the time, and she continues to work comfortably at home. Butler started quilting as the online quilt community was coming into its own, so she was able to teach herself through videos and other online resources. She was also introduced to and accepted by more experienced quilters early on, who encouraged her to work on her craft and offered to teach her more effective ways of doing things.</synopsis>
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<time>709</time>
<title>Portrait quilts / What makes a great quilt</title>
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<partial_transcript>Um, do you have another quilt to share with us?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler discusses another one of her early pieces, for Carolyn Mazloomi's exhibit "And Still I Rise." This is a portrait of Paul Lawrence Dunbar entitled "I know why the caged bird sings," and it was one of two portrait quilts she made for this exhibit. It was significant to her to be in a nationally and internationally renowned touring quilt show, and she loved that a full color catalogue was made for these shows. She appreciated being accepted into the community and getting to see the dynamic work made by the other quilters. In terms of what makes a great quilt, Butler says that while perfect technique can impactful, she also appreciates when quilts have passion and beauty behind them that isn't just represented in the technique and aesthetic. She mentions some of the quilters from Gee's Bend as an example, and says that the quilts that touch her heart the most are the ones that look more hand sewn and grandmotherly.</synopsis>
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<time>901</time>
<title>Artist influences</title>
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<partial_transcript>What-- are there any artists that influence you, or, uh, you-- you follow, uh, can you let us know about that?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler finds inspiration in artists who not only make art that she enjoys looking at, but who have a story that shows that path they took to make this life possible. She mentions artists who started from very little and were still able to become successful, such as Romare Bearden and Alma Thomas. She also considers non-visual artists, like Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou. While she is also influenced and inspired by their art, she wants to see the path of how to live an artistic life, especially when there are challenges in the United States for living as a Black person even in ordinary work fields.</synopsis>
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<title>Harriet Tubman quilt</title>
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<partial_transcript>But you also made a quilt entitled "I Go To Prepare A Place For You," do you have an image of that?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler discusses her portrait quilt of Harriet Tubman. It's a 7 foot tall and 5 foot wide quilt that was commissioned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She was able to get access to their archives, and used a vintage photograph of Tubman as a reference for this quilt. This was the full-body, formal portrait photograph she had seen of Tubman, and she thinks of it as a personality of her. Butler also discusses her process in turning a black and white reference image into a colorful quilt. Since she grew up seeing black and white photographs and television, she is already experienced with filling in the colors of an image with her "mind's eye." She chooses her colors and printed fabrics to convey emotion, imagery, and personality. She also talks about the fabric making up Tubman's dress, which is printed cotton designed in the Congo by a group of woman who escaped war rape and live in a refuge together. She sees parallels between their journeys and Tubman's journey, hence why she wanted to include their designs in her project.</synopsis>
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<title>Harlem Hellfighters quilt</title>
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<partial_transcript>Can we see another piece?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler shares a reference photo and a detail imager of her in-progress quilt, entitled "Don't Tread On Me, God Damn, Let's Go!" This is a black and white image of 9 Black men in military uniforms, and she discovered that they were a group in World War I known as the Harlem Hellfighters. She was attracted to the beauty of them in this image, as well as their projected swagger and control. This image depicts the men on a boat, on their way back from France to New York. She is being commissioned by the Renwick Gallery in the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art to create this piece, and she shows an an image of three of the figures already mostly completed in the quilt. The title comes from the motto of the Harlem Hellfighters. Again, she is choosing colors and patterns in her fabric to attempt to describe the personalities that she sees coming from each of these men.</synopsis>
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<time>1918</time>
<title>Technology in quiltmaking process</title>
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<partial_transcript>Bisa, I, uh, I have a question I wanna back up a minute here, um, and reflect on the quiltmaking.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>While Butler still sketches with pen and paper, she says that technology has been instrumental in allowing her to access archives from all over the country, enabling her to do research and find reference images without traveling to every physical archive. In terms of the quilting process, she has recently switched to a long arm machine, which has sped up her process immensely, and allows her to treat stitched lines as part of the sketching process. When asked what makes a quilt appropriate for a museum, Butler references the idea of the "spirit" of a quilt, and the intention of the artist. While it's important to improve you're technique, whether or not you're self taught, the voice of the artist is also extremely important. What she tries to say through her quilts is that Black people are valuable humans who are equal to everyone else, and she tries to share the histories that have been erased from this country.</synopsis>
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<time>2172</time>
<title>Balancing her workload</title>
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<partial_transcript>Bisa, I'm-- I'm just curious also, because of your popularity not only here in the United States, but now around the world. I know that you travel, you give a lot of interviews, and you're very busy, um, not only in the studio but you're busy outside the studio. How do you find a balance between all the things that you have to do, because your life is so busy?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler says that she still struggles to balance her new workload, between her creative work and the traveling/interviewing she has to do. She finds a lot of support in her husband, her two adult children, and her father. They help her physically with her pieces, talk through her ideas and what she needs to prioritize to get work done, and help her with her social media presence. There's a village behind her, but she still has to work to meet her deadlines and get everything done.</synopsis>
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<time>2315</time>
<title>Advice for artists</title>
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<partial_transcript>Um, it's been wonderful, um, looking at these works, but, uh, I think there's one more work and I feel it's important, if we have, um, that last piece, "The Storm"? </partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler says that one of the most important pieces of advice she could give to people wanting to become professional textile artists is to talk to people in the art community. She calls herself a lifelong learner, and says that she wants to continue learning and trying new things for the rest of her life. She emphasizes the importance of virtually connecting with community when necessary, whether that's through listening to lectures or watching demonstrations. Butler says that the single most important factor in her receiving the publicity she has achieved is through word of mouth from the Black women who she talked to and learned from during her early career.</synopsis>
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<keywords>Learning quiltmaking; Online quilt communities; professional quiltmaker; African American quiltmakers; Knowledge transfer</keywords>
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<time>2503</time>
<title>Raw edge applique / Quilting eyes</title>
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<partial_transcript>Uh, this quilt is up, Frederick Douglas, and I just wanted folks to see it, I saw it in person and it really personified his personality. He was a big guy with presence, and that-- this quilt personified that personality right down-- right down to the last thread.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler now answers a series of questions from viewers of this livestream. When doing raw edge applique, she lightly tacks down her shapes with a bit of glue. She doesn't use too much glue, or interfacing, because she wants to retain the sheer quality of her fabrics. Sometimes she just pins the shape in place when possible, removing the pins right before she starts sewing. When asked about how she achieves such vibrant eyes in her portraits, Butler says that she spends up to two hours working on each eye. She pays close attention to the small details of shape, light, and placement, in order to achieve likeness with her subject.</synopsis>
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<time>2719</time>
<title>Sourcing fabric and photographs</title>
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<partial_transcript>Somebody asks, um-- Sarah asks, and this is about sources, how do you search for and source your fabrics, and Pam asks if you paint any fabric yourself.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler used to use scraps of fabric form her mother and grandmother's dressmaking practice when she first started out, and after they both passed away in 2003, she came into possession of all of their fabric. She didn't have much money to buy brand new fabric, and wanted to work her way through that fabric stash so she wouldn't eventually pass it on to her daughters. For a long time she didn't purchase any additional fabric, just making use of what she already owned from her family. Her mother grew up in Morocco, so there were already some African influences in her fabric collection. In terms of finding reference photographs, she strictly used the National Archives for a long time, also due to her limited funds. Now she has the flexibility to sometimes pay for the right to reference a photograph, though she still heavily uses archives instead.</synopsis>
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<time>2930</time>
<title>Similarities between quilting and painting</title>
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<partial_transcript>How does your experience in education as a painter inform your work is another question, and are there techniques or processes that you use in both painting and quilting.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler says that the way she works on her quilts is virtually the same as the way she used to work on her paintings. She still sketches her ideas beforehand, deconstructing her reference photo in the way that painters do, and the way she layers colors on top of each other is similar to the way painters use layers of glazes. She uses around 12 to 15 layers in any given area of her quilts, using one layer for the base of a form and then working her way up with increased detail.</synopsis>
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<time>3063</time>
<title>Working large scale / Dream project</title>
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<partial_transcript>Much of your work is large scale, really really life size or, or, sometimes maybe bigger. Can you talk about that choice, why you, why you do that?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler used to work small scale out of necessity, due to her limited working space at home or at school during her teaching career. Eventually, after she left teaching, she obtained a long arm machine that allowed her to start working much larger. When her children left for college, she was able to spread out on the dining table, giving her even more space. She found that working life-sized was her happy medium, since working any larger became difficult to physically manage. She also finds that making her historical subjects life-sized gives a sense of humanity to them that you can't get on a small scale. When asked about her dream project, Butler says that her father gave her the idea to depict the Selma Bridge with Martin Luther King Jr. and his companions. She can picture it in her head and would love to do it someday, but she can't imagine how much time a project of that scale would take her.</synopsis>
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<title>Quilt documentation / Utilitarian quilts</title>
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<partial_transcript>Uh, question which is good for our Quilt Alliance peeps is how extensively do you document each quilt and how do you do that, and, um, what you include in your documentation for posterity?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>The responsibility to document her work and process falls heavily on Butler's husband, since he is already inclined towards technology from his experience as a DJ. Once she started exhibiting her work nationally, he started working on documenting her quilts and the process, getting better cameras and lenses, and learning how to capture the neon colors she sometimes uses. When asked, Butler says that she does not sleep under a quilt or use them for their utilitarian purposes. She didn't come from a family of quilters, and she always views quilts as art more than as blankets. She admires quilts being passed down through generations and used for utilitarian purposes, even though she doesn't have that experience herself.</synopsis>
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<title>Upcoming shows / Question for Mazloomi</title>
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<partial_transcript>With, uh, this-- you're doing this big project, and can you talk at all about what else is in the wings, or what else might be coming up, where else your work might be viewable, I know it's gonna be at the [Museum of Fine Arts] Boston, I can't wait to see that there.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Butler shares some of her upcoming shows and exhibitions coming up. Her Harriet Tubman show, entitled "A Reckoning," recently opened in Washington DC at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She also recently sold a quilt of Chadwick Boseman to the Los Angeles Country Museum which will be showing soon, and has quilts being shown in Miami and the Midwest soon. Her and interviewer Carolyn Mazloomi are both exhibiting in an upcoming show at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. The host asks Mazloomi about what it means to her to see Bisa Butler being recognized and appreciated for her work. Mazloomi says that it's a gratifying feeling to see African American artists appreciated, and to see their quilts being collected and preserved across the nation. She reflects on where the Women of Color Quilters Network started almost 40 years ago, and says that if fills her with pride to see how far they have come.</synopsis>
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