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Saturday, August 24, 2002

But is it art?

The quilts are coming. To a museum near you. This trend is picking up momentum maybe coincidentally just as museum budgets are beginning to get slashed: It's High Season for Blankets, But Patrons Ask: Is It Art? The fact is that it is much cheaper to mount and transport an exhibit of quilts than Abstract Expressionists. That combined with the fact that these exhibits are more accessible to a whole new (large) audience makes for a pretty compelling business case. And museums are businesses after all -- not for profit businesses.

But here's a question: Is it art? Curators and auctioneers are quick to point out that this is legitimate stuff, with its own masterworks and history. Plus, they say, quilts are great for attendance, pulling in a lot of people who wouldn't otherwise set foot in a museum. But many everyday museum-goers say they're surprised to see the usual fare replaced by beaux-arts blankies: This stuff's not art, they say -- it's crafts.

...After all, adherents argue, if mosaics and collages are art, why not quilts? "They're highly refined objects that often address important historical themes," says Nancy Druckman, director of Sotheby's folk-art department. Also, the nation has 20 million quilters -- a hefty, built-in audience for any one of these displays.

...Still, some visitors hoping for Brancusi are disappointed to find batting. Dallas teacher Michelle Woodall was thinking about hitting the Houston museum as part of her junior high class's upcoming field trip to the Johnson Space Center. But when she saw the fall exhibition schedule, she nixed the plan. "Quilts that keep you warm, in an art museum?" she says. "I'd lose all my credibility."

Why can't art be practical? The kilims I started acquiring (not for hanging on my walls but to cover my hardwood floors in my Alamo Square apartment) are just as close to art (and as beautiful) as my favorite Rothko at the SFMOMA.

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