90.3 WCPN ideastream®: Gee’s Bend & Neil Jacobs

Around Noon

Gee’s Bend & Neil Jacobs

Thursday, January 31, 2008
Topics: Arts
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Dee wraps us in the quilts of Gee's Bend the new production at the Cleveland Play House, as she shares an archived interview with the Alabama artists whose lives inspired this show, and playwright Elyzabeth Wilder, who's taking their story to the stage. Plus, we share a live performance by guitar gypsy, Neil Jacobs as he gets ready for a series of gigs in Northeast Ohio.

View the quilts of Gee's Bend
Listen to the Gee's Bend interview

Nettie Young, Arlonzia Pettway, Dee Perry, and Mary Lee Bendolph.
Photos by Dave DeOreo

The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Quilts of Gee’s Bend
June 27 to Sept. 12, 2004

Jessie T. Pettway (American, b. 1929)
Bars and String-Pieced Columns, c. 1950
Cotton
95 x 76 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 89
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

Mary Lee Bendolph (American, b. 1935)
“Housetop” variation, 1998; quilted by her daughter, Essie Bendolph Pettway, 2001
Cotton coruroy, twill, assorted polyesters
72 x 76 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 131
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

Arlonzia Pettway (American, b. 1923)
Chinese Coins variation, ca. 1965; quilted in 1976
Corduroy, denim, cotton twill
88 x 73 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 97
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

Florine Smith (American, b. 1948)
Four-block Strips, c. 1975
Corduroy
68 x 81 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 175
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

Ella Mae Irby (American, 1923–2001
“Texas Star,” 1973
Cotton, corduroy, cotton blend
88 x 85 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 153
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

China Pettway (American, b. 1952)
Blocks, ca. 1975
Corduroy and cotton hopsacking
83 x 70 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 167
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

Deborah Pettway Young (American, 1916–1997)
Roman Stripes variation, c. 1960
Cotton twill, print, jersey knit, denim, polyester
83 x 64 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 135
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

Lucy T. Pettway (American, b. 1921)
“Snowball” (quiltmaker’s name), c. 1950
Cotton, corduroy, cotton sacking materials
85 x 85 in.
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 151
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

Rachel Carey George (American, b. 1908)
Strips, c. 1938
Denim (wool trousers, mattress ticking, cotton)
72 x 82 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 65
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art

Annie Mae Young (American, b. 1928)
Work-Clothes Quilt with Center Medallion of Strips, 1976
Denim, corduroy, synthetic blend (britches legs with pockets)
108 x 77 inches
The Collection of the Tinwood Alliance
Cat. Pg. 106
Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art