"Log Cabin Quilt" From The Sandra McPherson Collection

This is another quilt from the exhibit “African-American Quilts”, courtesy of the collections of Sandra McPherson and Avis C. Robinson, at The Nelson Art Gallery at Hart Hall on the University of California Davis campus.

The “Log Cabin Quilt” reminds me of a log cabin. The concentric squares that radiate from the focal point convey a feeling of structure and security. The four focal points’ proximity to eachother creates one focal point and they also resemble a window, further adding to the log cabin comparison of the quilt. The simple pattern of the concentric squares carries from these four focal points until they become the focal point of a square and the pattern repeats on a larger scale. Each smaller square is constructed of different materials which each have its own color and texture which gives each square its own personality, like separate rooms in a cabin that unify to make it one home.

The two most outer vertical and horizontal lines on the right side of the quilt run off the quilt and give the sense that the squares continue outside the perimeter of the quilt and encapsulate the viewer within its safe, straight, sensible lines. The alternating rhythm of the black and white lines that compose the concentric squares contrast with the focal point of mixed color squares which can represent the dichotomy of the social times in which it was constructed.

The value contrast of the black and white squares also contribute to an illusion of depth in that the concentric squares seem to get deeper as they get smaller even though it is a flat, two-dimensional piece. It draws the eyes further into the center to see more of the four inner squares which unify to create one focal point. These squares draw the eye further to what may actually be the intended focal point, a small red square situated at the very center of the quilt, but is to small in scale to the rest of the patterns to catch the eye right away.

Line and pattern come together to create a “safety” blanket not only in design but the psychological sense of sane and predictable rhythm through line and pattern.