Obama Inauguration Quilt - 'Obama Time: Always'

Title: “The Magnificent Michelle Obama, Our First Lady: ‘Strength and Honor are Her Clothing’(Proverbs 31: 25)”

Artist: Riché Richardson

Ithaca, New York

Photography by Rachel Philipson

Dimensions: Heart-shaped, 31”x31”

Materials: Hand-quilted, includes fabric, painting, and mixed-media such as a mirror and jewelry, and hair

In the weeks leading up to the Inauguration, and as I worked on a quilt of Barack Obama, I was also inspired to buy materials to make a Valentine-themed quilt of the new First Lady, and even bought the materials on Valentine's Day. My goal was to try to represent the beauty, warmth, intelligence, energy and spirit that she brings to the White House, and that so many others also see in her and deeply admire. I originally imagined it as a companion quilt for my quilt of Barack Obama, for truly, as much as she is ours, she is “Always First Lady” in his life. But this quilt has also taken on a life of its own. I thought it was funny that though I intended to use the Obama quilt as a reference point in making this one, I had to send that one to Washington and ended up making the one of her in my art studio without having the other one; this dynamic between the quilts reminds me of the busy lives the Obamas lived on the campaign, with him on the road and her doing special things on her own, sometimes holding down the home front. I was inspired on a trip to Washington to see all the pink paraphernalia around the city that said “First Lady” in honor of her, and so this quilt incorporates that trope. Also, I included the mirror as a concrete reminder that we are a reflection of her and that we are all connected. The outfit itself shows her in the classic and simple dress silhouette that she frequently wears and that has been controversial for some. The controversy is frustrating for me to see as a woman who is also tall and likes this style, and who understands that such styles are even more efficient for tall women to wear sometimes in a world that does not design sleeves for longer arms, a point about which some of her critics do not think. Such debates can distract us from the special qualities that she has on the inside, the inner qualities that the title emphasizes. It's red velvet and lavender as a reminder of these womanly and even royal qualities.

Obama Time: Always (Congratulations, Mr. President!)

Art Quilt by Riché Deianne Richardson

b. Montgomery, Alabama, 1971

*Photography by Keith Stevenson

*Obama quilt featured in historic quilt exhibition curated by Roland Freeman to honor the inauguration entitled “Quilts for Obama” at the Historical Society of Washington DC on display until July 26, 2009; also featured among works on the second edition of the beautiful commemorative poster.

*Displayed in Paris in January 2009, along with four other works by the artist, at Mairie du 5e in “Un Patchwork de Cultures,” a national exhibition touring France to celebrate shared history with the U.S.

*Quilt was featured at some Inaugural celebrations in Paris

*Artist featured in photo taken in Paris with Obama quilt, which was published on Inauguration Day as the day's photo at Eric Lieu's ParisDailyPhoto.

http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/2009/01/quilt-always.html

*Artist's work is subject of Geraldine Chouard and Anne Cremieux's 2008 short film made in Paris "A Portrait of the Artist" (available in 3 parts on YouTube)

*Artist is discussed in Patricia A. Turner's book "Crafted Lives: Stories and Studies of American Quilters." The chapter on her focuses on her background in Montgomery, including her family, along with her great aunt, the civil rights leader Johnnie Rebecca Carr, her experience as a student leader at St. Jude Educational Institute, and her education at Spelman College, as contexts in examining the development of her art.

*The artist was highlighted in a solo art quilt exhibition featuring 22 pieces in the summer 2008 (July-September) at Rosa Parks Museum Gallery and Library in Montgomery, Alabama, entitled "Portraits: From Montgomery to Paris," which was curated by Georgette Norman

*The Obama quilt illustrates the artist's characteristic intricate and detailed art quilt designs, three-dimensional applique techniques, and also incorporates some architectural elements.

*The Obama quilt is also the first produced for "Portraits II: From Montgomery to Paris with a Charleston Twist"

*The artist visited the U.S. Embassy in Paris in 2009 from January 10-17 for a series of events, which included the honor of a talk, reception and film screening at the Ambassador's Residence.

*Photo albums of quilt art and art events are available for viewing on the artist's FaceBook page

*The artist is also an Associate Professor at Cornell University in the Africana Studies and Research Center. She is a scholar of African American literature and Southern studies.

Excerpt Below from Short Essay on Obama Art Quilt

Like so many others, I watched with great interest as a virtually unknown Barack Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 2004. For many, it was an exciting and moving speech. Just as Mary McCleod Bethune had embodied the hopes of my grandmother’s generation, I recognized Obama as the “hope” of mine. I made a donation to his campaign for the U.S. Senate at that point, and became a part of his “Barack Brigade.”

In 1987, I was a junior in high school at the historic St. Jude Educational Institute in Montgomery, Alabama, which is best known as the final camping place for Selma-to-Montgomery marchers in 1965. In my American history class, the 200th anniversary of the American Constitutional Convention was the highlight, and Rev. Jesse Jackson was also on the road to his second bid for the presidency. Our teacher showed us segments from Eyes on the Prize, which greatly broadened my understanding of civil rights history and provided more contexts. I remember that at one point, the question “Is America ready for a black president?” came up. This question was-and is-peculiar to me. In Obama, at least, we have our answer at last, and it is a resounding “Yes we are!”

This past August, the evening of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Barack Obama accepted the nomination of his party on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech and gave a powerful, honest and mighty speech of his own before a sea of faces. I cheered, along with the large audience as I watched in a public theater in downtown Ithaca, New York. When I was home alone that night, I cried, tears from the heart, and for the first time, truly understood what Obama meant to me, whether he became president or not. That night, for me, time on earth for Obama lost all its limitations and boundaries. I knew then and there that he was the kind of person I would want my own children of the future to know about and respect and from whom I want to learn as time goes on. I believe in and celebrate American democracy all the more because of Obama. I celebrate his naming as “Person of the Year” by magazines such as Time and Ebony. But such awards cannot begin to say it all for what he has become to me. I congratulate him for his election as president, and celebrate that victory with the world. I would have made this quilt whether he had won the presidential election or not, and ultimately, it reflects my view of him as a leader whom I deeply respect and appreciate. It gives me great happiness and pride that he has been elected to the highest office in the U.S.