Wendy N. reviewed Art Quilts: A Celebration : 400 Stunning Contemporary Designs on + 177 more book reviews
A beautifully produced book. My favorite quilts have specific parameters, namely: they should be made of pieces of fabric (preferably patterned); the seams should be turned to the inside; and the design should be repetitive in some way, in homage to the quilting tradition. Out of the 400 quilts in this book, only a couple of dozen conform to this definition. The rest are "way out there" in a way that is more modernistic than "quilty." Examples are "quilts" that are simply paintings on a fabric sandwich, random bits of trash (literally) sewn on a backing, photographs of body parts printed onto fabric and repeated ad nauseum, quilts made from soda cans and twist ties--the list goes on. Anyway, there have been quilt books I liked much more, but this one is so broad in scope that there are some images that will appeal to most everyone.
