Quilt
The National Tribute Quilt
- Description
- Quilt composed of more than 3,000 fabric squares creating a large mosaic that depicts the lower Manhattan skyline with the Twin Towers. The quilt is titled The National Tribute Quilt and is composed of six panels, with the individual blocks containing international flags, patriotic symbols, and many with the name of a victim. Panel one, on the far left, is dedicated to the victims of the four hijacked flights. The four panels in the center are dedicated to the World Trade Center victims. The panel on the far right is dedicated to Pentagon victims.
- Historical Notes
- After 9/11, four women in Pennsylvania mounted a grassroots effort to create a quilt that would honor all who were killed as a result of the attacks. Employees of the United States Steel Corporation, the women called themselves the Steel Quilters. Their effort was partly a response to the death of a coworker’s son, Lawrence Don Kim, who worked at the World Trade Center. By March 2002, the Steel Quilters had stitched or received nearly 3,500 fabric squares from contributors in all 50 states and five countries. Most of the squares bear names of 9/11 victims, functioning as individual tributes within the collective memorial.
Curator's Comment
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, ignited a global passion to provide aid and comfort. For those unable to participate in actual rescue and recovery efforts at the various disaster sites, quilting emerged as one practical and creative way to demonstrate compassion and support for 9/11 family members, responders, survivors, and others who were profoundly affected by the attacks.
Traditionally the outcome of either communal or solitary cutting, piecing, and sewing efforts, quilts are both functional and tactile expressions of their makers’ emotions, ideas, and materials at hand that could be recruited into meaningful service. Those drawn to making quilts in response to 9/11 frequently used patriotic motifs, religious symbols, and images that quickly became emblematic of the attacks, such as the Twin Towers, the 5-sided Pentagon, airplanes, and firefighting paraphernalia. Some quilts served as memorial gestures in honor of specific individuals or groups of coworkers who had been killed while also performing therapeutic and healing functions for those making them. Communication of the magnitude of human loss suffered on 9/11 and the event’s disproportionate impact on particular companies, agencies, towns, and colleges are other themes that emerged among quilters.
Traditionally the outcome of either communal or solitary cutting, piecing, and sewing efforts, quilts are both functional and tactile expressions of their makers’ emotions, ideas, and materials at hand that could be recruited into meaningful service. Those drawn to making quilts in response to 9/11 frequently used patriotic motifs, religious symbols, and images that quickly became emblematic of the attacks, such as the Twin Towers, the 5-sided Pentagon, airplanes, and firefighting paraphernalia. Some quilts served as memorial gestures in honor of specific individuals or groups of coworkers who had been killed while also performing therapeutic and healing functions for those making them. Communication of the magnitude of human loss suffered on 9/11 and the event’s disproportionate impact on particular companies, agencies, towns, and colleges are other themes that emerged among quilters.
- Accession Number: C.2016.70.1
- Dimensions: 8 ft X 30 ft
- Dimensions (Metric): 20.32 cm X 76.2 cm
- Source: American Folk Art Museum
- Credit Line: Gift of the American Folk Art Museum, New York, In honor of the Steel Quilters: Kathy S. Crawford, Amber M. Dalley, Jian X. Li, and Dorothy L. Simback with the help of countless others in tribute to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America
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