Design is something that embodies our lives everyday. When making a design, a designer or artist usually uses inspiration from their own lives and incorporates it into their design. In this piece by Avis Robinson Collins entitled Piano Keys, 2009, Robinson suggests to the viewer that this quilt is about a piano. Without any description of the piece, it is obvious that the subject is in a fact a piano, by its title, and by the shapes used in the piece.
The vertical lines in the piece are similar to the shape of piano keys on a piano. The vertical lines may also suggest the horizontal lines on sheet music. There are a variety of lines on the quilt; each different lengths, and colors. Without seeing the title of this quilt, I thought it was an abstract composition of a wheat field. But when I read the title, the colors and the shapes used made perfect sense.
This piece has a great sense of rhythm to it as well. The alternation of long vertical strips and short vertical strips create an interesting composition. There is a rhythm of the colors in the piece as well. There is a great comparison of light and dark colors, which creates a great sense of emotion as well. There is a sense of staccato within the piece, which is nicely juxtaposed with the idea that this piece relates back to music. There are changes in the pattern, but they make sense because of the alternation of sizes in the pattern. There is growth in the pattern, which is a sense of progressive rhythm. Even though the pattern is not organized in size order, the varied sizes and colors created an emotional and almost musical pattern.
By creating a juxtaposition of music, and art, Robinson creates an interesting and modern take on quilting. The piece de-contextualizes the piano and creates an emotional connection rather than a literal one.
Image: Piano Keys, Avis Robinson Collins, 2009, Nelson Gallery, U.C. Davis
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