I am my Brother’s Keeper

Copied Carolyn Mazloomi, I am my Brother's Keeper, 2016, cotton, India ink, textile paint, cotton thread, and cotton batt, 73 × 61 in. (185.4 × 154.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Carolyn L. Mazloomi, 2023.20.1, © 2024, Carolyn L. Mazloomi

Artwork Details

Title
I am my Brother’s Keeper
Artist
Date
2016
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
73 × 61 in. (185.4 × 154.9 cm)
Copyright
© 2024, Carolyn L. Mazloomi
Credit Line
Gift of Carolyn L. Mazloomi
Mediums
Mediums Description
cotton, India ink, textile paint, cotton thread, and cotton batt
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape
  • Figure group — male
Object Number
2023.20.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2023.20.1

Artwork Description

Carolyn Mazloomi taught herself to quilt in the 1980s. Her quilts often narrate the strength of family in its many expressions. I am my Brother’s Keeper depicts the artist’s young grandchildren. 

As Mazloomi sewed her own story quilts, she also tirelessly expanded the universe of African American quiltmaking. In 1985 she founded the Women of Color Quilters Network to convene and support thousands of fiber artists. Together, Mazloomi’s art and scholarship illuminate the diversity, spirit, and ingenuity of the American quilting tradition.