ANOTHER BANNED QUILT: AMIGOS MUERTOS

     I loved this cheerful, engaging quilt when it first was publicized in 1994. Jonathan Shannon  used a two-pronged approach: it celebrated 'Dia de los Muertos,' a Mexican celebration of heritage and ancestors. It was a favorite holiday in the Southwestern states, and has spread around the world.

     But Shannon also used 'Dead Friends' to commemorate AIDS and cancer victims -- and the memories they left behind. Beautifully made, beautifully interpreted.

Amigos Muertos, 89" x 89"  (1994, Jonathan J. Shannon)

Unfortunately, the American Quilters Society didn't see it that way.

Even though Shannon had won Best of Show with his quilt, Air Show, in 1993, AQS officials decided to ban Amigos Muertos the next year. I was working at Quilter's Newsletter Magazine during this time, and the editors and artists there couldn't figure it out. Was it the whole 'skeleton' thing? We knew Day of the Dead very well; after all, we lived in Colorado. Was it the fear of AIDS, so widespread during that time? 

    We had no idea -- and AQS wasn't saying. 

     I still don't understand. What I do know is that the quilt won several national and international awards afterward. QNM judges chose it as one of the twentieth century's best American quilts. Shannon's original design quilt was a 

"pictorial composition featuring dancing skeletons and intricate cut out applique banners typical of “Day of The Dead” celebrations. A central field of dancing skeletons is surrounded by 17 appliqued cloth “papel picado,' each measuring about 12” square. The bottom border consists of grapes and a grapevine."

    It, along with Air Show and 15 other quilts, was donated to the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles in California by his longtime partner, Jeffrey Ross, after Shannon's death in 2017. The museum had a retrospective of Shannon's work in 2024.

      I have no idea whether the folks at AQS ever apologized. I do know that many disagreed with their decision.  (Here, too.)

I agree. It was wrong.

Shannon started quilting later in life, and his work was cut short by his untimely death. We are fortunate that he accomplished what he did. It would have been interesting to see how that gift would have been expressed over the decades. 

Jonathan Shannon:  An amazing quilter...and much missed.

Detail from Air Show (1992, Shannon)