a series of blocks into a cohesive design.

One
such traditional pattern, called “Birds in the
Air” (1.9.4), was used as the integral component
for a quilt design by the early American quilter
Deborah Coates (1801−1888). Coates, the
wife of the famed abolitionist (anti-slavery
campaigner) Linley Coates, created “abolitionist
quilts” to raise awareness and funding to
free slaves. Such quilts as 1.9.5a were sold at
popular quilting fairs in northern cities, such
as Philadelphia, and were often inscribed with
messages similar to the one in the detail, “Deliver
me from the oppression of man,” in 1.9.5b. The
choice of “Birds in the Air” was probably because
the design, which implies the freedom of birds to
fly away at will, was especially appropriate to the
anti-slavery cause.
The American artist Chuck Close (b. 1940)
uses motif to unify his paintings. Close uses a
repeated pattern of organic concentric rings
set into a diamond shape as the basic building
1.9.4 Diagram of block
quilt pattern known as
“Birds in the Air”
1.9.5b Detail of stamp work
by Deborah Coates
blocks for his large compositions. These motifs,
which appear as abstract patterns when viewed
closely, visually solidify into realistic portraits
of the model. In his Self-Portrait, there is a
distinct difference between a close-up view of
the painting and the overall effect when we stand