Thursday, February 13, 2014

Symmetry/Asymmetry

Traditional patchwork patterns often are based on
 four-way mirror image symmetry.

That repetitive pattern within the block is very appealing.


Symmetry within the set adds to the characteristic look.

Symmetry was refreshing in the 1970s
after decades of asymmetric modernism.

German page design from 1928

Kazimir Malevich, 
Suprematist Painting: Eight Red Rectangles,
1915

Jackson Pollock, Stenographic Figure, 1942
Museum of Modern Art


The downside: So much symmetry can be static
or boring (do note flipped fan at top right.)

One reason these early 20th-century quilts
fusing symmetry/asymmetry
are so intriguing.




2 comments:

  1. I love the asymmetry although I must say I love samples quilt and almost always they are symmetrical.Thanks for the pics!!

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  2. I've always loved sampler quilts, but l really love the asymmetrical ones. Maybe a topic for a blog post?

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