But is it Art?

Do you remember the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, where the Emperor was hoodwinked into paying for a fabulous new suit of invisible clothes, and none of his courtiers dared to tell him the truth, for fear of being labelled stupid or incompetent? He embarks on a grand procession to show off his new finery, and a small boy, as yet unaware of political correctness, blurts out the truth.
Well, in the interest of truth over PC, I have to say that this is an ugly quilt.
And so is this.
And yet these quilts, with many others made by the women of Gee's Bend in Alabama, have been exhibited in prestigious museums, sold for noteworthy sums, and praised by the foremost art critics. The U.S. Postal Service even issued a series of Gee's Bend Quilt stamps.
Most of you probably know the story of the women of Gee's Bend and their quilts, sewn from worn clothing and factory offcuts to keep their families warm. The quilts are, at best, primitive in their design and construction, yet the praise for them has at times verged on the hysterical, if not downright ridiculous.
New York Times art critic, Michael Kimmelman, called them "some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced".
Others spoke of "ravishingly minimal blocks of beige, brown, black and red corduroy" with "irregular quilting stitches wandering triumphantly in dotted lines across fields of colour" and
"recycled denim creating panels of skyscapes and clouds, the faded knee patches immortalising hours of toil in the fields."
"The Quilts of Gee's Bend" (Tinwood Books, Atlanta, Georgia) tells the story of this small settlement and the women who made quilts there. Many of their stories are poignant and courageous, and one can only rejoice that they have gained recognition in the wider world, and a ready market for their work after generations of struggle.
But, is it really Art?