Details
Specifications

Inspiration

This project is a reply to the pivotal Joyce Wieland works "Reason Over Passion" and "La raison avant la passion." The famous quote by Pierre Eliot Trudeau

In 1968, inspired by the air of possibility around new prime minister Pierre Trudeau, artist Joyce Wieland expressed her appreciation with needle and thread. She produced a multicoloured quilt, appliquéd with Trudeau’s evocation to the nation: “Reason over passion” meant to be a call to govern based on evidence-based thinking.

Almost a decade later, during a particularly tempestuous time in the Trudeaus’ crumbling marriage, and with the Wieland piece close at hand, Margaret Trudeau ripped the letters off the quilt and hurled them down the stairs of 24 Sussex at her perplexed husband.

Dr. August Klintberg in a Fogo Island Arts Residency decided to flip the script. He not only reversed the phrase but literally flipped the fabric and stitched it in on the reverse. While Wieland’s letters were appliqueing August made them part of the pattern ensuring they would never be broken. That strength of character was needed in the building of the Fogo Island Inn, which some said was neither practical, reasonable or rational.

The quilt is a limited edition of ten and produced in both French and English editions in keeping with Wieland's work.

Learn more about Fogo Island Arts

Fabrication

The challenging pattern is made on Fogo Island by quilters with decades of passion and experience. The colours palette is prescribed but final material may differ due to vintage or new remnants being used to embody the heritage of turning seemingly useless scraps into beautifully useful possessions. All quilts come with a tag including the name of the person whose hands made it.

The quilters involved in the production of this project are numerous and include Beverley Budden, Donna Rowe, Judy Snow, Lillian Dwyer, Maddy Adams, Margaret Freake, Millicent Dwyer, Pat Dawe, Rita Penny, Sharon Reid, Sheila Payne, Violet Adams, Tina Payne, Violet Combden, Wilhelmina Hewitt, and Zita Foley. Other key figures involved in its production include Jack Stanley, Heather Morton, Cyril Lynch, Iris Stünzi, Kitty Scott, and Zita Cobb.

Limited Edition of 10

Time: 4-6 Months

Artist: August Klintberg

Materials: Cotton or cotton blend remnants from vintage or new material

Weights:

Summer Weight - Front Face and Backing Material
Winter Weight - Front Face, Two Layers of Batting, Backing Material

Dimensions

2667 × 2667 mm – King

Customization

Not available

Passion Over Reason Quilt