They made one-of-a-kind quilts that captured the public’s imagination. Then Target came along

By ANNA FURMAN
Associated Press

Over the past two decades, Gee’s Bend quilts have captured the public’s imagination with their kaleidoscopic colors and their daring geometric patterns. Direct descendants of slaves in rural Alabama managed to cultivate a groundbreaking art practice while facing oppression, geographic isolation and intense material constraints. As of this year, their improvisational art has also come to embody a very modern question: What happens when a distinctive cultural tradition collides with corporate America? Enter Target. The multinational retailer launched a limited-edition collection based on the quilters’ designs for Black History Month this year. Consumer appetites proved to be high as many stores around the country sold out of the checkered sweaters, water bottles and faux-quilted blankets.