Riché Richardson Art Quilts
Debutante Triple Quilt Installation Composition, 2011-2014
“Debutante Daddy: Mr. Joe Richardson Presenting Daughter Pamela Richardson As a Debutante in National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., Beta Beta Chapter Cotillion, Garrett Coliseum, Montgomery, Alabama, April 10, 1976” (Joe Richardson, b. July 11, 1915 and Commemorating 100 Years in 2015) (Family Series, Debutante Series). Installation-style panel 1 of 3. Composition 2011-2014.
“Debutante Pamela Richardson Presented by Father, Mr. Joe Richardson, in National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., Beta Beta Chapter Cotillion, Garrett Coliseum, Montgomery, Alabama, April 10, 1976” (Family Series, Debutante Series). Installation-style panel 2 of 3. Composition 2011-2014.
“Debutante Mama: Mrs. Emma Lou Jenkins Richardson, Mother of Pamela Richardson, in National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Beta Beta Chapter Cotillion, Garrett Coliseum, Montgomery, Alabama, April 10, 1976” (Family Series, Debutante Series). Installation-style panel 3 of 3.
Composition 2011-2014.
Top hat, white-tipped cane, white pedestal column and white floral bouquet positioned at left adjacent to panel 1. The Montgomery Advertiser newspaper showcased debutantes from the cotillion highlighted here in a two-part feature
published on April 15 and April 22, 1976. A reproduction of the part of the news article published on April 22 that
features Pamela Richardson in one of its two photographic sections is positioned on the wall left of panel 1. Special thanks to Pamela R. Garrett for developing the flower bouquet designs and to Kim Salter at Evening Out Formal Wear in Montgomery, Alabama for providing the cane featured in the installation.
The main song in the digital soundtrack component of this installation is Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were”(1976), the theme song of the cotillion. Among other songs in rotation are Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” The Carpenters’ “Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun,” Fred Astaire’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” Captain and Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together,” Earth, Wind and Fire’s “Shining Star” and The Chordettes’ “Mr. Sandman.” The sound sources for this installation, along with several others in the gallery room, are positioned on the pedestal under the top hat and projected through speakers. This display also includes one-light spotlight beam technology shining on the center panel. Special thanks to Daniel Neil for the collaboration on the sound and light technology features of this art quilt installation.
Joe Richardson and Emma Lou Jenkins Richardson. Photograph at home in living room on April 10, 1976, the night of the debutante cotillion
Joe Richardson. Photograph at home, April 10, 1976, the night of the cotillion
Family friend Beatrice "Bea" Bonner from Mobile, and Emma Lou Jenkins Richardson. Photograph on April 10, 1976, the night of the cotillion
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Joe Richardson and his friend Fred Clayton looking at the souvenir book for the cotillion soon after the event, which Mr. Clayton and his family had attended at Garrett Coliseum and was among those who purchased an ad in the section featuring Pam.