Star of Bethlehem (VQ001)
Light and Dark (VQ002)
Digital Buddha (VQ003) music by Jin Hi Kim
Flyover (VQ004)
BabyBlox (VQ005)
by Benton-C Bainbridge
various lengths and resolutions, silent, 2006


The VQ (video quilts) series is a collection of video compositions for flexible displays.

New technologies such as LEP (Light Emitting Polymer) and OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) Displays have made thin, roll-up video 'paper' or 'fabric' a reality- though the technology is just now leaking out from the lab. In wary anticipation of a flexible future of ubiquitous animated flyers and junk mail that winks, I decided to explore the craft of quilt making in electronic media. Alongside its commercial uses, will cheap and omnipresent display surfaces enable moviemaking as an extension of centuries-old folk arts like scrapbooking and quilting?

Like many Pennsylvanians over the generations, I grew up around quilts. Many of the women in my family were avid and talented quilters. As a child, quilts inspired imaginary journeys as I would lie in bed and trace the quilting with my fingertip or drive toy cars through the townscape the blocks of fabric delineated. Since first hearing of the promising research into LEPs in the late 1990 I have hoped to make quilts from moving imagery.

Ultimately the VQ patchworks are intended to be made into flexible 'video blankets' of variable dimensions and resolutions. For now, projections will do.

I started the series by making a video-version of a Pennsylvanian Mennonite quilt from the early 1800s. In "Star of Bethlehem (VQ001)" I explored ways to animate a pieced-and-appliquéd quilt while altering iconography to make it reflect my own interests (e.g.- tulips became vortexes.)

For "Light and Dark (VQ002)" I quilted electronically, making video fabric by shooting static off a TV screen at various focal lengths and exposures and then piecing them using Isadora. Despite my misgivings about symmetry, I used numerical operations to crop and size the layers of static 'fabric' in a traditional "Light and Dark" Log Cabin pattern instead of 'cutting' each of the strips by hand. I am happy and embarrassed to report that I had no problem making numerous mistakes in the assembly of the blocks- there are plenty of wonderful errors of fabric choice and uneven seams in the final quilt.

"Digital Buddha (VQ003)" is a video 'quilt' pieced from a musical performance. The 'fabric' is Jin Hi Kim playing the 4th century Korean komungo, videotaped and processed with analog gear. The 'piecing' was completed at VOOM HD Lab. "Digital Buddha (VQ003)" has been presented at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Swing Space in New York City and most recently in Seoul as part of The Korean Festival.

"Flyover (VQ004)" is my 'Crazy Quilt.' For many years I have videotaped most of my flights out the window- I can't understand why more people don't find the view entrancing? Perhaps they weren't raised with hand-made quilts.

"BabyBlox (VQ005)" is again a traditional quilt pattern. I used footage taped from the first year of my son's life. "Baby Blocks" were often found on crib quilts.

The VQ series was supported by Experimental TV Center, the NY State Council on the Arts, mediaThe foundation, inc., and VOOMHD Lab







"Star Of Bethlehem (VQ001)"




"Light and Dark (VQ002)"




"Digital Buddha (VQ003)"




"Flyover (VQ004)"