We are in the warped speed part of the summer .... the tick-tock until the school bells rings, all of us anticipating it with both excitement and sadness. For me it does mean a bit more of a regular work schedule ~ which i always welcome. But I have not been totally slacking off....yesterday David Lang and I delivered our respective pieces to The Gallery at Worcester State College for their show In-Between.Their call for submissions was intriguing, asking for art that combines one or more media or conceptually imagines in-between spaces, time, or identity. Artworks that think about space, time, or in-between sites may also reflect states of in-between. I submitted three pieces ~
1.'spirit' acrylic and stain on wood
2. in and out ~ a more conceptual piece with an interesting story of coming into being!!!
Made with these 'dolls' that i have been sewing for a year or so, in a jumble of pink and red remnant fabrics. My initial idea was to make a huge dress with all these 'people'~ a celebration of humanity ... a mass of these generic gingerbread figures. But I was a bit put off by the scope of this desired dress so these guys have been hanging around my studio - literally hanging on the wall. Now the interesting part ~ when I was cleaning up for my studio party I was looking for a place to stow this wooden frame and suddenly saw my 'dolls' thru the frame so I hung the frame around the dolls. This looked interesting and I lived with it for awhile. Then this in-between call came and I saw this piece through different eyes. I moved the frame so some of my dolls were contained and some were outside the frame. I loved it - it spoke to the same idea that made me want to create a dress out of these dolls - the idea of being included or not, the idea of community, fitting in or being an outsider. I also loved how the dolls were pinned to the wall, not the inside of the frame ~ emphasizing the idea of belonging, these piece is attached to the wall of the studio! For a person who really doesn't like cleaning it was a boondoggle to discover this piece.
Made with these 'dolls' that i have been sewing for a year or so, in a jumble of pink and red remnant fabrics. My initial idea was to make a huge dress with all these 'people'~ a celebration of humanity ... a mass of these generic gingerbread figures. But I was a bit put off by the scope of this desired dress so these guys have been hanging around my studio - literally hanging on the wall. Now the interesting part ~ when I was cleaning up for my studio party I was looking for a place to stow this wooden frame and suddenly saw my 'dolls' thru the frame so I hung the frame around the dolls. This looked interesting and I lived with it for awhile. Then this in-between call came and I saw this piece through different eyes. I moved the frame so some of my dolls were contained and some were outside the frame. I loved it - it spoke to the same idea that made me want to create a dress out of these dolls - the idea of being included or not, the idea of community, fitting in or being an outsider. I also loved how the dolls were pinned to the wall, not the inside of the frame ~ emphasizing the idea of belonging, these piece is attached to the wall of the studio! For a person who really doesn't like cleaning it was a boondoggle to discover this piece.
3. Treacherous - this dress is made out of cooking skewers glued together, with 3 figures made out of masking tape climbing over it and one figure hanging/falling/suspended in the middle. the dress rest over a sea of broken mirror pieces. I love this piece. It was in the works for many years!! The first version i just connected the joints with masking tape ... sadly that did not hold up so in version #2 the joints are wired and super glued and then taped - quite sturdy.
I am happy to announce that Treacherous made the cut!! I am so glad that she is getting out in the world because for those who have seen her she is quite compelling. She is the classic 'dress project' story ~ i strongly needed to build this dress for my reasons yet many people have had their own personal reactions to it. I am writing this a bit vaguely because I don't want to tell people what to think, what the piece 'means' ~ there is no wrong interpretation. I just love that when I express something personal to me it can be read on an universal level.
So Treacherous is now residing in Worcester. The show runs from Sept. 11th thru Dec. 2nd with the opening reception: Sept. 11th 6-8 pm. I think it will be an interesting show!!
Enjoy these glorious days of late summer & peace!!!
congratulations on "treacherous"
ReplyDeletei enjoyed the "dress project" slide show-
i am quite thankful for you sharing all of these!
best of luck on the 11th!
peg gentile
ps give "the wall" a big hello from joanna:)