Photo: Pete Gifford Photography
Bed Performance at the Sheldon Art Galleries
Quote: p 163 of Women’s Work: The first 20,000 years
“…through imitation, analogy and arbitrary symbols often viewed as magical— human cultures have over time built a sort of language through clothing, allowing us to communicate even with our mouths shut.”
Quote: 2009 New York Times Interview
“The paradox is that people think that if they wear something simple and non saying that somehow they themselves will emerge all the more stunning and beautiful from it.”
Self Portrait wearing layers of Ace&Jig.
I enjoy stepping into my closet every morning and finding myself for the day. I am somewhere in there on hangers and tucked into drawers— and I just need to will all the parts together to compose myself. I will say that I start with the practicality of knowing what the weather for the day is, that forecast does weigh in on the process. First come base layers of cloth and then accessories. I lean towards items that have special significance; I know the maker, I had something special to wear it to, it just makes me happy because the color or weight is just right. On some mornings the items are there as armor, other days I’m looking to increase my inner child and sometimes inner peace. In general though— I can’t wait to put something on and see who I step out as—I find this immensely powerful!
It has also provided momentum for my performance work, like that of the Bed Performance at the Sheldon Art Galleries. The characters have often stood silently during the performance and the clothing itself has most certainly formed from trips to my actual closet. Usually the silence is to poke at those issues that we typically don’t like to discuss openly. Likewise, I consider myself a fairly quiet person and not wishing to impose my beliefs onto others. I do however have strong opinions on various taboo subjects and utilize the performances to work through these tricky topics. Opening my mouth and talking about social, political and personal interests has not always been easy. It still isn’t but I do find that making this work helps me to become stronger in my ability to speak on subjects that most would like to forget or avoid.
I make my wearables from this perspective. I want that flexibility to author my wardrobe and therefore I like it when my clients can do the same. So for instance making pieces that are strong yet have an appearance of fragility or still with a soft cloth- it becomes a shield. Or if the piece is multi-functional then the owner is able to maintain the control of a bit of author-ship as Andrea Zittel has said, “…what we forget is that there are at least two authors of every object: one is the designer, the other is the owner (or user).”
Self portrait in own scarf. Earrings by Annie Pennington Jewelry.
I also believe that having a sense of humor about so many difficult day to day things in life is helpful for coping with each in stride. So my pieces don’t intend to be worn so super seriously. There is a bit of comedy in a felted object to begin with, and I think it can amplify your sensibility once combined with your wardrobe. What would you like to say today?
