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Indepth Arts News:
"The Dresses - Objects Project : An interdisciplinary art installation in collaboration with over 30 women artists"
2010-06-25 until 2010-07-18
Z Space at Theatre Artaud
San Francisco, CA,
USA United States of America
Artist Katrina Rodabaugh presents The Dresses/Objects Project, an interdisciplinary installation created with over 30 women artists in radical cross-disciplinary collaboration. Inspired by Gertrude Stein's groundbreaking collection of poetry, Tender Buttons, this installation brings together literary, visual, performing arts and artists in an examination of iconic symbols of femininity and gender. The Dresses/Objects Project explores the fine delineation between art and craft, fashion and costume, and exhibition and performance.
Featuring a collection of handmade dresses made from letterpress printed fabrics, original letterpress prints, photographs of local artists, and poetry as well as live dance choreographed by Erin Mei Ling Stuart, this multi-faceted project thoughtfully examines how an art object can be transformed by context. The Dresses/Objects Project installation is on view June 25-July 18, 2010 at the Z Space at Theatre Artaud, located at 450 Florida Street, San Francisco, CA 94110.
"When I first started the project I just focused on what seemed the most immediate: the power of Stein's work 100 years later and its continued relevancy in poetry, the avant garde, and Modernism," says Katrina Rodabaugh about The Dresses/Objects Project. "I'm so excited to work with this amazing group of women on this project. Their resounding talent speaks for itself, but their willingness to step outside of their disciplines is truly a testament to their courage as artists and their commitment as collaborators."
Created in three phases, lead artist Katrina Rodabaugh selected poems from the "Objects" section of Gertrude Stein's book, Tender Buttons, and letterpress printed the poems onto recycled fabric. Working with various female artists from multiple disciplines, she asked each artist to transform the fabric prints into dresses or "wearable objects" resulting in one-of-a-kind dresses created by a community of reputable costume designers, fashion designers, printmakers, fiber artists, and fine artists primarily from the San Francisco Bay Area.
In the second phase, Rodabaugh simulated a high-fashion photography shoot with the wearable garments using artists as models, further examining the lines between a dress as a fine art object, a fashion garment, a costume for photographed performance, and the complex symbolism of femininity and gender inherent in a dress.
The culmination of the project is the installation The Dresses/ Objects Project which will include live performances in which Rodabaugh and Stuart create an alternative fashion world, complete with art objects as dresses, dancers as fashion models, and installation as studio. The installation itself will resemble a dressmaker's studio and serve as the set piece for the performance while dancers embody the abstracted movement of fashion and runway models. The closing reception on Sunday, July 18, 2010 will host a poetry reading with local poets inspired by Stein's work. Katrina Rodabaugh will also be a part of the installation during all Saturday gallery hours, creating one final dress as part of the live installation.
The Dresses/ Objects Project focuses on the collaboration with over 30 women artists-allowing a space for dialogue, interdisciplinary conversation, and creative collaboration. Collaborators of the project include: Kehren Barbour, Christine Bonansea, Feral Childe, Sasha Duerr, Lara Durback, Marcie Farwell, Rebecca Gilbert, Jenifer Lake, Jennifer Manzano, Mati McDonough, Alison McLennan, Moira & Obbie, Pilar Nadal, Shawnrey Notto, Rebecca Overacre, Juliann Rhodes, Katrina Rodabaugh, Julie SheetzLisa Solomon, Erika Staiti, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, Ambra Sultzbaugh, and others.
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