Second Skin: Art to Wear
as it appeared in The Telegram, October 26th, 2001
article written by Mark Vaughan-Jackson
Please see the easy to read text version below.
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press clipping for Second Skin: Art to Wear as it appeared in The Telegram, October 26th, 2001 article written by Mark Vaughan-Jackson Please see the easy to read text version below. |
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| Thou Art what
thou Wearest Artists from across the country celebrate colour, texture, design and whimsy in a new display of clothes too good to leave on a hanger Some clothes are simply too good for the closet. Some of them are so good they transcend high fashion and evolve into high art. Second Skin: Art to Wear, presented by the Craft Council, is a new exhibition of textile art opening Sunday at the council's gallery at Devon House in St. John's. The council usually holds a wearable art event every two years. But this year, things are a little different. In the past, the event has been called Body Wrap, combining an exhibition, fashion show/performance gala and a charity auction. This year, the council steered slightly away from performance-related clothing and towards more functional pieces, said gallery co-ordinator Sharon LeRiche. One reason for the change was financial - Body Wrap took much more planning, volunteer effort and financial resources to operate. But the other reason is creative, LeRiche said. Second Skin offers artists a different focus, a chance to show more functional pieces. Close to 20 artists from across the country are taking part, their efforts transforming the gallery space into a riot of colour, form, texture and style. From medieval dresses decorated with Celtic-influenced hemp knotwork, to funky felt boots, metal-mirror-silk dresses, silk prints, even a paper dress - the works run the range of textile techniques and unbridled artistic vision. Susan Furneaux and Doreen Chisholm, two of the participating artists, approached the change a little differently. "The clothes that I've put in here are more everyday wear. ... But for me it really didn't have to much to do with the performance not being there, it was just a personal decision," Furneaux said. "I've done a lot of the performance stuff in the past, through Sound Symposium and things, and now I want to go into making works that are salabe and acceptable to everybody. So even if there had been a performance, I still would have pursued these pieces." Chisholm, who comes from both a performance and a textiles background, said she used the opportunity to broaden the scope of her pieces. "I've had my two pieces in mind for two years since the last event - The Ladyslipper Coat and Majestica. But once (the event) got changed into Second Skin, my Ladyslipper Coat, which was going to be a performance garment only, turned into Sunset. ... I'm using a similar technique that I would have used for Lady Slipper - it's just more wearable." For both Furneaux and Chisholm, the exhibition provided a stimulus to contuinue some of their own textile art explorations - natural dye techniques for Furneaux and felting techniques for Chisholm. Their techniques may differ, but both are firmly in agreement on how valuable such an exhibit is. "I think it's really important because ... it gives me a chance to showcase the stuff that I'm working on, the new ideas," Furneaux said. "I don't do a lot of garments but this seems to be the direction I'm going in, so this gives me a chance to highlight it." Furneaux said exhibitions like this also give developing artists an opportunity to experiment. "For students and new people, it gives them a chance to try things and show things that are a bit more fun and a bit more exciting," Furneaux said. "It also gives the public a chance to actually see how many really good textile artists there are in the province. There's a strong presence in Newfoundland, and shows like this just highlight that." There's also an inspirational element, Chisholm said. "I find these kinds of shows stimulate and provoke me to get my creative juices flowing. I really like to see what's coming out across the province and Canada. And here we have reached way across our whole country to Vancouver. As a result, you see here what is happening across the country and you can make that comparison within yourself." LeRiche said shows like Second Skin provide valuable public awareness for this branch of the art world. "I think it's in order to make craft, make art a part of everyday life, to make people celebrate artistic expression, whether they're actually creating the piece or whether they want to express something through somebody else's art in what they wear," she said. "It's so that we don't just look at creation as a gift or something we hang on the wall." Second Skin opens Sunday with a reception from 2-4 p.m. at the gallery in Devon House on Duckworth Street. The exhibition continues until Nov. 22. |
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