For this assignment, I wanted to work with ideas of scale. I chose a large, simple white sheet for my base. I thought that the size of the sheet would be offer an interesting field or background, and would be larger than I’ve ever worked. At the same time, I wanted to contrast this with the small scale of the sewn threads. I am drawn to the discrepancy between the large, empty sheet and the intimate nature of using the sewing machine to create thin lines. I realized, especially after I was finished, that these sewn lines, which seemed so noticeable as I was creating them, became engulfed by the whiteness of the sheet when viewed from afar. In this way, I find that the piece becomes more powerful when interacted with from both afar and up close. I also find it interesting to see a sheet used not horizontally (for a bed) but vertically (on a wall), and have it be punctured, added to, and thus permanently altered.
This was also a way for me to explore using the sewing machine in atypical ways. Traditional sewing, and the way that I have learned to sew, stitches together two pieces of fabric to create a new, more functional design. However, for this project, I have used the sewing machine to create the drawn lines. In the past, I have translated fashion sketches to a sewn design, but I have never design or drawn with the sewing machine itself. For me, the machine as always been a secondary tool used as a means to reach the final product, but for this project I explored the machine as an integral component to the finished drawing. Meaning, that when looking at the drawing, one can see (I hope) the role of the machine in its creation (I intentionally left the loose threads in the piece to help with this). I also was thinking about femininity, and how the sewing machine is seen as a feminine space, and sewing as a feminine craft. This also made me think about patterns, including the clothing as well as the illustrations of women modeling the designs on the package.
In terms of my alter ego, I wanted to create a more subtle duality by drawing (sewing?) myself twice. I took reference photos, and originally intended to only use one of this set of photos for one persona, and take more photos for my alter ego. However, when I was reviewing the images, I realized that I would prefer to keep the two figures in the same family (i.e. in the same clothes, colors, scale) than introduce an entirely new character. So, I decided to draw myself from a photo where I was intentionally posing, and again from the last photo taken a few seconds later, in which I had given up (my roommate actually took it as a joke). I think that the pairing of the posed self with the unposed brings up important ideas over self-presentation, and how we act when we know we are being photographed versus our real selves. Also, because I used the same photo set, and therefore the same colors and clothing, more attention can be focused on the figures, including their poses, and the conversation that might be happening between the two. I like that the final product is light, fun, and humorous.
Inspiration:
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| Zoe Buckman |
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| Zoe Buckman |
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| Ignat Bednarik |
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| Robert Rauschenberg |
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| Ann Hamilton |
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| Ann Hamilton |
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