This was my MFA show postcard image from December 2003.
These pieces were body-printed by me onto leather
with white latex paint.
(I read a lot about Yves Klein, but opted to
run my entire show myself!)
They were intermediate steps to my final
thesis installation (which was a similar
project, except the body prints were done on
flat black 16"x16" patio pavers, which were then
smashed and strewn around the floor).
My work at the time of entrance into graduate school involved me making constructed-surface found-object wearable art, and doing performance (mostly singing) while wearing this work.
It changed halfway through, to being more concerned with
installations documenting the fleeting nature of
our bodies' existence, hence the title of the
installation, “Perishable.” It was a particular challenge to find the best metaphor
in the materials and their placement to express this concept.
For many years, however, and all during my grad school time, I see the main thread
has been my addressing the body in some way--
as my T-shirts now do, in the form of wearable prints.
Sometimes it is necessary to take a brief look back to better know the path ahead.
