Experiment.

A few of my fellow Visual Culture classmates and I are thinking of mounting a small exhibition this May. We are all doing museum/gallery/preservation/object-based theses, and they would dovetail nicely in this exhibition. We have no theme, no set plan; we will know better what we're doing once I survey the collection in a week or two.

Jimena is thinking about making exhibits sustainable (not as in, "we made these jeans out of organic cotton" but as in, "we only use florescent lighting and printed our programs with handmade potato stamps on recycled paper bags"). Lucie is looking at exhibition planning history and exploring its future. Marcella is doing her thesis on fashion copyright law, perhaps not the most apropos this specific exhibition, but has tons of awesome museum administration and research experience that will be invaluable.

I've been thinking a lot about the practicality of mounting whatever pieces we choose. So tonight I decided to try to make a seriously DIY mannequin out of recycled/found materials (gaff tape "inherited" from a show I worked on, a tshirt I've owned forever, newspaper from the paper recycling at work, a padded hanger donated to the cause by my boss) to see if it's a viable choice for this show.

It isn't.

Below, please find pictures of my experiment.
Bodies are so different, unsurprisingly. Especially with more than 100 years difference.

The finished product. Was so engrossed in taping myself into this shirt that I forgot to take a picture of the process.


Stands on its own. Very classical sculpture, especially with the uncut sleeve left on like a cut off arm.



The model, the dress.




Foreboding measurements.



Aaaaaand......mannequin fail. It won't even come close, even with newspaper being squished out and the bodice taken way in. It's a job for another woman. Any tiny friends want to volunteer?