Clothes Continuum

Clothes Continuum
Clothes Continuum
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This weekend I went back to a piece I set aside last year which I envisioned as “Clothes Continuum.”   The inspiration is a paper doll set which looks like it is from the 80s or 90s.  The boy and girl are average sized, white adolescents.  The apparel might have been found in a Sears, Target or Walmart.  The first thing I did with the paper dolls and clothes was organize the pieces (Instagram #kdickhut – Post 1) based on elements such as color, jewelry, and shoes.  That exercise revealed less distinction between the clothes for the boy and the girl.  I decided that the paper dolls would be best collaged in a circle, not a line with two different end points.  I found a plastic Ikea vessel made in Italy at the Goodwill for a couple bucks.  Wrapped it in a map of the USA and then added the paper dolls.  That worked well for the Clothes Continuum story.  But it needed fashion art.  Fortunately, there is plenty of that in New York Times Style magazines.  There is a lot more color among fashion models these days, however, not so much diversity of size.

I can see this piece being used as a clothing hamper or paper recycling bin in an adolescent bedroom.  And speaking of today’s adolescents, Janice, my Green Art Collaborator, relayed a fascinating story during a happy hour gathering recently.  Her 7th and 8th graders were filling out some form for school and they had to choose either male or female, a standard identity question.  Some of the students asked, “Why are those the only choices?”  Her response, “I get that your sexuality is feeling very fluid now but go with what you are feeling at the moment.”  It’s a continuum.

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