SOLSC March 22: Unusual Art

            Paper dresses? Satiric ceramics? Art or craft? All of these are on display at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design — and I went to see them this afternoon with a couple of friends.

            The paper dresses were the oddest. These were a fad in the late 1960s; I vaguely remember them and thinking this was a ridiculous waste. The idea was here was fashionable clothing that saved money because you didn’t clean them, but you’d wear them a few times, a couple of times, and then you could throw them away. This was the original “fast fashion.” And they weren’t actually made of paper, but of fabric made from a combination of fibers, mostly artificial like rayon, that might include fibers used in paper.

            The simple A-line dress of the mid-’60s was easily and quickly made and perfect for this new fabric. The museum has several examples of these, some of them quite lovely, others rather kitschy.

            The ceramics on exhibit are part of the Funk Movement, an art movement of the 1960s and ’70s, mostly in Northern California. The works here are often quite witty, though the humor can also be sexist. But this exhibit includes pieces by women that are clearly feminist. Here are some examples. 

            The “Craft Front & Center offers pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. I loved the denim vest covered with buttons, not least because it gave me an idea what to do with the many political buttons I have. This amazing sculpture looks like marble, but it’s actually horse chestnut wood, and beautiful, and you may forget to wonder where on the tree the piece came from.

(Blogger won't let me put these images next to each other. Bad Blogger.)

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I’m participating in the 16th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 22 of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!