I was very honored to a part of Not Just Another Pretty Face 2019: a show taking place every three years at Hyde Park Art Center. Patrons commission works from artists throughout the year, facilitated by HPAC, to be unveiled at a gala in December. The countdown to the unveiling:
It was a really fun atmosphere: all the artists and patrons in one room, excited to find their pieces after the sheets came down.
I ended up having two pieces in the show. One was commissioned by a staff member at HPAC. She told me she’d like to have a gold coin piece. They were $25 a coin at that time. I asked her how much she wanted to spend? She said: “how about $100?”
“4 Gold Coins”
The second piece is a longer story:
I’ve been wanting to make my own formal wear, by painting a pair of coveralls to look like a suit. The idea of blurring the lines of status by turning functional blue collar work wear into white collar dress is an intriguing one to me. Because of HPAC, I found out about Abigail Glaum-Lathbury: an artist in the world of fashion design (teaching at the art institute). She has created a project called the “Rational Dress Society”.
A few of the jumpsuit options in the “Rational Dress Society” - photos by Lara Kastner
I went to Abigail’s studio to see if I could commission her to make me a jumpsuit for NJAPF. After we talked and realized we were both examining a lot of the same questions in our work (status, value), we thought instead that trading pieces would be more fun. I had one gold coin piece I was saving at the time, and it just so happened to be the exact same price as her jumpsuits. It seemed meant to be. I also like to think this piece by Abigail was the first thing I bought in the real world with the currency I’ve created with paint.
Just needed a little spray paint and tape to take this coverall high brow
This trade would have never happened without Hyde Park Art Center and the Not Just Another Pretty Face show. They wanted to include the pieces and the story in the exhibition. Here it all is coming together: me wearing my formal coveralls next to the two coin pieces displayed in the exhibition.
Thank you to Maria at HPAC, Abigail, and Hyde Park Art Center. I really had a lot of fun with the show :)
Pictures and videos by Larysa Pyatnochko