A girl in a black rusack stepped onto on a small platform encircled by a tightly packed audience in a warehouse courtyard. She meekly pulled a black pointed hood over her head as floodlights illuminated blood red spots on the rough fabric. The crowd cheered. The hooded girl was modeling the winning piece in the Uncommon Thread Wearable Art Show, which took place Friday night at David Cano’s workshop on North 19th Street. The piece, entitled “Abuse,” was designed by Atlanta artist Cecilia Kane, and imitated garb worn by the infamous Abu Ghraib prisoners. Models wearing everything from film negatives to pages from a romance novel strutted around the circular space in the courtyard. Modern dancers from the Cangelosi Dance Project moved between models to the bizarre beats of DJ Otto and live cellist Ivan Lalev. Not all of the 41 pieces modeled dealt with subject matter as grave as Kane’s piece. University alumnus Wendell Harrison, standing over 6 feet tall, was adorned in a vibrantly colored bird costume inspired by African folklore and designed with a children’s performance in mind. The bright yellow beak atop his head was easily visible to the sea of over 1,200 people, a number estimated by Uncommon Thread organizer and University alumna Erin Rolfs. “I was inspired by how responsive the people of Baton Rouge were,” she said. “I would have been happy with a crowd of 300 people.” Rolfs said the event proved there is a wealth of creativity in the city that just needed a venue, which she was happy to provide. “The culture of Baton Rouge has taken a big step forward,” said attendee Micah Nickens. Entries for the show were sent in from around the world. Artists from California, Ohio, Georgia and even South Korea, submitted pieces to be shown. The entries were judged by Suzanne Perron, New Orleans wedding dress designer formerly of Vera Wang, and Susan Ryan, University art history professor. The top three entrants were awarded cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100. “They judged it as a craft or a skill, but there had to be conceptual elements there as well,” said Rolfs. She said wearable art is different from fashion because art has a deeper meaning behind it, as opposed to being made for purely aesthetic value. “It can’t just be a bedazzled jean jacket,” Rolfs said. Textiles, apparel and merchandising senior Isabel Varela was one of the participating artists. She said a wearable art show has much more variety than a fashion show, both in the overall design of the pieces and the materials used. “It’s cooler when it’s art,” she said. “You can express yourself more.” One artist, studio art senior Rodneyna O’Conner, said she created a dress to represent the restriction of what women have been forced to wear over the years. It was mostly made of a dark flimsy rubber material akin to that of a shower curtain. The arms of the dress, however, were made of stretchy fabric long enough to be tied behind the model at the base of the dress, restricting her mobility like a straight jacket. Rolfs said she was especially happy for the artists because the enthusiastic attendance showed that people care about their creations. “The most exciting thing for me was seeing the people of Baton Rouge latch onto this idea,” she said. The event was free to the public, thanks to a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and a number of local sponsors who provided complimentary food and beverages, lighting and hair and makeup for the models. Rolfs said she hopes to make the Uncommon Thread Wearable Art Show an annual event.
—-Contact Lauren Walck at [email protected]