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First Post!

2/17/2010

10 Comments

 
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The Dresses

      Some articles of clothing have a power far beyond how often they are worn. In fact, it seems that the fewer times one wears something, the greater its influence. The wedding dress is the most obvious example – there are entire TV series devoted to the subject of finding the perfect gown.
      I imagine that this is so because some garments embody our deepest wishes and dreams: if the dress is just right, then the marriage will be, too. It is a form of magical thinking. Thus explaining it, does not, however, lessen how powerful the pull of the perfect garment can be.  
     There’s more to it than that, though. I think certain kinds of dresses represent deep archetypes, and while we can discuss what these dresses mean all the day long, there are profound subterranean psychological attractions going on about clothing that can never be dissected.
      I recently started painting dresses. I didn’t realize that I was painting what is known in the art world as “still life”; I thought I was creating figure paintings, just without the people in them. After all, to my mind, I wasn’t painting the dresses as dresses, I was painting the states of mind they represented. My subject wasn’t the dress itself; it was the way it feels to wear certain kinds of clothes. (I discovered this is impossible, or at least, I am not skilled enough to do it. So then I thought, well, I’ll just paint The History of Femininity through Dresses. As if that would be easier. I have settled for the understanding that sometimes as an artist, one has no idea what one is doing, one just has to do whatever it is one is doing as best as possible, get on with the painting, and leave the philosophizing for some very empty day in the far distant future. Yet here I am, still philosophizing.)

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      If I say to you, “Little Black Dress,” you not only know exactly what I am talking about in terms of style, you know the mood that goes with it: sophisticated, elegant, sexy. Glamorous.
      When I painted “Little Black Dress,” the first of this series, I realized that by leaving out the model and just painting the dress, I had made it Everyone’s Dress. I can’t necessarily see myself wearing the same dress as some beautiful model, but I can substitute myself for an invisible woman. And then I can imagine what it feels like to wear that beautiful dress. Perhaps I can do this even if I never actually wear that beautiful dress. 
     How many people’s lives are glamorous?

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     Second in influence to the wedding dress must be the prom dress. I think a lot of unexcavated dreaming about the future gets tied up with prom dresses. There is a coming of age element with the prom dress that I think has already passed by when you get to the wedding dress.  
     There is something heartbreaking about prom dresses. Maybe it is more of that magical thinking; when I put this on, I will no longer have to worry about my skin and my hair will look like I meant it to do that and I won’t feel so stupid all the time. That’s the looking forward part. There’s a looking back part, too, depending on the phase of your life span. The looking back part says Jesus I was just so terribly young. That’s why so many artists (I am not blazing the trail here) are painting frilly, poufy 1950’s prom dresses. Those dresses embody that youngness so much more obviously than the prom dresses we actually wore. Those fluffy frills speak so clearly about how youth lifts off in the slightest of breezes and blows away.
Forever.
     Loss and yearning. One dress can paint one thousand emotions. One dress can encompass so many dreams.
      Young girls want to be sexy. Old girls want to be young.

10 Comments
Ann
2/20/2010 02:17:04 am

exactly! you captured all those indescribable feelings and emotions associated with clothing in paintings! The agony of the prom dress - you may not remember the name or face of your prom date but you can describe in exquisite detail what you wore (it may still be in the back of the closet) Why are wedding dresses dry cleaned, wrapped in paper and put boxes and kept in the dark?

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Abby Sernoff link
2/20/2010 10:02:00 pm

Great paintings Amy... very thoughtful writing.

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Gloria Ives link
2/21/2010 01:47:12 am

Tried to comment earlier, but the comment didn't post ;( I am looking forward to seeing more of your work. I'm intrigued! So true, how our Dress does convey much, and how specific iconic pieces, like the little black dress, for a myriad of women, is representative of so much--
Gloria

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Tim Shook
2/21/2010 05:07:44 am

Congrats... Just what you needed to get your name out there. Love the site. Can't tell you how proud I am to have your stuff hanging in my biz.

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Stephanie Bare
2/21/2010 08:21:32 am

Congratulations Amy, everything is just beautiful.

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Denise
2/22/2010 05:59:15 am

I loved the opening colors and the first dress reminded me of a book I read where the ghoast of a young woman would appear in a dress described just like your painting. I have not thought of that book in years but the dress put it back in my mind.
The little black dress reminds me of all the sleek ads in the 50's of long legged models wearing the little black dress and also a large black hat.
Nothing like a frilly formal to bring back what my first prom dress. Of course it was blue, strapless and the guy gave me a white orchid wrist corasage. My mother had a fit at the cost of the dress and alll the undergarments and shoes. My step-sister Grace was with us and helped smooth the way for me to have the dress I will always remember.

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Sharon
2/23/2010 10:36:14 am

Great work Amy, love your new site!

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Amy M.
2/24/2010 06:30:33 am

Hours of agonizing over your prom dress...only to have it get sucked up in the escalator! Love the website and blog, beautiful work!

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11/1/2010 04:25:27 pm

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sara scott link
11/11/2010 08:09:07 am

Amy, Love your painting, I will visit the site now to see more work from you.

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    Hi, I'm Amy Anna, and I'm an artist, photographer, and writer.  I'm a Person of Unrelenting Curiosity, so come explore with me.

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