Costumes
Costumes
I see the costume as an active, live-art object containing the “soul” of both the performer and the performance. My attraction to dance lies with the belief that the set and costume—constructed as starting points for the choreographies— act as stabilizers for this very transient experience. Displayed in the post-performance mode, these vacated garments are more than mere beauty marks but are memory stimuli for the gestural vocabulary seen in real time.
The costumes shown here were designed for specific dancer’s movement, shape and persona, and integrated into the choreography from the onset of its conception. Using a combination of found textiles, hand-sewn pieces and various trimmings, both industrial and domestic, the costumes flux between attention grabbing and disappearing into the everyday. All were created with dancer/choreographer Vicky Shick and in later projects with the intermedia and sound artist Elise Kermani. I am grateful to both artists for many years of sustained creative dialogues.
92nd Street Y/ Harkness Dance Project, New York, NY.
Metallic silk top and pants; latex, cheesecloth and metal screening cummerbund.
Photo: Julie Lemberger
Dance Theater Workshop, New York, NY.
Parachute nylon joined coat and skirt; knit ribbon vest.
Danspace Project, New York, NY.
Nylon A-line dress over-layered with Italian crinoline and LED wire. Silk tunic over- layer with metallic silk bolero and LED wire.
Danspace Project, New York, NY.
Nylon A-line dress over-layered with Italian crinoline and LED wire. Silk tunic over- layer with metallic silk bolero and LED wire.
The Kitchen, New York, NY.
Dress: Milliner’s mesh and assorted trimmings; a combination of hand-sewn, found and sourced pieces.
Danspace Project, New York, NY.
Deconstructed found clothing embellished with assorted trimmings.
Danspace Project, New York, NY.
Duct tape, bubble-wrap and wire tutu with assorted hardware.
West End Theater, New York, NY
“Trash Tutu” includes: hula-hoop, duct tape, plastic bags with bubble wrap, caution tape, washers and twisted mason line.
West End Theater, New York, NY
Twisted mason line woven vest with plastic bags and assorted metal hardware
Danspace Project, New York, NY.
Boning, polyester, electrical and copper tape skirts. (shown with rehearsal skirt)