The E.D. dress is alive and well. Soaked and scrubbed and hung out to dry on the line this morning. Shapeless and flat. I’m beginning to dislike it intensely. At Catholic junior school I imagined Purgatory as some sort of celestial laundry where all the souls were made clean and spotless. Now, apparently, Purgatory doesn’t exist any more. Spam I’ve recently received includes one for tooth whitening – must be all my scouring. Lots for antidepressants. I’m not even thinking about those. Since I started the ‘Surfacing’ blog I’ve also had an increase in requests for information about my work from female students. Usually a number each year but this month I’ve had five in more or less quick succession. And from different disciplines which is interesting. Photography, Fine Art and Fashion. Each request involves a re-appraisal on my part so the process is mutually beneficial. Glancing at a photograph on the pinboard today has revived my interest in the work of Anselm Kiefer. It’s odd how a picture that has been there for some time begins to take on a significance. I’ve seen his work twice in London and once in Berlin and it has never failed to astound me. There is a great deal of dilapidation on a monumental scale in his paintings and constructions. I like his disrespectful approach to photographs, splashed with chemicals, hair and straw glued to the pages. It was actually the peeled back lead sheets and flaking surfaces in the photo that attracted me. The only aspect that interested me in the E.D. dress this morning was the wet and sodden pieces of paper in which it was wrapped. Even bleaching it is unsatisfactory. Hours later……..sorry, E.D. you’re going to be ditched.
stained paper ( left)
bleached E.D. dress (photograph) (right)
I’m actually beginning to like it airborne – it’s still on the line although it can’t stay there indefinitely. I need to think about the roots thing. Reminds me of those ancient ritualistic bog killings in Europe. I read more than I comment on any blog but happy to be of service! Trust all is going well.
Comment by Lesley — 22/03/2009 @ 11:36 am
maybe you should really plant something on it, I found this tangle of unearthed grass roots the other day which I had to pick up because they were so intriguing! I like the idea of this dress worm eaten and infested with roots… your pics are as always absorbing. Thanks for “stopping in” this week and lending your support to teh new work in progress.
Comment by dryadart — 21/03/2009 @ 2:06 am
It seems OK to discard work if something else comes out of it. By ditching I really meant the cycle of staining/scouring would cease. I agree with you that the black and white picture is the most interesting. It’s the bleached bodice part of the dress and then re-photographed and de-saturated so very little, if any, colour remains. (I will alter caption to make it clearer.) It took a day or so for me to see any worth in this image at all. I haven’t rejected the idea of the ’sod gown’. Thank you Marion.
Comment by Lesley — 20/03/2009 @ 6:40 pm
I’m wondering how difficult it feels to discard work that you’ve invested physical and emotional energy in. E.D.’s dress hanging on the line looks more than ever like a sod gown, or like a shroud that has been unburied (which it has). It seems steeped in agony and earthly and spiritual woes that are finally being aired under blue skies.
Is the black and white pic of paper or of part of the dress? It’s the image I find most interesting.
Comment by Marion Michell — 20/03/2009 @ 3:10 pm