A Justice Site
RESOURCES: Community-Building - Visual Sociology - Message-Building
POST on YAHOO GROUP: Dear Habermas Discussion Group - Write Free
SEARCH: - Site Index - Topics Index - Archives - Online Sources
FACULTY ASSISTANCE: Susan - jeanne - Pat
UWP Criminal Justice Dept. - CSUDH Dept. of Sociology
| Merriam-Webster Dictionary Search: |
California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Created: February 25, 2007
Latest Update: February 25, 2007
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu
Casual Summer DressNo messages with art, but the simplicity of this design lends itself to knitting, crochet, or fabric; top or dress, and adding decorations that do carry social messages. Teens love to knit and crochet. And boys like sweatshirts. Remember, we want their attention. One trial learning doesn't work. If they're wearing it, they'll notice it, and think about it more often.
Our college students may not have the time for knitting or crocheting; but teens almost always do. And this piece just uses simple rectangles. You could make the neckline without cutting an curve, unless she'd like it lower, in front, or in back, or both. Let her help make it, and let her decide.
Added February 26, 2007: I put this up on Sunday. That's Clever, the HGTV craft show, featured Heidi Read's sweatshirt the following Monday! Now imagine that! Coincidence or a sign? The scientist in me says "coincidence," the romantic in me says "sign." And I'm content to let them sit side by side, quite comfortably, because simple categories like that rarely represent reality. Like male and female, remember?
Discussion Questions
- Why would we want to make a dress or top?
Consider that it's wearable art. What better way to start a conversation? By decorating it with wire embellishments, or by transferring some drawn embellishments, you've got a stimulus for discussion of social, economic, and political issues that really matter to you?
- Or how about finding a sweatshirt that you'd like to decorate the same way?
Wearable art is quite fashionable today. Especially with young people. My favorite is an old sweatshirt cut open down the front. Bias tape sewn down the front to finish the cut edges, and then decorated - with a social, economic, or political theme, of course. Much easier to take off and on as the weather grows warmer, we hope.
References:
- Dyed Sweatshirt Jacket Directions for making one from HGTV.com. Unless you've got oodles of time, I'd settle for leaving the neck, collars, cuffs, and bottom ribbing on. But definitely go for decorating. Not in flowers, if it's for a guy, unless he's a botanist. But sports embellishments, social theme embellishments, things made with wire and stuff you find in a hardware shop ought to work just fine. Wearable art stimulates conversation - an excellent way to share information and caring and build community. This would also be a great way to try collaborative work; she with experience can help place, arrange, and sew; he, with experience, can lead her to creative interpretations of what "he" considers "guy things."
Again, unless you've got oodles of time, you might consider skipping the dying process. It's still wearable art without that. But you should now that there is presently a Men's Store on Brighton Way in Beverly Hills that's featuring very pink, pink slacks and very pastelish orange slacks with sports coats and ties in its window! I stopped bouche bée (mouth agape) to stare. Even Arnold isn't quite up to that yet. And, of course, it would never go in court without some judge asking who his decorator is! Females can get away with so much more; at least with respect to color. jeanne
- New York Times. Style Magazine. February 25, 2007.
- Website of Professor Amartya Sen
