Erica Spitzer Rasmussen acquired her BFA and MFA from the University of Minnesota. While she originally worked in painting and drawing, Rasmussen now teaches these subjects at the U of M while composing sculptures in paper and other assorted unique materials for her own exhibitions. She met Elaine Erickson when visiting the Milwaukee Art Museum for the exhibit, “The Quilts of Gee's Bend.” This hospitable gallery owner provided Rasmussen with a free membership card to the MAM that eventually sustained this lasting artistic relationship. The present Erickson exhibition “Residua” addresses Rasmussen's garments fashioned from unusual objects and mediums applicable for either sculpture or function. At the exhibition's opening on January's Gallery Night the Minnesota artist discusses her creative process.
Q: As a painting and drawing major how did you discover creating garments?
A: I felt that creating these garments were a more poetic way to address the body….as a metaphor for the skin. Clothing is like a second skin, and because I didn't want to be so literal in my artwork.
Q: Do you create art or wearable art?
A: Some of the garments are wearable, some sculptural, art for the runway or the museum. I do use non-archival materials that support the narrative of the work, and this affects the construction and longevity. Often the art becomes autobiographical, about me and what's going on in my life. I also draw on garments from other cultures because everyone has a body!
Q: Is that where the Coat of Tales hanging from the ceiling in the gallery originates from?
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A: That's a part of it. One of my student's gave me her grandmother's actual cut hair braid, from 1924. I wanted to honor that by creating something honorable. It was wrapped in a newspaper from 1924. Eventually other students gave me braids to sew on the back of the coat along with the newsprint [vintage 1924] the original braid came in. Each material became integral to the coat, the art.
Q: There's a tradition to this coat?
A: This particular coat draws on Uzbekistan culture where the mother would sew their child's hair, braids on their own coats. There's 11 braids in all on this coat. In the Uzbekistan culture this would supposedly offer protection for their children. To me, this speaks to the protective instinct mothers have towards their children. I have a young child, I am a mother with the same protective nature, although I feel like a novice.
Q: And the scarlet garment mounted on the wall, Composition In Red…does that have a story?
A: This is also about defensive assistance, a strapless breastplate attached to a skirt. The top, the bodice was constructed from watermelon seeds that originated in China, that are only available on New Year's. They're very precious and special. These symbolize fertility, which this piece pays homage to, along with the strength and perseverance of all mothers.
(Elaine Erickson Gallery presents Rasmussen and Allison B. Cooke until February 20.)
