Uncommonly good – Wearable art show returns with a challenge for designers
Artists tend to start out with a blank canvas. But for this year’s Uncommon Thread, the blank canvas is the art itself.
The theme for Culture Candy’s next installment of the wearable art fashion show, set for Saturday, is “Carte Blanche” and the artists’ task: construct a wearable garment that is almost completely white.
That puts the stakes higher than ever, with the focus on structure and technique rather than colorful adornments.
“It’s a challenge for the artists to think more about the form and maybe the materials that they use,” says Meg G. Holford, Culture Candy’s director. “We’ve had some really nice costumes from the past shows that were all white. Now we want the whole show to be part of that challenge.”
Adding to the challenge: the juror this year is Project Runway star and Baton Rouge native Anthony Ryan Auld, who we profiled in our September issue.
A new addition for 2013 is that entrants to Uncommon Thread will also get to show their work at an international competition in Galway, Ireland, in 2014 through a collaboration with the Expanded Draught artists collective there. And with performances by dancers and multimedia artists lined up for the LSU Museum of Art showcase, the night is sure to make for an impressive display in addition to the astounding and playful garments that grace the runway.
Culture Candy has hosted Uncommon Thread at the Old Governor’s Mansion and the State Museum in the past, and Holford says they are excited to utilize the gallery space at the LSU Museum.
“A lot of what Culture Candy does is taking these venues that are already established and create unique shows—screenings, artist exhibitions. We bring them to these venues and try to change the venue around so people can go and experience all these places in a new way,” Holford says.
Uncommon Thread is set for Saturday, 8 p.m., at the LSU Museum of Art with an after party in the Shaw Center’s Glassell Gallery. For ticket information, go to culturecandy.org/uncommon-thread.
Image above is a 225 file photo from a previous Uncommon Thread event.
