The title of the painting is Madonna
/ Magdalene . The conversation
that I intended with this piece was about multiple issues; feminism,
religion, art history, and how the meaning of symbols changes with
cultural change. And because a lot of the people who where looking
at it then were thinking about similar topics in context, I found
that folks generally understood my intent.
In the
almost two decades it has been hanging in the restaurant, the
conversation about it has changed.
Much
more often than not, viewers tell me that they think the two women
are a lesbian couple, even after they know the title. While that
was never the intent, I can see why viewers often think that. Here,
and in this decade, the symbols that viewers see in this painting
bring up uncomfortable political and social issues. We bring
elements of who we are, right now
to our interpretation of all kinds of images.
And
that applies to what we see in the mirror and in fashion magazines.
Clothing design speaks to each of us, and we interpret what we see in
personalized ways. Style, cut, color, fabric texture; all of these
elements have meaning to us, and in simple and complex ways, each
item in our wardrobes are an element of the vocabulary we use when
dressing.
So,
when we dress and go out into the world, we begin a potential
conversation with everyone we meet.
No
pressure. None at all. Don't worry about it.
This
is one of the things I think about when I look in my closet or find
something I really like at TJ Maxx. And it's one of the reasons why
I care about fashion (what there is to use to make up vocabulary) and style
(what I say with that vocabulary.)
If you
love vintage, what does that say about you? If you don't wear
vintage, but wear lots of modern interpretations of retro styles,
does that say something different? What about wearing only black or
neutrals or bright color? Because there is a sudden trend to mixing
prints, are you now a follower or a leader? If you show a lot of
cleavage or never show any cleavage, what are you saying? And if you
never consider questions like these, does it matter?
None
of this may matter to you at all. There's no right or wrong answers
to these questions. But what you can count on is that you are saying
something when you dress, and that some people who see you are
listening.
*******
Some
days ago, I was cruising my favorite blogs and in checking in on the
lovely Reva at Reva's Rags 2 Roses, I saw that we'd just bought
identical pants for a very good price at JCP. Stop by HERE to see
how Reva wore them ... I love what she did with them! I'd already
made a photo of myself in them some days before, and you can see the
difference in what we both had to say. Same vocabulary, different
conversations. Isn't that cool?
*******
For more conversations, I'm heading over to the chatty Patti for her Visible Monday gab fest. Lots to talk about ... join us!
Thank you for stopping by! Comments are always wonderful, so feel free to tell me what you're thinking. I read them all, and try to answer each one ASAP!
