Lauren Kalman & Millee Tibbs

Show ran from 8/1/2013 to 8/17/2013In their collaborative exhibit entitled Strapped, Lauren Kalman and Millee Tibbs make use of transformational objects such as prosthetics and augmentations to explore the desire for the ideal, but find that somewhere in that attempt the ideal becomes mutated or deflated.Lauren Kalman's Spectacular combines image making and garment construction techniques with a critical investigation into the depiction of illness, stigmas of illness, and sexualizing of the abnormal, in both contemporary and nineteenth century visual culture. The materials are chosen because of their connection to accumulation of wealth, privilege, and style. The wearable objects are derived from contemporary and nineteenth century medical images and portraits of side show "freaks."In the series Virgin Land, Wyoming, Millee Tibbs explores the desire to make the imaginary into the real.  Prosthetic unicorn horns are fitted onto horses at a tourist destination ranch resort in Wyoming. The unicorn horn departs from its traditional representation as fantasy and presents itself as an anti-heroic, phallic augmentation that feminizes its wearer, calling into question the mythic masculinity aligned with the West.