Patricia Otto

Show ran from 11/5/2008 to 11/29/2008

 "Caged Dresses," constructions (discarded paintings & tomato cages with hand & machine sewing)

 OPENING RECEPTION:  Friday, November 7, 6-9 pm

The Caged Dresses are expressions of the inherent condition of women. Just as one could interpret the human body as a temporal cage for the soul, the Caged Dress can be seen, not only as a limitation, but also as a structure from which the woman being evolves. As such, the cages give the dress image/ woman added strength and stature, as they press against their boundaries, or even go beyond them. They show their foundation on the outside. They're rough around the edges. They're on a pedestal - or a soap box.Using discarded paintings on canvas donated by artists-friends, I sew cut-out pieces of paintings together by hand onto discarded tomato cages that I've reconstructed into dress-like forms.