Marilyn Pappas, Flight Suit, 1972, mixed media assemblage. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Artist’s Statement
During the early 1960s I began to work with cloth and thread. The earliest works were stitched and appliquéd cloth hangings, based on familiar landscapes. The flatness of these patterns became gradually replaced by reliefs formed of manipulated fabrics, pieces of clothing and found objects. Although the human figure did not actually appear in these works, it was implied by the character of each garment, its related objects, colors, textures and stitched patterns.
My current work uses images developed from sculptures of ancient goddesses. These three-dimensional figures stand at the intersection of sculpture and garment. I imagine the ancient sculptures as they changed and survived over the centuries. Although broken, faded and disintegrating, I see them in this era of “#metoo”, as metaphors for the strength and power of today’s women.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
