Installing the Pop-Up & Maintenance

My experience with curating for the TFC was reasonably challenging in terms of content but also proved to be a major undertaking when it came to the bigger picture. The show was installed in the TFC's Study Space at UNT on October 15.

Researching and choosing the objects was an interesting challenge - I had to correlate what I was considering conceptually with pieces that were available in the Study Space for display. I also chose to involve vintage Vogue articles that correlated with fashion trends and stylings. This gave the pieces social context and crafted a short narrative about the wearer of these garments, which was my end goal. Otherwise, I was concerned the selection would exclusively become about the surface-level aesthetic of the pieces.

Writing the labels was an interesting experience - Annette gave me substantial readings that discussed an effective label, and I definitely obsessed over those for weeks at a time. Having to fill a label with enough information to be helpful to the viewer without becoming overwhelming is a beast of its own, and led to a lot of back-and-forths in terms of revisions (which Annette warned me about, and I was happy for the feedback). Although compromises had to be made (for example, the signage's display is not necessarily what I prefer, but the space is still incredibly new and this experience led to a lot of feedback about how to better use the Study Space in general), I am still content with the materials I presented - and I can only hope the display was satisfactory for the classes that were using it for their curriculum.

This was an excerpt from the wall text describing the selection:

"From film, to vintage styles like rockabilly and pin-up to Halloween costumes and cosplays, fashion design of the 1950s has remained alive in the American popular imagination. We often associate fifties fashion with archetypes of the suburban, nuclear family with performative gender roles, like the “American Housewife” baking pies in her iconic day dress and red lip. Although this is certainly a significant “character” of this era, this exhibition moves beyond stereotype and into more nuance, exploring lesser known silhouettes of the decade, how these silhouettes were addressed in a growing era of advertisement and mass production, and how they would influence future fashion designs. The selection is inspired by excerpts of Vogue and other publications from the decade, reflecting on the urgency of “must have” shopping-list articles and how wearers were described with a fixation on promoting a stylish sameness."

Arranging and dressing the display was demanding in a different way. I worked with Janelle, the collections manager, on the display that afternoon. Janelle was invaluable and made me aware of ways to display others' work in a public space, something I do not have a lot of experience in. We went about dressing the mannequins, as well as adjusting their figures to better present the clothing. We don't have bullet bras in the collection, for example, so at least one of those mannequins ended up having a stuffed bust, to better support the illusion of a gown.

I am now working as Annette's research assistant for a show that she will be curating in March, which focuses specifically on florals in Men's Wear. I'll be spending the remainder of my time with the TFC working on this project, assumedly. This is totally fine with me, now that I have a better understanding of the research process :)