Fashion Plate #12, mixed media, 12x12 (partial image shown)
copyright Ingrid Mida, 2008
I haven't written much about fashion in a while. Not because I haven't been working, but rather because I've been obsessed by making images like Fashion Plate #12 shown above. I don't even know whether or not this one should be numbered 12 or 20. I had to guess. I have two full walls in my studio of them and more are in progress.
I also don't know whether or not they would be considered fine art. Perhaps they are more of a conceptual art piece, which is defined as art whose purpose is the expression of an idea.
I have juxtaposed the image of the 18th century woman dressed at the height of fashion alongside country folk. The fashionable lady looks down at the country folk and their simple pleasures and yet, who is happier? Who is entrapped in the folly of their desires?
All the research I did into Marie Antoinette combined with the precipitous decline in the economy triggered my insight into the dangers of the desire to live at the height of fashion. That insight led to my Cage of Desire series which in turn led to these works.
In any case, I am enjoying this exploration of beauty, desire and folly. I suppose whether or not it is art is for the viewer to decide.