Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor

Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor examines clothing in art as symbols of power and identity. At once functional and aesthetic, garments are worn to protect the body from the elements, enhance the beauty of the wearer, establish rank in society, and signal to others our differences or similarities.

More than 50 artists are represented in the exhibition, including: Sama Alshaibi, Laura Schiff Bean, Joseph Beuys, Willie Birch, Christian Boltanski, Robert Bracketti, Bob Carey, Nick Cave, John Coffer, Maureen Connor, John Singleton Copley, Béatrice Coron, Kate Daudy, Claudio Dicochea, Jim Dine, Simon Donovan, Bailey Doogan, Jay Dusard, Johann George Edlinger, Angela Ellsworth, Fausto Fernandez, Julia Fullerton-Batten, Adam Fuss, Guna Culture, Panama, Valerie Hammond, George E. Huffman, Illman Brothers, Graciela Iturbide, Susan Jamison, Benjamin M. Johnson, Walt Kuhn, Karen LaMonte, Robert Longo, Annie Lopez, Robert Mapplethorpe, Robyn Stoutenburg McDaniels, Richard Mosse, Mark Newport, Catherine Opie, Ruth Orkin, Ebony G. Patterson, Barbara Penn, Wendy Red Star, Miriam Schapiro, Raghubir Singh, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Raphael Soyer, Agata Stoinska, Andy Warhol.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.

IMAGE: Jime Dine, Bill Clinton, 1992. Intaglio and woodblock on Hahnemuhle paper. Arizona State University Art Museum

Whether you see the exhibition or not, the 64-page companion catalogue, Dress Matters Clothing As Metaphor,  explores seven distinct roles of clothing: clothing and religion, clothing and society, clothing and desire, clothing and power, clothing and transformation, clothing and identity, clothing and absence. One page for each artist, with short biography and information about the work depicted.

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