DE A & E Editor

Museum exhibition exposes undergarments

Just saying the words interactive underwear can elicit exactly the type of mind wandering from people that artists sometimes strive to achieve in their artwork.

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But in the new art exhibition Underwear at the University Museum through March 7, terms such as interactive underwear need to be taken as seriously as didactic color sequence. After all, some of the pieces in the exhibition will be worn after their stint on display.

This is an exhibition in combination of your interpretation or impression of the underwear theme, assistant museum curator Michael Beam said. So, it can be functional meaning you can wear it representational, photographic or a painting.

The exhibition features artwork from SIUC students and alumni that thematically revolves around undergarments ranging from gym socks to thong lingerie.

Beam wanted a theme that was unique to a museum that had normally focused on traditional art themes. Though the underwear issue could be seen as too risqu or even obscene, Beam said there is nothing indecent about Underwear.

It was my suggestion on a topic such as this that would raise people’s eyebrows and pretty much gain interest, he said. It’s all pretty safe. There’s nothing real perverse at least in my opinion.

One particular piece that could raise a few eyebrows mainly from its creativity and sparkling colors is Lisa Sharp’s stained glass paper doll Underwear Dance. The piece depicts a girl in a free and spirited pose, and, like most girls, the doll possesses a variety of different colored underwear she can don.

All the different underwear glass pieces are kind of funky. There’s a bikini and a kind of granny looking one for whatever mood you’re in, said Sharp, a senior in art and design.

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The idea for Underwear Dance came from an image in an old magazine that showed a woman surrounded by underwear in a paper doll format. Sharp enhanced the image from the magazine a little to fit a typical routine people sometimes go through while getting dressed.

I changed the position of the figure into a dance because sometimes when you’re getting ready you just kind of dance around in your underwear, Sharp said.

While most people would not consider other people’s underwear a reason for dancing, much less an artistic source of inspiration, L. M. Wood has found out that computer generated images look rather interesting when stitched to old-fashioned underwear.

Inspired by stitching some of her husband’s pants and a creativity block, Wood began removing fabric panels from vintage ladies’ underwear and sewing in computer generated images. The final product is nothing short of a cleverly crafted girdle abstraction.

Even though you can tell it was made from underwear, it becomes a new object altogether, Wood, a graduate student in fibers, said. This show lends itself to my work because I’m very much interested in vintage underwear and have been working with it for quite awhile, along with computer imagery.

From the anatomically detailed transparent transvestite outfit to the collage of bronzed briefs and socks, Beam, Sharp and Wood agreed that the pieces displayed create a fresh theme and an interesting showcase.

The exhibition will have an awards competition that will be judged by a panel from the University Museum, the Clothing and Textiles Department, the Theater Department and lingerie retailer Victoria’s Secret perhaps the true expert of the group.

I think it’s really strong. When the work came in I was surprised by the variety, Wood said. Students would be surprised at the variety of work. I think there’s something here for everyone.

The exhibition reception and awards ceremony will be Jan. 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. and is open to the public.

All the pieces in the exhibition are for sale. For further information, call Michael Beam at the University Museum 453-5388.