The art of dressing up...part 2

For those of you with a good memory, you may recall a while back I announced an upcoming collaboration with the Stoke Pottery Museum and Art Gallery based on my ideas around dressing tables, female artifice and narrative through feminine belongings:

I did a run of posts called the Dressing Table Gallery where, you, the lovely readers of this blog sent in photos of your dressing tables to be showcased every week and used as research into my ideas;

Harriet Cooper's dressing table

I also looked into the theatrical side of dressing up by visiting the amazing Wigs Up North shop in Manchester, where I discovered the importance of appearance means more than just looking good, it covers gender, identity and comfort...

...and I also studied vintage dressing tables and Hollywood glamour of the past and present...

Dita Von Teese makes some last minute adjustments

...as well as looking into how other artists have tackled the idea of feminine belongings and their meanings;

'Chanel' Audrey Flack 1974

My research took on a poignant note as I looked into the narritive of feminine belongings. I was inspired by the collection of supposed belongings Marilyn Monroe left after her death, which really gave a deeper empathy with the person behind the public veneer.

Image by Mark Anderson www.markanderson.com

And when my lovely Nan passed away earlier this year I was compelled to celebrate her life through talking about the objects she left behind.

This coming Monday I am visiting Stoke Pottery Museum and Art Gallery for the first viewing of their costume and decorative art collection! We are to collaborate on a project that should give the collection a new lease of life and a fresh appeal for the public.

I'm also going to be able to have access to the collection for my work and I hope to encompass all my research and ideas into some fabulous new art work!

I'll be posting about my visit next week, so see you then...

Wigs up North

As part of my research into narrative, belongings, femininity and transformation, I visited Manchester's own Wigs up North the other week.

The main purpose of my visit was to see some professional dressing tables in use to add to the dressing table gallery, but I found it soon became more a spotlight on the importance of artifice.

With the syncline 'All the Wigs and Make-Up expertise you'll ever need - in one place', Wigs up North caters to theatrical productions, drag acts, hair loss and film and T.V productions. Recently Peter Kay visited the shop for a hush hush fitting of a wig for his new tour!

I felt as if I had reached something close to heaven walking through the door to find shelves and shelves of make-up and beauty products. Mineral, stage and everyday cosmetics; I studied each shelf with enthusiasm. But it was the back of the shop where the action was really going on.

Dressing tables sat laden with tools waiting for the next transformation to happen. Wigs stood on stands at every level and drawers were filled with wig accessories.
Two students were taking part in a workshop and industrially working away at wig making, and I was allowed to have a good look around and find out more about this particular side of femininity and appearance.

The power of artifice was made ever more apparent to me the more I talked to the owners. The ability to change your appearance takes on a variety of meanings when clients include, members of the transgender and crossgender community, and women suffering from alopecia and undergoing chemotherapy. For many of these people the importance of feeling comfortable and accepted with the way they look is one of the most important aspects of their lives.

Playing around with identity has much to do with how you percieve yourself as well as how others percieve you. So strong is this power that the owners talked of actors whole personalties and physical character changing before their eyes as make up and wigs were applied before a theatre performance.

I was really interested to find out why the girls from Wigs up North got into the industry, as the world of cosmetics and glamour is so close to my heart; to quote a line from Glee, 'makeovers are like crack to me!'

Many answered that their interest stemmed from an arts background, which I can totally understand, for it's easy to see the connection between application of make-up with paints and the ability to create something new each time. But other answers included a love of theatrics starting from childhood. I loved the fact that this successful business is based on imaginations that were captured by the likes of Adam and the Ants and Visage!

The visit was really interesting as it made me think about how looks affect every aspect of life. Cosmetics, hair and style are deeply entwined with personality and behaviour. So next time you put on some lipstick or straighten your hair, just think, it's not just going to change the way you look but you whole day too.