H ot Spots
Sizzlers
R a d a r
Celebrating
the Expendable
Kate Cusack gets some of her
best creative inspiration at su-
permarkets, 99-cent stores,
or wherever products are dis-
played in bulk. Seeing household
items stacked together makes
her visualize them afresh, out
of context, as something other
than what they are, or do.
“Whenever I see anything
in multiples, it’s exciting,”
says the 30-year-old, Brooklyn-
based artist, who divides her
work between jewelry, sculp-
ture and costumes for theatrical
productions. “What’s interest-
ing to me is the use and trans-
formation of materials.”
In Cusack’s hands, plastic
food wrap magically morphs
into a series of towering, lumi-
nous Marie Antoinette-style
wigs for a window display
at Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue store.
Bubble Wrap becomes a chic
cocktail dress (imagine sitting
down in
that),
and sponges
a fetching patchwork ensemble
for the fashion-forward house-
maid. Zippers spiral, coil
and undulate into sophisticated
sculptural bracelets and neck-
pieces, including
Edvard
or
bloom into playful boutonnieres,
such as
Red Pin with Gold Teeth
©. Humor and whimsy are
important to Cusack, part of
why she enjoys turning humble,
unlikely objects into polished,
elegant works of art.
“When I transform an every-
day material into something
elaborate, it reminds the viewer
of the power of imagination, the
joy of discovering a new view
of something that would have
otherwise been overlooked,”
she says. Besides, she adds,
there’s something deeply liberat-
ing about working with expend-
able stuff. “There’s not a lot
of baggage. If something is es-
sentially trash, you don’t worry.
The real creativity can come out”
As the daughter of artists
(Margaret, well known for her
fabric stitchery, and Frank,
a photographer and graphic de-
signer), Cusack grew up fasci-
nated, like them, by the process
of shaping one thing into an-
other: “My father says we’re
a family of manipulators in that
we’d prefer to start with a mate-
rial and create something en-
tirely new with it.” She did
her first experimental pieces in
plastic wrap and sponges as
a student at the Maryland Insti-
tute College of Art, and later
earned her M FA in costume
design from the Yale School
of Drama. Her background
and training have enabled her
to pursue a multifaceted career,
moving easily within the over-
lapping worlds of fashion,
theater and visual art.
Cusack’s biggest commercial
success has been the zipper
jew'elry, sold in boutiques and
museum stores nationwide, and
worn by celebrities such as the
singer Fergie and the model/
actress Yaya Dacosta of
t v ’ s
Ugly Betty.
In addition to liking
the idea of the fastener becom-
ing the fashion statement, she
finds the zipper to be a medium
of surprising variety and versa-
tility. There are standard and
luxury brands. Seams come in
a broad spectrum of fabrics and
colors. Teeth can be plastic or
metal, in different shapes, sizes
and finishes. A slider can be
commonplace or a tiny work of
art. “I’ve learned so much about
zippers,” Cusack marvels. That
evidently includes how' to ren-
der them extraordinary.—j .l.
katecusack.com
Gallery shows, listed A -Z by
state. View complete calendar:
americancraftmag.org
A L / Mobile
M obile M useum o f A rt
Claudia lie Monte: Real Beauty
to July 11
mobilemuseumofart.com
Using pulp paper, clay and
metal on wood, DeMonte
offers sobering commentary on
today’s woman with lightheart-
ed humor.
CA / Los Angeles
O C raft and F o lk A r t M useum
Salvaged: Aaron Kramer
and the Secret Life o f Objects
to Sept. 12
cafam.org
Kramer redefines trash with his
organic inventions, including
The Big Egg,
of reclaimed hard-
woods, coffee stirrers, street
sweeper bristles and other
found objects.
C A / San Francisco
V e lv e t da V in ci G allery
Dichotomies in Objects
July 1-31
velvetdavinci.com
Provocative, experimental and
engaging, nearly 150 jewelry
pieces by 18 South African art-
ists affiliated with the country’s
Stellenbosch University are
on display.
june/ju
1
y io
american craft 09
www.WorldMags.net & www.Journal-Plaza.net
