Artist Turns Legendary Works into Garments and Merchandise
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Jazzy leggings, a wildly-designed blanket, a splashy rug and snazzy shoes.
These are some of the fanciful items created by artist and art historian Marcy B. Freedman in her new exhibit “My Art on Everything!” that is currently on view at the Chappaqua Public Library.
Freedman used her work from a previous exhibition that focused on traditional portraits of women, starting during the early Renaissance in the 15th century and extending into the early 20th century. In a provocative and playful approach, she manipulated the portraits into abstract images.
For her current show she applied the whimsical abstractions to nonconventional surfaces such as scarfs, blankets, dresses, mugs and much more.
“I started creating art on my computer and realized I could print out my jpgs (digital images) on nice paper and add a frame,” Freedman explained. “Alternately, I could send the jpg to a company that would print the image onto a T-shirt – and voila – merchandise.”
Sending her newly-created digital images to a factory had some risks.
“Sometimes the arrival of the finished product comes back not looking exactly as I expected,” Freedman said. “But sometimes it was like receiving a gift and I was absolutely thrilled with the product.”
One wall at the exhibit features images of different portraits of women with the abstract artwork next to it. Using the computer screen as her palette, a Henri Matisse painting was abstracted into various repeated patterns to reappear on a man’s tie. The head of a woman by French impressionist Edgar Degas became a surrealistic monster that decorates a whiskey glass.
Parts of a 19th century Pierre Bonnard painting are extracted and appear on panels of an umbrella. Abstractions taken from a 19th century portrait of a Black woman by an unknown artist prompted Freedman to create a pair of slippers. A self-portrait by 20th century artist Natalia Goncharova is transformed into vibrantly-colored gloves.
A chic pair of shoes contains a compilation of five different portraits of women. The $200 footwear immediately attracted Croton-on-Hudson resident Beth McFadden, who plans to buy them when the exhibit ends on Feb. 2.
“Everything about the design is so striking,” McFadden said of the shoes. “I tried them on and they fit!”
McFadden showed a picture of the shoes to her 10-year-old daughter, who is learning about art.
“Making an original and unique work of art as a wearable item really impressed her,” McFadden said.
Among the original art items are a T-shirt, sweatshirt, dress, a men’s tie, pendant, tank top, tote bag, bathmat, pillow and eyeglass case. Prices range from $30 to $400.
Although all of the items in the exhibit are for sale, Freedman said selling the work is not her goal. Her focus is the creative process of transporting her abstract images to items of everyday use to enhance one’s customary visual landscape.
For those items that do sell, the proceeds will be split with the library.
A reception for “My Art on Everything!” will be held this Saturday, Jan. 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Chappaqua Public Library, located at 195 S. Greeley Ave. in Chappaqua. The exhibit is open during library hours through Feb. 2. For more information, call 914-238-4779 or visit https://www.chappaqualibrary.org.
Abby is a local journalist who has reported on breaking news for more than 20 years. She currently covers community issues in The Examiner as a full-time reporter and has written for the paper since its inception in 2007. Read more from Abby’s editor-author bio here. Read Abbys’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/ab-lub2019/
