Social Sculpture

In 1995, Susan Magnus created a series of dresses using a utilitarian material—coarse grey felt—to question the traditional separation between fine art, fashion, and domestic items. The dresses were presented in multiple ways: installed on gallery walls as well as displayed on the body, they were worn by the artist and others to create tableaux vivants during a gala at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive—adding a transitory component that emphasized the social aspect of the work.