Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art is an ambitious exhibition that occupies two floors of the Museum of Art and Design. Curated by independent scholar Alexandra Schwartz, this show is long overdue for several reasons. First, it was long delayed by the COVID-19 shutdown; second, it presents overdue research into the blurred boundaries between art, performance, and fashion and includes a diverse group of artists into this discussion. While fashion and art have been symbiotic disciplines for centuries—think of Schiaparelli’s Dali lobster print, Yves Saint Laurent’s Piet Mondrian and Tom Wesselmann dresses, or Dior’s recent collaboration with Judy Chicago—the niche of performative garment as contemporary art rather than cyclical fashion has yet to be given appropriate shrift. Schwartz has created a memorable exhibition with works that confront significant global issues, including gender normativity and LGBTQ rights, police brutality, and domestic violence.
Mary Sibande’s The Domba Dance(2019) is a showstopping installation depicting a central female figure in a red gown, with arms outstretched. She is flanked by multi-headed and seemingly vicious dogs, leashed to her via what read as veins emerging from an anatomical heart. Above this a tableau of colorfully dressed shoulders and arms emerge from the wall. The artist based the work on a South African Tshivenda initiation ceremony in which young women transition into adulthood. As is the case with many works in this exhibition, such as Blue Days, The Domba Dance could also sit well in the “Gender” section.