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Introspection: The Junior S**t-Show

Grasping at Threads

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Kati Dean
Grasping at Threads (20” x 24” each) by Kati Dean

Traditional clothing is one of the most recognizable forms of visual culture, and a very specialized signifier of the culture one belongs to. Specific folk costumes can identify the wearer’s native region, or even specific village, as well as communicate the wearer’s age or marital status, and even more. These outfits, crafted with rich materials and decorated with intricate embroidery, were worn on special occasions. Nowadays, they are powerful symbols of cultural pride, and symbolize community and shared history. In America, these cultural ties have been severed for many people. Knowledge and traditions have been diluted over several generations, until all that’s left are a few cultural rituals on holidays that you don’t understand the significance of. I exist in a different form than my ancestors. I come from a mix of several European cultures, but have been raised apart from them. When I visited Poland for the first time last year, it was deeply painful to walk among people who I felt I should have a connection with, but I could not speak with them nor understand them—a culture bonds its people together through language, folklore, and the visual arts, and nothing hurts more than to realize you don’t have a connection like that and never did. Because of historical events and societal conventions that I had no control over, I can’t grasp the cultures of my ancestors in the same way that they did, as badly as I want to. In the absence of any concrete connections, I must make my own connections, and I want to do it through my fascination with traditional clothing.

“Grasping at Threads” is a series of modern jackets I have embroidered with patterns and motifs inspired by my research on the folk costumes of my ancestral cultures. The first piece is a maroon jacket that I have decorated with pink and yellow stitches and herringbone detailing along the edges of the sleeves, hood, and zipper. The zipper is also lined with a leaf-patterned border. On the front of the jacket are multicolored embroidered flowers mirrored on each side. The second piece is a pink jacket that I have adorned with hand-embroidered floral motifs, tassels, beads, and sequins in shades of blue and white. The central zipper is lined with patterned stitches, sequins, and beads, and there are white embroidery floss tassels parallel to the zipper on either side. There is a hand-embroidered floral design mirrored on each side. Displayed here are photos of the jackets hanging on a hanger and of myself wearing the jackets.

This series of embroidered jackets is my way of grasping for my family’s long-lost cultural ties. They are inspired by the traditional embroidery and folk costumes of Poland. The maroon jacket is not inspired by any specific costume, but draws inspiration from many different sources of traditional Polish embroidery. The pink jacket is based off of Kraków folk vests, but is not meant to be a replica of one. The colors are also of my own invention and do not reflect authentic costumes—unlike the first jacket, whose colors are authentic, the colors of this jacket’s decorations are entirely shades of a single color. I chose to embroider on jackets because jackets are such an ordinary fixture of my everyday American life, but with the embroidery I transform them and imbue them with cultural significance. It would feel disingenuous to recreate a folk costume exactly, because I am experiencing this culture secondhand through my research and filtered through my own life experience as an American. These pieces represent my cultural research and exploration of my heritage, grafted onto my life raised without that culture. I can’t experience my ancestors’ culture the way they did, but I can still search for my own connections and integrate them into my life in meaningful ways.
INTROSPECTION: THE JUNIOR S**T-SHOW
A culmination of works from our days and nights alone with our thoughts of the past, present, and future.

With already a year of isolation and quarantine under their belt, the 9 juniors at Chapman University reflect on their time spent alone through their show, Introspection; The Junior S**t Show. For some, this forced time of solitude has been one of spiritual and self exploration. For some, the already terrible situation of being in a pandemic was heightened by blasts from the past, stress over the present, and a painful mixture of dread and hope for the future. For all, it has been an absolute “s**t-show,” to put it lightly.

Some may ask, “Who are the Juniors? What do they bring to the table?” To that, they respond that they aren’t a monolith of like-minded artists, yet when they arrive together, they’re a wave. Social injustice, mental health, self-discovery and introspection are included in their “shit show.” They find it quite fitting that the themes they address all have the commonality of the human condition, as they’ve had ample time with little to no human interaction.

For a year now, they’ve only known each other through screens. They’ve experienced the uncertainty of the pandemic with an intangible community of faces staring back at them. The Juniors would like to take this moment to give a shout out to Zoom for being a forum to sustain any bit of normalcy that remains. Go try telling past you from a year ago that there’s an art show you can experience in bed, pantsless, banana bread in hand and toilet paper stock-piled in the cabinet. If you do show up pantsless, please don’t tell anyone though.
Although there have been countless roadblocks in the past year, the Juniors have prevailed. There is much to be said about a class that faces adversity and wins together. To celebrate this success, the nine of them would’ve loved to give everyone in attendance donuts; a similar bribe that has seemingly worked wonders for Krispy Kreme. However, given that this show is virtual, the postage would’ve been above our budget ($0) so you’ll have to settle for our art instead.

Please join us for the reception on April, 14th from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM.