Dress c. 1937

Isabelle De Strange made this "Dress" with what looks like graphite and ink, sometime during her long life from 1855 to 1995. I think it's about attention. The dress has this overall delicate quality, created through very fine lines. Look at how the dress seems to swell, a gradual expansion of the skirts, creating an impressive, womanly volume. Now, notice the tiny, repetitive leaf pattern, it looks like she's stamped it on one by one. It’s almost obsessive, this attention to detail. Then, BAM! It’s truncated at the neck, cut short; we see the dress without a body. It’s a ghost in waiting. I am reminded of Agnes Martin, and her grids made with such painstaking detail. Both artists seem to suggest that there is a deeper, more meaningful order underlying things. Not perfect, but meaningful.