Pants (chaps) c. 20th century

Editor: These intriguing "Pants (chaps)," dated circa the 20th century and held here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, present such an odd combination of softness and… threat. It's crafted from textiles and found objects. It reminds me of a sort of creature. How do you read it? Curator: Oh, I like "creature!" Absolutely! It makes me think about those blurry monsters we half-see in shadows as children. Those reaching spindly bits – are they legs? Horns? Whispers? They're strangely evocative, right? And the dark, almost liquid, quality of the material pulls you in. You almost want to touch it, feel its texture… but maybe you shouldn’t? What does the 'Pants' of it all evoke for you, then? Editor: Well, 'pants' suggests wearability, but the form seems so divorced from function! Is it perhaps referencing some ritualistic attire, meant more for symbolic performance than practicality? Curator: Precisely! It’s as if it captures a spirit of 'pants'-ness, if you will, rather than the literal garment. That strange ornamentation down below further detaches it from pure utilitarianism and nudges toward the symbolic and, possibly, humorous. After all, sometimes the deepest truths are best whispered through laughter. Editor: The fluidity you mention combined with its odd embellishments is striking. I find the idea of art hinting toward the intangible much more appealing than a perfect illustration. I love how it withholds information. Curator: Oh, art's coyness! Wonderful, isn't it? What you're describing reminds me of poetry, that sense of being haunted by something unspoken, a truth flickering just beyond reach, captured not with precision, but a gesture. And doesn’t that make it all the more alluring? I see abstraction to me like an invitation; where we finish the piece by looking at it. Editor: Definitely. Thinking about it in terms of ritual clothing, plus your mention of monsters, this piece opens itself up for interpretation instead of boxing it in. Thanks, I'm seeing it from an entirely different angle. Curator: My pleasure. Remember that feeling, chase it through the galleries. The magic lives in that 'in-between' space.