Garment Registry 1999

Editor: This is Harriet Bart’s "Garment Registry" from 1999, a mixed-media installation. I’m struck by the sense of archiving or cataloging everyday life; it's both intriguing and somewhat unsettling. What ideas does this evoke for you? Curator: I see it as a powerful commentary on memory, identity, and the politics of representation within institutional frameworks. The artist presents garments as relics. Think about the social history embedded within clothing: labor conditions, gender roles, economic status. Bart presents clothes within the rigid structure of an institution using clipboards, suggesting bureaucracy. How might the 'registry' aspect influence your perception of the individual garments displayed? Editor: The word ‘registry’ implies order, like documents in a government office or artifacts in a museum. Does the artist imply something critical about institutions and the ways they collect and classify? Curator: Precisely. Museums historically, often sanitize the narratives of ordinary people while upholding dominant narratives. By presenting garments this way, she invites a deeper reflection on who and what gets remembered, and on whose authority. The table, chair, and the book are perhaps further props – props inviting us to join in the construction of this 'history.' Editor: That makes me see this in a whole new light! I didn't immediately consider the critical institutional context. The personal garments placed under the bureaucratic gaze changes the power dynamic significantly. Curator: It becomes an act of reclaiming individual stories. It humanizes that is otherwise omitted from official histories. How can we engage more people to ask themselves, whose stories aren't being told, or whose have been suppressed in mainstream history? Editor: So, it's not just about cataloging clothing; it's a critique of how we, as a society, choose to remember. I’ll definitely consider this next time I look at historical artworks!