Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Anderson, Kim

Area of Concentration

Art with Museum Studies, Rhetoric and Writing

Abstract

“Femmage”: or feminist collage, was defined by Miriam Schapiro and Melissa Meyer as an activity “practiced by women using traditional women's techniques to achieve their art”. In keeping with feminist ideals, their definition celebrates rather than denigrates qualities long associated with women's creativity: the personal, the collective, the decorative* Re-fashioning the Working Woman, an artistic body of work, calls out the hindrances that uniforms have imposed, undermining feminine identities, aesthetics, experiences, and empowerment. Looking to the Pattern and Decoration art movement for inspiration, my body of artwork reflects a plethora of themes that developed from this movement, including femininity, individuality, women's work and labor, and domestic crafts, which contrast to larger cultural constructs including corporate America, mainstream aesthetics, and the fashion industry. Across this body of work, I employ mixed media strategies to subvert the uniform's oppressive confines. By modifying borrowed uniforms through screenprinting, fabrics, sewing, and photography, I aim to better represent the individual behind the brand. This body of art is pieced together with these various elements, creating a collage - or femmage - that expresses the identities and viewpoints of women in the workforce. Through these feminist themes and imagery, Re-fashioning the Working Woman confronts the connotations surrounding uniformed females in a stigmatized society.

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