ITALIANA PERFECTA
13" x 32", plastic bag, cellophane, lunch paper from under my pizza in Venice, vellum, acrylic paint, graphite, ribbon, stitches, and an onion bag, 2010
Part of the Material Properties series
Central Concept and Technologies Used:
From Wikipedia: The concept and significance of waist to hip ratio as an indicator of attractiveness was first theorized by evolutionary psychologist Devendra Singh at the University of Texas at Austin in 1993. The ideal ratio for women is considered to be about 0.7.
I created this piece by being visually arrested by an onion bag sitting on the table in the kitchen laying next to the lunch paper. The ratio was captivating and feminine so I stitched it up.
The apron is self-referential with food, ribbon with femininity, youth, and luxury, while fishnets and red high heels in the kitchen reference the "pin-up" style of the 1940s and 1950s. The measured waist to hip ratio of this piece is 8" x 11.3" which works out to be .707 just as I suspected.
