Dress Me Slow, I'm in a Hurry

 
 

Dress Me Slow, I’m in a Hurry
Evergreen Museum and Library—Baltimore, MD
October 25 -27, 2007

with Michael Simmons on flamenco and classical guitars and mandolin

As the 2007 artist-in-residence at Evergreen Museum and Library, I was fascinated by Evergreen's idiosyncratic patroness Alice Garrett. In addition to being an art patron and wife of a diplomat, Alice sang, danced and staged lavish productions she called Songs in Costume during the 1920s in an in-home theater designed by Ballets Russes costume designer Leon Bakst.

In my research, I discovered that while Alice was a consummate entertainer, she was not a very good singer or dancer and was deeply conflicted about her artistic aspirations. Dress Me Slow, I’m in a Hurry was a reimagined Songs in Costume. I sang songs from Alice's repertoire of Irish and Spanish folk songs; wore costumes I designed and made inspired by the intensely colored costumes Bakst created for Alice; and shared monologues exploring Alice's conflicted artistic aspirations and my own ambivalence about being an artist.

 

Photos by Aaron Igler

 
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