In the very center of a room full of vivid colored garments on white walls, rows of yarn rolls are arranged in a rainbow color scheme. From the cloth hung on the walls and the yarn fixtures arrayed across the room, the art installation could double as a cat’s playhouse.
The exhibit is a color study of T-shirts playfully dissected and stripped down to bare parts, from yards of string, to T-shirts’ tags. California State University, Long Beach Master of Fine Arts student Mimi Haddon aims to put the “t” in tribe with her exhibit “Conversation Between Strangers.”
“I actually had one student come in and say that the piece had a very warm tone because of the colors, but then that student came back later and told me that she actually saw something sinister in the collars of the t-shirts all hanging in the middle,” said Haddon.
The exhibit follows the t-shirt making process and pinpoints the different locations of production, stringing together a global community, or as Haddon describe it, “a tribe.”
“A tribal element—having people be a part of a group by just wearing a t-shirt—signifies them being together,” Haddon said. “So I felt like buying these 100 different t-shirts, it represented 100 different groups or interests. By bringing them all together I feel like there’s kind of a conversation happening between strangers.”
As her son went around the gallery modifying and changing the art installations, Haddon expressed a peaceful look of encouragement, allowing him to rearrange the room to his heart’s content.
“It’s an installation that allows constant play and movement,” Haddon said. “It’s not fixed by any means. That’s the one thing I’m trying to avoid, a fixed piece. I like the idea of having activity in the room. For me all this yarn represents potential for a project that has yet to be created—comes with the idea that this is raw energy that has to become something else.”
Haddon’s only materials for the gallery were 100 T-shirts that she purchased from Goodwill. Her tee decision also stemmed from the thought behind the significance of the t-shirt, describing the clothing item to be “ubiquitous in our culture.”
Dismantling the t-shirts required Haddon to physically invest herself within her art fixtures. It enticed both an interaction between body and mind, working together harmoniously.
“I might not be the biggest thinker, but after seeing the gallery, I see these artists being very creative with simple things,” said Rodrigo Gonzalez, a sophomore graphic design major who was browsing the student galleries.
Haddon discussed the interaction between following her intuition and following her mind.
“I’ve done a ton of sketches of what I want to make but then I forget about them and let my body go to work,” Haddon said. “Dissecting the t-shirts is a very physical process: the cutting, the stretching and the wrapping was definitely very physical. The physicality took me to a certain point and once I got into [the gallery room] my intuition worked things out.”
Haddon said students at CSULB are lucky to have the chance to not only experience the variety of art displayed in the student galleries but also the chance to interact with the creators.
“There are so many talented artists and great sculptures, so I think it’s been a great week. The T-shirt piece is a lot of fun,” said Alice Andreini, a fellow MFA student who also had pieces on display.
The CSULB School of art displays student galleries in Fine Arts building 2-4, with new exhibits each week. Haddon’s “Conversation Between Strangers” can be experienced from noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, and from noon to 7 p.m. on Wednesday.