LAUSR

Lauren Downing Peters Centre for Fashion Studies, Stockholm University to haunt her later in life, however. In the public imaginary, she had by the 1970s become something of a mythical figure, feminist hero and latent fashion icon canonised by the likes of Andy Warhol, Bruce Weber and Calvin Klein (all of whom had work on display). The final gallery, which included newspapers, magazine spreads and other multimedia materials, further explored her complicated legacy and how she struggled at times to unravel an identity that, over the course of her ninety-nine years, she had worked so hard to weave together. O’Keeffe rejected labels like ‘woman artist’ and baulked at the notion that she was some kind of prophetic desert soothsayer, even if her public image suggested otherwise. Yet, as with any of our own self-fashioning practices, O’Keeffe’s were ripe with contradictions; one of the many strengths of this fascinating exhibition, however, was Corn’s decision to resist the desire to provide easy answers, or to tell O’Keeffe’s sartorial biography through a neat linear narrative. Through the juxtaposition of garments, paintings, photographs and accessories, it felt, at times, as if I was peering into O’Keeffe’s wardrobe or studio — a sensation that was heightened by certain curatorial strategies, such as the decision to display the garments at eye-level and absent glass barriers. The intimacy that Corn created through these techniques rendered the exhibition an especially chatty one in which in several instances I found myself engaged in conversations with my similarly enrapt fellow visitors. Indeed, it was both heartwarming and inspiring to see how clothing could be used as a trigger for breathing new life into the biography and practice of such a familiar and iconic figure. Corn’s explorations continue in the impressive catalogue, which serves as more of a companion to the exhibition than a record of it. Including photographs of all of the objects on display, in addition to a wealth of supplementary materials and original essays, the catalogue picks up where the exhibition left off — especially in its explorations of O’Keeffe’s living spaces. Indeed, this is the only area in which it could be argued that the exhibition did not live up to its lofty promises. However, those who are interested to see how O’Keeffe’s ‘Revolutionary Textiles 1910–1939’. Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK, 26 March 2016–29 January 2017