Cloth is a language through which a people can tell stories about themselves, their community, and their place in the universe. This is particularly true of what we choose to wear.
This presentation will focus on a number of recent costume projects that have come through the studio that have notable and sometimes unsettling histories, and how the process of conservation, along with scientific analysis has helped to clarify and consolidate that knowledge. Case histories will include a shoe belonging to Lya Schwartz, a performer with the Ringling and Barnum & Bailey Circus, a bullet hole ridden coat from the Battle of Shiloh and hurricane damaged shirts from the Pulse nightclub memorial.
