Lucy Hats
single channel video, 2019
This piece was inspired by an episode of I Love Lucy called “Lucy Gets a Paris Gown” (S5, E20, 1956). Ricky and Fred pretend to purchase Lucy and Ethel haute couture gowns while in Paris. Rather than being purchased, the dresses are made of burlap, and the hats from everyday objects - a pail and a horse’s feed bag. After seeing these designs, which were meant to mimic and make fun of Jacques Marcel’s pieces, the famous designer makes knock offs of the knock offs. Madcap antics ensue. The episode makes clear the subjectivity of beauty and of value. My color video shows a contemporary model wearing sculptural imitations of every hat in the Lucy episode with the original black and white setting composited into the background.