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The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, May 12, 2011
A year in the making Artist saves receipts for her wearable art BY JENNIFER SELF Californian lifestyles editor jself@bakersfield.com
M
arissa Mercado has no idea what her “Wedding Dress” cost, but she does know it took a year to save up for it. As in a year of meticulously collecting and saving receipts for every last one of her purchases — bags of Fritos, underwear, even a blowtorch. And the reason has nothing to do with being a pack rat or preparing for a possible IRS audit. Mercado keeps the receipts to create wearable pieces of art — what a friend of hers calls “performance sculpture.” “This series of receipt garments works on several levels,” said Mercado of the wedding dress she created and is modeling in the photo at right. “There is a personal narrative if you draw near enough to read what is on each receipt. That self-portrait is furthered by the form I sew them in. Still, the broader statement is about consumption and the purchasing of identity.” Mercado’s dress is quite possibly the most original piece submitted in the five-year history of Eye Gallery, the annual art series presented by The Californian and the Bakersfield Museum of Art, which debuts today and will run over several weeks in the pages of Eye Street. But the emphasis on ingenuity is not by accident: BMoA curator Vikki Cruz set out to freshen things up a bit this year by finding new faces and perspectives. The result is that most of our artists are young, emerging talents who eschew tradition and convention. And though many of them grew up in Bakersfield, several have chosen to move on to bigger cities to study and work. Mercado, who uses the name Marissa Magdalena professionally, makes her home in Los Angeles, where she’s a guest lecturer and drawing instructor at The Getty, one of the finest art museums in the country. But Mercado is quick to make clear that though she’s grateful for
More about Marissa Check out the artist’s work at marissamagdalena.com or consider taking one of her drawing classes at The Getty, where she is an instructor/guest lecturer. She has classes coming up May 15, June 5 and 19. To reserve a spot, visit getty.edu/visit/calendar/events/Courses.html.
“Andy Warhol said, ‘Art is what you can get away with.’ As long as I’m getting away with it, I’m having a good time.” — Marissa (Magdalena)
Mercado
the plentiful opportunities in L.A., the decision to leave her hometown was complicated. “Bakersfield is a well of inspiration for me,” said Mercado, 29. “There is no place in the world I’d rather be from. I like to tell people I come by my red cowboy boots honestly. The San Joaquin Valley is as fertile ground for culture as it is for crops. I take it with me everywhere I go.” And let it be noted that Mercado, who got married Saturday, didn’t jet off to some exotic honeymoon. Instead, she sat down at her computer and answered our questions about art, life and the meaning of it all via email. That’s dedication for you. (But dedication goes only so far: The bride chose not to wear the paper wedding dress on her big day!) Did you tally up how much you spent on the receipts? Thousands! I love that in a sense that is exactly what the dress cost. Tell us about how you put the dress together: The artwork is made from ALL the receipts I collected over a year of my life. ... I have to let the receipts sit for some time while I draw conclusions about what identity I was trying to pursue for the year they were collected. ... I have to bond the receipts together, taking care not to destroy the sensitive ink and paper they are made of. After making a “fabric” of receipts, I cut it according to a clothing pattern and run it through my sewing machine! How will your dress be displayed at the museum? I prefer to parade them on bodies, but I can’t afford to house a model at BMoA, so we’ll use a hanger. Please see PAGE 21
ALEX HORVATH / THE CALIFORNIAN
Marissa Mercado models “Wedding Dress,” her submission to the 2011 Eye Gallery art series. The dress is made of a year’s worth of receipts that Mercado stitched together.