Camouflage
Sabrina Gschwandtner
(American, born in 1977)
2012
Medium/TechniqueBlack and white and color 16 mm cellulose acetate motion picture film, polyamide thread, lithography ink, polyester thread, framed and mounted to a light box
DimensionsOverall: 176.5 x 115.6 cm (69 1/2 x 45 1/2 in.)
Credit LineWilliam Francis Warden Fund and funds donated by Barbara L. and Theodore B. Alfond through the Acorn Foundation
Accession number2015.2250
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Following a traditional Amish “Sunshine and Shadow” quilting pattern, Gschwandtner combines two films into a study of contrasts: light/dark, discovery/deception, creation/breakdown. One film is for children to learn about shadows and make them with their hands. The other is a cheery industrial film on fabric manufacturing produced by Bradford Dyeing Association in Rhode Island. Gschwandtner's juxtaposes them to “bring out the shadowy aspects of the textile mill film.” The false picture of happy workers masked years of labor abuse, chemical dumping, and supplying the U.S. military with camouflage. Closed by 2011, Bradford had made its own bed.
Copyright© Sabrina Gschwandtner
