Admirers of artistic expression who happen to meander into Kresge Art Museum anytime within the next couple of months may find themselves surrounded by the extraordinary thrust into the bizarre or engulfed in the eccentric. "Cat Chow: The Second Skin" has arrived.
An art enthusiast who walks into the exhibit is the cognitive equivalent to Alice falling down the rabbit hole or Dorothy being sucked up by a giant tornado; Kansas is far, far away.
The exhibit is a collection of offbeat and stylistically refreshing art pieces that are sewn, bound, hooked and zipped together to create a multitude of unconventional dresses.
Cat Chow said she takes pride in her work.
"My art started off by me making dresses with multiple forms of materials," Chow said. "I guess when I started doing my work, I would find materials that would really excite and challenge me to make them into pieces of clothing."
The avant-garde artist wasn't always into conjuring oddball apparel. The New Jersey-born Catherine Chow graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in theater. She began her career designing conventional prop-shop costumes for theater productions and then abruptly shifted her craft to the unique allure of uncustomary garments.
"I'm hoping to enter people's minds," Chow said. "I want to add creativity to how they see materials and objects in the environment."
Kresge Art Museum Director Susan Bandes said she's excited to present the exhibit to all viewers in the campus community.
"It represents an exciting cross between fashion and art, offering a playful, creative approach," Bandes said.
Chow's show is heavily circulated around the nation. Bandes recalls learning about the traveling exhibit and her desire to acquire "Second Skin" for Kresge.
"The curator, April Kingsley, and I, were in Chicago and saw an exhibit of her work," Bandes said. "We were really interested in it, and when we learned it was a traveling show, we knew it would be good for the community."
"The Kresge Art Museum was a good fit for contemporary art because of the community and university here," Chow said. "I tend to do a lot of university venues — it's kind of nice that it's a place where the students as well as the community can both view my work."
The individual pieces are a rare concoction of intricately crafted attire. Chow's process-oriented designs consist of meticulously piecing together common items like washers, zippers, corks, metal rings, twist ties, hospital ID bracelets and other random materials. Throw convention out the window — one dress is made entirely out of "Power Rangers" trading cards — the Yellow Ranger.
Chow is currently based in New York where she is finishing up an art residency. She is scheduled to return to Kresge on June 27 for "Pattern Language: Cat Chow Unzipped," a lecture explaining her influential designs, and on June 28 for her "Ordinary Materials, Extraordinary Creations" workshop.
"Things aren't always what you think they are. I hope that people realize that anything is possible; there are no rules," she said.
The Kresge Art Museum will run "Cat Chow: The Second Skin" until July 28.
