Here comes the bride all dressed in white, but this time its not for a ceremony -- its for the sake of art.
Amber McGregor, senior art major, wore a wedding gown the entire month of February for her Bachelor of Arts thesis project.McGregor said she used her personal experiences with her own wedding as an inspiration for the piece.
"When I would talk to other people, particularly women, about planning the wedding they were more concerned about the decorations, flowers and the dress than the vows we were taking and the commitment we were making," McGregor said.
McGregor said she also began thinking about the context of the dress in a traditional ceremony.
"If I went to a wedding and a bride strolled down in jeans, I'd be surprised. However, if you were to take the dress out of its original context and place it into everyday situations its impractical and shocking," McGregor said.
So, McGregor bought the dress off eBay and began wearing it Feb.1. She wore it everywhere she went and videoed her experiences.
"I only change when I'm going to sleep but I still wear it when I watch T.V. and do dishes," McGregor said.
She said she has been very surprised by people's reactions. She's received both positive and negatives comments.
"I've had many, many, many people ask. Sometimes they ask if I'm getting married," McGregor said. "I've also had people from cars shout congratulations."
She also said some people would apologize for asking and others would just gawk and avoid her.
"Some people would give me angry looks and people make assumptions without finding out my intent," McGregor said.
"I'd much rather have people come up and ask me instead of staring and trying not to look," she said. "Art is to make people think and ask questions, stimulate conversation and provoke thought."
Looking back over the past month, McGregor said she really had some apprehension about the project.
"Prior to starting I had to really come out of my shell a little bit. I'm not one that is hoping to get a lot of attention," she said. "I'm doing it for the artistic expression. I'm not doing it to make a scene."
While some students think McGregor wants attention, some U of M professors who are familiar with her knows that's not the case.
"She's very committed to this project and some people see performance art as something to get attention. But with Amber I know it goes much deeper than that," said Bryan Blankenship, art museum assistant and part time art professor.
Now that the project is coming to an end, McGregor said she is happy but realizes she has learned a lot.
"By doing this piece it has helped me find out more about myself and helping me to better describe my work and talk about its meaning," she said. McGregor's pieces have been included in the 22nd Annual Juried Art Exhibition and she currently has an exhibition going on in the art museum in Gallery 203.
McGregor's solo project entitled "And then there was the dress" runs this week only in the art museum.
"It is an installation that has been inspired by other pieces I'm doing," she said. "It is a short video of me tearing a wedding dress with a projection onto the wall and into the room with different pieces of fabric hanging and reflecting light."
McGregor's dress and video of her experiences will be on display starting April 15 in the Bachelor's of Fine Art exhibition along with other classmate's work downtown on Main Street.
