On April 3, 2014, artist Beverly Semmes was interviewed by Skidmore College students Mariel Kennedy ’14 and Juliana Lopez ’14 about her work Famous Twins in the exhibition One Work, 2014.
This interview was part of a series of interviews with artists in One Work organized and conducted by Skidmore students in the Art History course AH-351A. The series was funded by The Alfred Z. Solomon Residency Fund.
Beverly Semmes creates textile sculptures, clay and crystal vessels, drawings, collages, prints, performance, photography, and video. In her installations, Semmes often mixes and combines these media, as in 2011’s Feminist Responsibility Project, which featured altered pornographic images, a massive white cloud of fabric, video, and performance.
In the early 1990s Semmes became well known for sculptures that evoke oversized garments, most commonly clothing designed for women. Created out of organza, velvet, tulle, chiffon, lamé, mohair, flannel, and cashmere, her sculptures took a common design—the dress—and twisted it into surreal proportions.
