morgan gehris

Visual Art – Los Angeles

This body of work is temporal in nature. Because these costumes are created for movement on the human form, the pieces are only half-present apart from the body. Performances happen only once while only documentation remains for subsequent viewers. The viewers present at the happening witness something that for each person is distinct and further defined by previous life experience and individual perception. Models interact with and even touch the audience members, creating strong reactions and discomfort for some while other mesmerized audience members look on. The endocrine system, the nervous system, the visual cortex, and other internal arousal mechanisms manifest outside the body. Veins and bumps cover shiny surfaces. Materials such as printed fabrics, cast paper, branches, printed skin, and undergarments lose individual identity in a mobile visual cacophony. My process involves many disciplines and media: printing my own fabrics and models via collograph, silkscreen, and relief; costume design and construction; sculpture methods; dance and theatre; photography and videography; music and composition among others. These works change the human silhouette, at times choosing to emphasize parts of the body that are not typically considered arousing in American society. In some costumes I focus entirely on the parts directly involved with a sexually so-called "deviant" behavior; at other times I create entirely new areas in the silhouette based on strange internal shapes. The deviant behaviors themselves often enter the work. Models are contorted into strange and uncomfortable positions. Some are restrained by costumes, unable to create certain movements of the body. Others are unable to see and experience sensory deprivation during shows. Historically I am indebted to the movements Fluxus and Dada for creating the foundations for performance, whimsy, temporality, and discomfort in all the arts. Sha Sha Higby and Leigh Bowery offer contemporary inspiration for interdisciplinary creation and genuine delivery. Collaboration with other performers, researchers, and media is intrinsic to my work in the creation of an environ and Gesamkunstwerke (an all-encompassing art experience), not just an object.