Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Red Tape Cape, 2020
mixed media with commercial paper (tape, paperwork and a secret note) 46”h x 28”w x 20”d
Red Tape Cape was designed to help me fight bureaucracy in my professional life. The garment is composed of red painter’s tape, paperwork and a secret note regarding menial tasks. Like superheroes who don transformative attire when battles need to be fought, I plan to wear this cape to empower myself in the workplace.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Red Tape Cape, detail, 2020
mixed media with commercial paper (tape, paperwork and a secret note), 46”h x 28”w x 20”d
Red Tape Cape was designed to help me fight bureaucracy in my professional life. The garment is composed of red painter’s tape, paperwork and a secret note regarding menial tasks. Like superheroes who don transformative attire when battles need to be fought, I plan to wear this cape to empower myself in the workplace.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Crisis of Conscious, 2021
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton, glitter, stones, zipper, flock, twenty-seven macerated secrets) 11”w x 8”h x 10”d
Crisis of Conscious is a self-portrait. The shoes evolved when I felt the need to destroy twenty-seven shameful secrets that I typed onto office paper as an exercise in self-reflection. Although one can no longer see the words of the pulverized page, the secrets are forever embedded within the work. The stones symbolize the psychological weight of my words.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Crisis of Conscious, detail, 2021
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton, glitter, stones, zipper, flock, twenty-seven macerated secrets) 11”w x 8”h x 10”d
Crisis of Conscious is a self-portrait. The shoes evolved when I felt the need to destroy twenty-seven shameful secrets that I typed onto office paper as an exercise in self-reflection. Although one can no longer see the words of the pulverized page, the secrets are forever embedded within the work. The stones symbolize the psychological weight of my words.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Bound and Tied, 2019
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton and mulberry fibers, walnut stain, gelatin capsules and a secret note to self) 24”w x 64”h x 8”d
Bound and Tied is a work about my struggles with insomnia. Because I have so much difficulty sleeping, I take prescription pills every night. The use of the straight jacket and the integration of gelatin capsules makes reference to my on-going habit.... one which I'll probably never break free from. I'm not happy about my dependence on such pharmaceuticals, but I've resigned myself to it.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Bound and Tied, detail, 2019
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton and mulberry fibers, walnut stain, gelatin capsules and a secret note to self) ), 24”w x 64”h x 8”d
Bound and Tied is a work about my struggles with insomnia. Because I have so much difficulty sleeping, I take prescription pills every night. The use of the straight jacket and the integration of gelatin capsules makes reference to my on-going habit.... one which I'll probably never break free from. I'm not happy about my dependence on such pharmaceuticals, but I've resigned myself to it.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Cruel Shoes, 2015
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton, tissue paper, acrylics, sharps) 12”w x 7”h x 10”h
I’ve spent a lifetime trying to squeeze my oversize feet into diminutive and fashionable high heels. This has resulted in minor deformities and painful podiatry issues. These shoes are a self-portrait. They represent my inability to resist buying a stylish pair of stilettos marked ‘on sale’ or ‘size 11,’ no matter how impractical and uncomfortable they may be.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Fragments and Shards, 2017
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton fibers, Elmer’s Glue, wax, leather, acrylics, grout, LPs) 12”w x 27”h x 9 ½”d
Fragments and Shards is a work about trying to hold together your composure, even when you feel like falling apart.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Fragments and Shard, detail, 2017
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton fibers, Elmer’s Glue, wax, leather, acrylics, grout, LPs) 12”w x 27”h x 9 ½”d
Fragments and Shards is a work about trying to hold together your composure, even when you feel like falling apart.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen
Spoiler, 2009
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton, acrylics, shell, plastic, brass, waxed linen thread and human hair) 27”h x 18”w x 9”d
Like the aerodynamic flares that often accompany streamlined vehicles, these pannier-like structures are intended to redefine or amplify a woman’s natural shape. Similarly, spoiler could also mean one or that which spoils. The term could make reference to fleeting femininity, such as in the case of errant hairs on an otherwise tidy and attractive female form.
