Erica Spitzer Rasmussen

1. The Banalities of Motherhood was inspired by the crumpled up grocery lists that I continually find in the bottom of my purse. Being the mother of a three-year-old, I’m constantly running to the grocery to purchase such staples as pull-ups, animal crackers and Zoo Pals.

mixed media with handmade paper (cotton, acrylics, grease marker, gold leaf, Asian lace papers and Kool Aid), 11"w x 10"d x 2"h, 2008.
photo: Petronella Ystma

2. A Coat for Two Occasions is a garment I made to wear to my funeral and cremation. The shape of the coat is modeled after a traditional Chinese jacket and is covered with hundreds of pieces of modified joss papers. The Chinese burn sheets of joss ceremoniously at funerals, investing each sheet with a prayer for the departed. By stipulating in my will that I would like to be placed in this garment for my funeral and cremation, I will be able to burn the joss myself, giving me a bit more control over my final rites. Ultimately, if I can contribute some humor or beauty to my death, it will make my passing easier to prepare for.

mixed media with handmade paper (flax, joss paper, acrylics, cotton thread and walnut stain), 60”w x 31”h x 5”d, 2000.
photo: Petronella Ystma

3. Juju Dress As a small child, my girlfriends and I believed that swallowing a watermelon seed resulted in pregnancy. As an adult, I found myself battling infertility. Hence, the dress was constructed of cast and leafed plates of paper, modeled after medieval armor. Watermelon seeds were tied at each juncture. The dress was worn to my monthly ‘procedures’ as an attempt to enlist magical assistance.

Juju Dress, mixed media with handmade paper (abaca, cotton, kozo, acrylics, tracing paper, waxed linen thread, gold leaf and watermelon seeds), 18” w x 60”h x 4”d, 2003

4. Little Coats
mixed media with handmade paper (cotton, jute, joss paper, animal hair, teeth, bone, watermelon seeds, dog hair, glass beads, shell buttons, tomato paste, acrylic paint, India ink and hog gut)12”h x 10” w x 4”d each, 2002. photo: Petronella Ytsma

5. Spoiler 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.

mixed media with handmade paper (cotton, acrylics, shell, plastic, brass, waxed linen thread and human hair), 27”h x 18”w x 9”d, 2009. photo: Petronella Ystma

When I was a little girl, a family member told me that eating tomatoes would make me “big, strong and hairy chested.” I avoided eating tomatoes for twenty years.

As a general rule, my sculptural work is inspired by childhood myths or adult anxieties regarding my body. Like my childhood association between the consumption of tomatoes and the growth of chest hair, I sometimes find body-stories or body-experiences to be simultaneously comical and horrifying. It is often these extremes in emotional reactions that drive me to produce the work, in an attempt to better comprehend each situation.

Recently, the parameter of my work has expanded to include the well being of loved ones. Coping with familiar illness and motherhood has altered my outlook on the world and my responsibilities in life.

I use clothing as subject matter because it allows me a ground on which to investigate identity and corporeality. My garments are metaphors. They can encompass narrative qualities, illustrate and dissolve bodily fears, or act as talismanic devices.

In addition to utilizing handmade paper, I often incorporate non-archival media into my work. I derive great joy from transforming everyday materials into something personal, meaningful and beautiful. When I see tomato paste, dog hair, sausage casings, spent tea bags or dried fish skins, I envision a work that may be transitory in nature, but rich in surfaces.

RasmussenCV.pdf