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A seated, light-skinned figure in a brown smock with their face not visible. A big yellow circle in the background. On the left, red text falls vertically and reads: “SMOCK.”
A seated, light-skinned figure in a brown smock with their face not visible. A big yellow circle in the background. On the left, red text falls vertically and reads: “SMOCK.”
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  • A seated, light-skinned figure in a brown smock with their face not visible. A big yellow circle in the background. On the left, red text falls vertically and reads: “SMOCK.”
  • A seated, light-skinned figure in a brown smock with their face not visible. A big yellow circle in the background. On the left, red text falls vertically and reads: “SMOCK.”

Andrea Zittel

A-Z Smock Shop

Maker

Andrea Zittel (American, b. 1965 in Escondido, CA), (RISD MFA 1990)

Title

A-Z Smock Shop

Year

2007

Medium

  • Gouache on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Gouache on paper

Materials

gouache

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

Sheet: 22.9 x 30.5 cm (9 x 12 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed and dated at lower right | Titled at lower left

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Paula and Leonard Granoff Fund

Object Number

2008.10.2

Type

  • Drawings and Watercolors

Exhibition History

On Paper
Gifts from Paula and Leonard Granoff
Oct 29, 2022 – Apr 16, 2023

Label copy

A seated figure wears a simple outfit described by the word smock, written vertically at left. This drawing was made for Smock Shop, a clothing enterprise that sold a wraparound garment intended to be worn every day for a season.

Andrea Zittel started Smock Shop in 2006 in response to her work at a New York gallery. Unable to afford designer clothing, she developed a smock as a uniform. For the shop, she hired a crew of artists, who could make their own choices about fabric and ornamentation, to produce the garments. Lasting until 2010, Smock Shop provided a creative livelihood for artists and inspired sustainable design. The RISD Museum collection also includes one of the smocks.

–Jan Howard, Houghton P. Metcalf Jr. Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs

Evolution Revolution
The Arts and Crafts in Contemporary Fashion and Textiles
Feb 22, 2008 – Jun 15, 2008

Label copy

Zittel formed A-Z Smockshop in the summer of 2006 as part of her ongoing Concepts for Living project. Smockshop was and is an effort inclusive of multiple makers, devised to investigate the relationships between function, fashion, design, life, commerce, and art. Using a basic pattern that Zittel provides, men and women sew smocks that they personalize with any materials they find suitable. In addition to the conceptual weight of the project, it is also intended to be a source of income for struggling artists in the Los Angeles area. Each smock is sold with the suggestion that the buyer wear the smock every day for the entire season. Smockshop becomes a performance perpetuatedby each participating smocker.

The smock itself holds special significance as a work garment. It was adopted by followers of William Morris as the uniform of social protest and a symbol of the simple life.

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Andrea Zittel (American, b. 1965 in Escondido, CA)
A-Z Smock Shop, 2007
Gouache on paper
Sheet: 22.9 x 30.5 cm (9 x 12 inches)
Paula and Leonard Granoff Fund 2008.10.2

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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