Ellen Mueller Tracking an Artist

Gallery Home | Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009
Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009 Sustainability, Fanaticism, and Fashion on Demand! 2009

Apparel is available online HERE

Watch video of the live event HERE


IN THE NEWS

"Student Fashion Show Models a Deeper Purpose" -- Article in The Oracle, November 2009

"USF students inspire sustainable fashion show" -- Article in the Tampa Tribune, November 2009

"Fashion Speaks" -- Article in The Oracle, November 2009

Eagle in Styrofoam Cup Hat, 2009, 100% polyester foam and 100% nylon mesh, adjustable from 17" to 24"

Within my art I strive to create work that engages the shared, cultural conscience of the audience, and addresses social issues through image, performance and installation. Cultivating social awareness as well as an individual response from viewers is always an underlying goal of my works.

This piece came to fruition through a Graduate Student Challenge grant for interdisciplinary research. I worked with a team of four other grads to study if there was any relationship between attitudes towards sustainability and fanaticism amongst USF students.

We started by creating and distributing a survey to measure USF students’ attitudes towards sustainability and fanaticism. After collecting this data, it seemed natural to create an event that would attract a broader audience than the typical research-paper-reading crowd. The idea of a fashion show seemed ideal for showcasing our findings on these USF students’ viewpoints.

Design research included utilizing Google Image Search for words such as “sustainability,” “fanaticism,” and “America,” and researching popular college T-shirt designs in an effort to emulate the look and feel of college students’ clothing choices. After collaborating with Phil McCollam to create the designs, they are now available via Zazzle.com, a site that will print designs on-demand, which is one of the more sustainable ways of producing these items, and that features organic and American-made products.

Through the narration of this fashion show and the online product descriptions, a larger and more diverse audience will be able to learn about our research findings on USF student views, and consider what they might mean in a broader context.