Out of O'Keeffe's Closet: Clothes, Fashion, and Dressing Modern with Wanda Corn

Dr. Wanda M. Corn, Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor in Art History, Emerita, Stanford University, explores artist Georgia O'Keeffe's use of dress to join body and art in a common aesthetic.
Painter Georgia O'Keeffe's clothing style became an intimate part of her artistic identity. She dressed like she painted, putting high value on abstraction and simplicity. Exploring how modern artists redefined themselves and their art, Wanda Corn has carefully researched the apparel of select key artists.
Dr. Corn is a leading scholar of American modernism. Among Corn's numerous honors, she is the recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2014 from the College Art Association, the learned society for the visual arts.
The Howard E. Wooden Lecture Series is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Wichita Art Museum.
Originally recorded the evening of Thursday, November 20, 2014 in the Howard E. Wooden Lecture Hall at the Wichita Art Museum, in Wichita, Kansas.
Visit the Wichita Art Museum online at www.wichitaartmuseum.org/home.

[@elleh3495]

I really learned alot from this. I do however have two points: one is that calling indigenous people's clothing a "costume" is a bit frightening. And also, there was genius and a huge zest for life in Georgia, and here we are discussing her clothing. I don't know if we would do that if she were a man: I have no idea what clothing any male artists wore. That is something I think about when I watch this. Thank you for offering this video for viewing.

[@IlGattonero13]

I understand your points. But to be fair, Corn also called O’Keefe’s attire “costume” - which seems to me to be an outmoded, rather quaint term of reference. O’Keefe’s clothing is worth discussing because she curated her own style so meticulously, and in such contrast to her contemporaries, as though she were cultivating her image from a young age; and because she herself, in these striking and consistent looks, was a subject of the art of Stieglitz and others. Her clothes were distinctive in their austerity, silhouettes, and palette, and became a kind of shorthand for her persona. Clothing itself is - or can be - an art form, so to dismiss this analysis as sexist in some way is missing the point a bit, though I absolutely agree that in general, undue attention is paid to the physical appearance of women. Thanks for your comment; it made me think about this question further.

[@joanneflaming4604]

Eloquently well said! Thanks for that most enriching perspective.

[@avalondreaming1433]

​@@IlGattonero13I think costume is an old term that generally means how a person presents themselves. It doesn't hold our current meaning of a person playing dress up.

[@IlGattonero13]

​@@avalondreaming1433 Yes - her use of an archaic term was exactly my point.

[@sociolostitch]

I believe she's using the term "costume" intentionally, the way that it was "à la mode" to use french words in fashion. "Costume" is the french word for "suit", and its passage into English can still be found the way American English says "swimsuit" but in British English this can be called a "swimming costume". It's not meant to describe a disguise or dress-up, just a French word absorbed into the fashion lexicon for one's "suiting".

[@Fiona-zd5vj]

Fascinating and eloquently presented. I can relate to the benefit of maintaining a consistent routine of dress, so as to afford more decision making and processing time to the task in hand. Part uniform, part labouring attire, part branding reinforcement, at least for the camera. She seems to me to have always been outward looking, in an ongoing engagement and preoccupation with her natural and man made environment rather than self concerned, but that's just my first impression.

[@paulchristian7693]

Creative, artistic people go with their own rules and ideas. 🎭 She was ahead of her time dressed for comfort.

[@lorilea3188]

I wonder if young Georgia O'Keefe was aware of Frank Lloyd Wright's style of dress, both of which remind me of the severity of rural Wisconsin culture of the time.

[@patricialyons491]

Very interesting & well spoken presentation on a favorite & inegmatic figure of our culture. 🌟

[@evelyne7071]

Very interesting

[@KateColors]

Loved this talk. I saw the clothing exhibit at the Peabody Museum. Was fascinating to myself, who sews. Thank you.

[@normanearhoof5274]

Thank you! Very interesting.

[@CarrieMtn]

Every time I peek into the life of Ms O'Keefe, I am always finding something new. This was a really interesting lecture. Thank you for sharing. Is the lecture she mentioned about Frida available to watch online?

[@jennifs6868]

some quality clothing store or catalog should do an o'keefe collection!

[@marymcclunglaw5342]

Interesting, thank you.

[@imageofhand]

Good inspiration

[@BAM-jc7uy]

bowler hat??? more like wide rim cloche hats and women's fedora styles. I loved the v-neck and layered kimono-like cross-over look some of her dresses had. There seemed to be an eloquent flow and hang of varied weight natural fabrics. NM

[@BlueBeeMCMLXI]

I am convinced most Americans have no idea whatsoever what to call a given hat style. They wouldn't know a Bowler from a Homburg.

[@dianaashton2512]

THERE IS SOMETHING TI BE SAID FOR UNIFORMS IN DAILY DRESS. I AM AT A TIME WHERE I WOULD CONSIDER GOING TO A SEAMSTRESS AND CHOOSING ONE FLATTERING DESIGN AND REPEATING IT IN VARIOUS TEXTURES AND COLORS. I DIS,IKE GOING TO MY CLOSET AND EACH DAY MAKING A DECISION ABOUT WHAT GOES WITH WHAT, AM ABOUT COMFORTABLE, NO MORE TIGHT FITT8NG OANTS ON THE WAIST ANDNI AM NOT OVER WEIGHT.

[@colleenmarie9534]

How to make a fascinating woman ahead of her time boring. In her early years she made her own clothes - made her patterns out of newspaper - and developed her iconic style. During the summers at Lake George she spent with her husband and his ex-wife because the summer retreat was owned by the ex-wife. It was NOT fun so she cooked. And this is only a small part.

[@csmtcqueen]

Interesting ...

[@lisabarnes6919]

I think she has Native American features.And she was a beautiful woman.

[@BlueBeeMCMLXI]

Was she a Native American? Yes or No?

[@dianaashton2512]

O Keene had a certain allure in her youth but appeared to fade without any incentive for makeup or anything that would flatter her, looked very harsh to me for some reason, black appears to be a brutal and u flattering color to choose to represent oneself to the public. I seriously wonder what was going on in her head, one doesn’t have to present one self with dyed and styled hair but to be so severe all the time does make me question what was going on!

[@4sstg]

Too many words. Keep it simple.wading through your verbiage was tiring. Show us her, her clothes, photos, paintings.

[@IlGattonero13]

I agree that the lecture needed editing to make it more concise and illustrative.

[@ruralangwin]

I enjoyed the narrative very much.

[@gardengirl7446]

Even the intro goes on FOREVERRRR

[@zeldasmith6154]

I don't know who the narrator is but she's very annoying the way she boggles her head around. It's making me dizzy. Then there's her voice. OMG. Georgia would probably laugh if she saw this.