Summer 1967 (In Memory of James Budd Dixon), 1967
By Frank Irving Lobdell

            This painting is a three part composition is a monumental anti-war statement created during the Vietnam War. Lobdell’s father fought in World War I, he faught in World War II and his son fought in Vietnam. “He came to perceive all wars as inherently dehumanizing.”
            I was inspired by shapes and the silhouettes of the dark figure and dark outlined “arms” holding the blue “belly”. I envisioned an extremely tailored black and blue cocktail dress with large shoulders and hips with a yellow belt accent. The tailored shoulders and hips are inspired from the black shape in the middle of the painting. Color always inspires me so it was also an inspirational factor, as you can see in the sketch.

 

Trouble-fete, 1944
By Enrico Donati
            The description for this painting only states, "Gift of the artist”. This oil painting has extremely bright colors which blend in with one another almost like a tie-dye. The shapes are animalistic and barbaric. The dream-like painting looks like a sky that is consumed with antelopes, dinosaurs and skeletons.
            I was inspired the by colors in this painting. They are so vibrant and contrasting, I immediately thought of an outfit with these same colors tie-dyed. I imagined a long halter bohemian dress made out of tie dyed material looking just like this painting. The tie-dye shapes in the dress are reminiscent of animals.

 

XIII from the set 4-11-75, 1975
By Richard Diebenkorn
            This monotype has little description of meaning, but as an impressionist, Diebenkorn was very process oriented in his thinking. Changing only small details at a time, he would build on earlier works by rolling, brushing and applying inks or paints to an unaltered metal or glass plate, which is then run through a press to create the image.
            I was inspired by the obvious print. I imagined a white wrap dress with thick, uneven, black vertical marks, as if it had made its way through a newspaper press. The black smudging is also evident in this dress, creating depth.