Leslie Dill Multimedia Lithographic Assemblage "Poem Dress of Circulation," 1994
Item Details
Lesley Dill (New York, born 1950)
Poem Dress of Circulation, 1994
Photolithograph on sewn and glued Chiri Kozo paper stained with acrylic paint
Signed to verso; at lower corner and at lower back area
Numbered 2/50
Published by Graphicstudio USF, Tampa, Florida
Two seals impressed to verso
Lesley Dill is an American multimedia artist. Her work often explores the power that human forms and language hold to reflect and safeguard the spirit and psyche. Dill has many works that fuse sartorial forms and human figures— some historical, some nameless, and others only represented by a single body part, with the words of Dill’s own literary inspirations.
Dill was born in New York City, where she currently lives, and grew up in Maine. Her work has been widely exhibited across the United States and is held in collections internationally.
Poem Dress of Circulation Background
Lesley Dill’s Poem Dress of Circulation is a text-based work that explores written language and dress as methods of expression. Dill’s small paper dress is fit with a proportionate anatomical heart and evokes a poem written by the famous Massachusetts-born-poet, Emily Dickinson. Channels of arteries and Dickinson’s words cascade down the dress, flowing from the bank of the heart to read:
The Heart has narrow Banks
It measures like the Sea
In mighty—unremitting Bass
And Blue Monotony
Till Hurricane bisect
And as itself discerns
Its sufficient Area
The Heart convulsive learns
That Calm is but a Wall
Of unattempted Gauze
An instant’s Push demolishes
A Questioning—dissolves.
These words, which Dill likens to an essential aspect of bodily function and integrity, suggest that language itself is a critical tool of an honest self-expression. The beige paper is set off by a deep blue—a color that appears as deoxygenated blood might to the human eye, bleeding from its heart and pigmenting each letter as the one donning the dress would bear heart to the world.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds lithographic prints of this work and of its companion pieces (i.e. Poem Ears, Poem Gloves, Poem Eyes) in its collections. Dill has also created other “Poem Dresses” that use poetry and style to explore various themes.
Additional Information
Exhibition History:
02/01/2024–02/29/2024 February Features
11/08/2019–01/31/2020 Lesley Dill: Voice
Condition
- tape remnant to bottom right; crumpled and creased areas throughout; vague discoloration.
Dimensions
- measurements are approximate. Storage box (not original to the piece) measures 16.25" W x 12.75" H x 2" D.
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Item #
ITMGS06159
