SMC Likes Dummies – Er, Mannequins

SMC has become fond of dummies.

Or, more precisely, mannequins.

SMC has joined The Mannequin Collective, one of the many projects created by the just opened new Santa Monica Place. Two groups of students – one from the Fashion Design Program, the other from the Art Department – each created a work of art using a blank mannequin as their canvases. Their mannequins are among about 100 that are currently on exhibit through Aug. 22 at the new, three-level open-air shopping and dining destination in the heart of Santa Monica. (KCRW also has a mannequin on display.)

“This has been a great project,” said fashion design professor Fereshteh Mobasheri. “We got students involved, we get recognition from the community, and our work is being exhibited alongside art created by such organizations as Cirque du Soleil.”

Mobasheri worked with two students – Svetlana Djournett and James Edward Warner – to design and create their piece, which they called “Redefining Our Roots.” Tying in to SMC’s global initiative, the recyclable work is made from rice and rice bags and is meant to demonstrate “how we’re all connected to the earth and all have the same roots,” Mobasheri said.

Also creating work was a group of seven art students, led by Fredy Lopez and overseen by Art Department Chair Ronn Davis. Their piece, titled “Gaia” or “Mother Earth,” is made of acrylic paint, papier mâché, clay and artificial leaves.

“The opportunity to work as a collective on a project gave invaluable experience to everyone involved,” Lopez said. “From the inception of a unique idea to seeing it through and all the finishing touches, each of us learned how to work with each other and help each other. After seeing what we created at the end of the process, we are excited at the outcome.”

The other art students involved in the project are Lana Linetskaya, Jose Sanchez, Kylie Mickel, Rafael Dodge, Adam Ormsby, and Lois Koa.

Participants in the exhibit include a broad range of individuals, institutions and retailers throughout Los Angeles, including the Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles Zoo, Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Monica, Heal the Bay and Barney’s New York. Area artists include Huguette Caland, who is also a fashion designer; Gwen Samuels of the Santa Monica Art Studio, whose broader work focuses on “clothing as identity;” and Santa Monica painter and graphic artist Peter Tigler.

The Mannequin Collective is a partnership that benefits Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. The top five mannequins, chosen by a jury of local artists and community leaders, will be displayed at the main Otis campus in Westchester, as well as at the Otis fashion design location in downtown L.A. Santa Monica Place will donate $10,000 to support scholarships at Otis in the name of the grand design winner.

The new Santa Monica Place, located two blocks from the beach and adjacent to the Third Street Promenade in downtown Santa Monica, opened Aug. 6.

SMC fashion students James Edward Warner and Svetlana Djournett, along with fashion design professor Fereshteh Mobasheri (left), with their mannequin, featuring recyclable rice and rice bags.