Artwork Description
Angela Ellsworth – They Long to Be
Dimensions: 18 x 27 x 13″
Year: 2015
Medium: 26,477 pearl corsage pins, fabric, steel
Angela Ellsworth’s Seer Bonnets are comprised of corsage pins pushed through bonnets resembling those her female ancestors wore. Ellsworth’s grandfather was a Mormon prophet, whose numerous wives suffered deeply. The interior of the bonnets Ellsworth creates are filled with sharp, biting pin tips that would inflict extreme pain if worn. These bonnets have become iconic in Ellsworth’s oeuvre, making a strong feminist statement of history and memory.
Ellsworth is a multidisciplinary artist traversing disciplines of drawing, sculpture, installation, video, and performance. Her solo and collaborative work has taken in wide-ranging subjects such as illness, endurance, religious tradition, and social ritual. She is interested in art merging with everyday life where public and private experiences collide in unexpected spaces. Ellsworth’s works have been exhibited in and included in top museum collections throughout the U.S.