Since April 2020, the U.S. Center for Disease Control has asked for people to wear face masks in public to curb the spread of COVID-19. This shift has given rise to a mass movement of cloth mask making. Artists have leapt into action to produce masks for healthcare and frontline workers or as an alternative economy for lost income, while others customize masks to communicate identity, beliefs, or concerns. Mask making has also raised questions about the future of fashion with regards to health and sustainability. Through a series of conversations, experts from the arts, fashion, sustainability, and medical fields were invited to talk about the variety of issues, and questions this moment of mask making and wearing have produced. In May 2019, Kate Kretz skyrocketed into the international media when she was banned from Facebook for her now infamous MAGA Hat series. 1 (Figures 1 and 2) Kretz’s artwork draws direct parallels between known symbols of fascism, oppression, and racism, and former President Trump’s branding, specifically his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” Using counterfeit MAGA hats, Kretz deconstructs and reconfigures this widely popularized consumer merchandise to “function as corrective physical manifestations of the truth.” 2 In her most recent addition to the series, Kretz has created Social Murder, a critique of the Trump administrations management of the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Masks, Art, Protection, and Politics. July 15, 2020