Student Blog: Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields

​In 1979 Blondie released their iconic music video for Heart of Glass. The video opens on the inimitable face of Debbie Harry, the band's lead vocalist. Her frizzed out short blonde bob with bangs and bright red lips capture the attention of the viewer as she sings the first line, “Once had a love, and it was a gas/ Soon turned out, I had a heart of glass." The band stands in the middle of an empty disco, lights blazing, each member wearing an outfit made from the same black and white stripe patterned fabric but styled quite individually. Harry herself wears an asymmetrically cut slip of a gown that delicately moves as she sways to the beat. These outfits were created by Stephen Sprouse, and would push Sprouse into the fashion spotlight, where he would bring New York's underground punk scene to the runway and leave his touch on the world of fashion forever. From DayGlo fabrics to hand-graffitied jackets, Sprouse cut no corners when it came to the quality of his designs. He worked with couture textile makers, designing breathtakingly bespoke fabrics.

​The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields recently acquired Sprouse's entire archive. As a self-professed lover of punk and all textiles modern and contemporary, I was immediately drawn to Sprouse's collection and applied to work with Newfields for my third-year internship.​

I will be helping prepare the ensembles for exhibition in 2022 with a lot of small treatments, a few larger treatments - including a dichroic blue velvet dress with clear plastic horizontal strip inserts - and dressing mannequins that are expertly altered by the phenomenal mount makers at Newfields. I have already begun analyzing some of the materials Sprouse used to better understand how to safely treat them. 

One of the most influential things I learned during my time at WUDPAC was that mounts are an essential part of any textile treatment. Working at Newfields is not only giving me an opportunity to treat modern materials and contemporary art within the context of the exceptional designer Stephen Sprouse, but also to work with mount makers and mannequins in preparation for an exhibition. In the end, it feels a bit like we're arranging a runway show, and I'm helping prepare Sprouse's work before it goes down the runway. 

— Kris Cnossen​, WUDPAC Class of 2022