Short and Sweet

EAST PEORIA — Visual art, elaborate and expressive, can sometimes be excessive. Be it too much color, too many things going on, too much being said…pieces often lose allure by having too much. This in mind, many artists go for minimalism, simplism, etc. to briefly and effectively get the point across. In their “labor to be concise,” however, in the words of Horace, they can “become obscure.”

The Illinois Central College Performing Arts Center is currently displaying A Brief History in Fashion, a collection by artist Christopher Pelley that nails conciseness. Comprising of only three works done in the pencil and charcoal method, the collection makes its statement without trying hard to. The three works show a short timeline, or brief history, of the art of fashion.

The first drawing “Toga” shows a woman’s body, well, in a toga, to show one of the first fashion statements, merely a cloth draped across the body.

The next drawing, “Caravaggio,” shows a young boy sewing with natural fibers, sticking the needle through pieces of fruit and twine. Assumably this is one of the first conventional methods of making clothing similar to what we wear today: shirts, pants, etc. In addition to serving as a logical next step in the short sequence, the piece is visually imposing.

“Hoodie,” the third drawing, simply shows a black hooded sweatshirt against a white background. The most simple of the three, the piece speaks to how comfortable and easy our clothing is today; since the toga and the young tailor, the wearing of clothing has become more casual, which a hoodie certainly exemplifies.

The artist, Christopher Pelley, hasn’t a background in fashion, but has one in nearly every other form of art. Other than drawings, Pelley makes paintings, assemblages and ephemeral installations, which he says “lack the assuredness of the declaratory statement but instead exhibit the questioning process of the why, the how and the maybe.” His work has been displayed in numerous U.S. cities, as well as Roma, Budapest and Beijing.

A Brief History in Fashion will be on display in the Performing Arts Center until Friday, April 18th. While not being the most gripping works of art, it’s easy to appreciate the point Pelley makes and admire the craftsmanship that makes it. It does span at least 25 centuries, but should only take about five minutes to see. Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Friday.