Allison Smith is interested in Twain’s use of time-travel as a way of holding up the past to the present. Her reading and research drew on novels, stories and sketches such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and “The Tournament in A.D. 1870,” “Prince and the Pauper,” “Joan of Arc,” and “The Private History of a Campaign that Failed.” She has created a group of sculptures based on useful objects and presents them together in the form of a period room. In creating this arrangement she was guided by the care Twain gives to the description of clothing, costumes, props, interiors, and detailed settings. Like Twain, Smith is interested in forms of performance that elucidate deeper concerns, such as walking in the shoes of others in order to understand injustice, or exploring feelings toward war and the role one plays in it. The objects that she has created are drawn from historic forms and employ age-old craft techniques but offer a springboard for time-travel through subtle references. The linen rag rug employs a target pattern, a woven coverlet uses a pattern called “Lee’s Surrender” with a field of proliferating oil barrels, some of the hand sewn hats, hoods and masks are based on gas masks from The Great War; provisional camp furniture and the standing rifles are inspired by those used in the Civil War.

Allison Smith has developed elaborate projects that explore craft traditions, living history and social activism. Her work has been exhibited extensively including recent solo exhibitions at UC Berkeley Art Museum/MATRIX Program; Artpace, San Antonio, TX; Bellwether Gallery, New York, NY; and Studio Voltaire, London, England. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA; and PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, NY. Her interactive Muster project posed the question “What are you fighting for?” Participants responded to her call on Governor’s Island in 2005 that is documented by a book produced by the Public Art Fund. She earned an MFA from Yale University and a BFA from Parsons School of Design and a BA from the New School for Social research. She participated in the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program.

Thank you to Materials for the Arts, Department of Cultural Affairs/ NYC Department of Sanitation/ NYC Department of Education.

The artist wishes to thank Erica Lambertson Philippe, Kathleen Smith, Leigh Alexander, Lisi Raskin, Eddie Platt, Martin Foster, Allison Braun and Liz Collins.