Art-Forward Costumes

Oct 31, 2017

blog intro

With the window for trick-or-treating rapidly approaching, we thought we'd help out any procrastinators looking for a costume. And since our gallery guards and Visitor Service Associates spend a lot of time getting to know the works on view, we asked a few of them what artwork from the collection they would want to make into a costume. Their inspirations, which are shown in the video, varied wildly; each selection is also listed below. To find your own art-inspired costume, view our entire collection online.

Featured work

Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986

"It's one of the most interesting works in the exhibition."

—CHARLES, SECURITY

What you’ll need:
Garbage bags
Rabbit ears

Silver spray paint

Directions:
Lay garbage bags and rabbit ears on newspapers in a well-ventilated space
Spray paint garbage bags and ears
Let dry
Tie garbage bags around arms, legs, and body
Inflate; good ‘ol oxygen from those healthy lungs should do

Put on ears

Work

Albert Oehlen, Auch Einer (Another One), 1985

—GRAHAM, VISITOR SERVICES/BOX OFFICE

Featured work

Ed Paschke, Heavy Shoes, 1970

—SERENA, SECURITY


![J9G63CIN](https://media.mcachicago.org/image/J9G63CIN/rendering-little-face-costume_thumbnail.jpg)
## Little Face
---- 
—BRIAN, SECURITY
- What you'll need:
- Plastic box
- Blue and red paint
- Bottle caps glasses
Cardboard
- Directions:
- Make a plastic box to use as frame around your face
- Paint your nose blue and your lips bright red
- Make/buy bottle-cap glasses
Use the cardboard to make a "Blow Me" sign—a hint at Calder's desire for his sculptures to move
## Featured work
---- 
Marisol (Marisol Escobar), _Six Women_, 1965–66
"This would be the perfect group costume."
—CAITLIN, VISITOR SERVICES
// FIXME collection pages are not linked the same as before
## Featured work
---- 
Yinka Shonibare MBE RA, _Alien Obsessives, Mum, Dad and the Kids_, 1998
"I really like the patterns, colors, and their eyes."
—JANICE, SECURITY
// FIXME collection pages are not linked the same as before
## Featured work
---- 
Jeff Koons, _Lifeboat_, 1985
// FIXME collection pages are not linked the same as before
![J9G7PRLS](https://media.mcachicago.org/image/J9G7PRLS/ernesto-neto_thumbnail.jpg)
## Lifeboat Water Falls
---- 
"Conceived as a half-and-half costume, Lifeboat Water Falls combines the net form of the Neto with the lifeboat—two water-themed artworks."
—MISTEAD, VISITOR SERVICES
## Featured work
---- 
Olafur Eliasson, _Convex/concave_, 1995/2000
—MEGAN, VISITOR SERVICES
// FIXME collection pages are not linked the same as before
## Featured Work
---- 
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;">[div](/div)[div](/div)<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BazUKSph4C5/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Mapi from Toulouse 🇫🇷 (@proudmotherofdrionnecian)[a](/a) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-10-28T18:29:56+00:00">Oct 28, 2017 at 11:29am PDT[time](/time)[p](/p)[div](/div)[blockquote](/blockquote) <script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js">[script](/script)
Takashi Murakami, _Wink Sculpture (pink)_, 2001
—JONNATHAN, SECURITY
## Featured work
---- 
Cindy Sherman, _Untitled #137_, 1984
—ANONYMOUS, SECURITY
// FIXME collection pages are not linked the same as before
## Featured work
---- 
Maurizio Cattelan, _Felix_, 2001
—FAN FAVORITE
// FIXME collection pages are not linked the same as before```