In-Person Workshop, November 7 - 16th
Gallery 3, Art Building, SJSU
Weekdays 10am - 4pm; Tuesday evening receptions 6-8pm; Weekend by appt.

Q: How do you wear pants?
Your responses will become part of a collaborative art project shared
through an installation of stories and sculpture. Pants (and other clothing)
donations will be deconstructed and woven into a new form. Together we’ll
unravel past experiences and weave intentions for the future.

How to Participate (November - December):
A diversity of responses is desired and participation is welcomed
from people of all identities, perspectives and life experiences.

• Deconstructing and Weaving
We’ll be deconstructing donated clothing with scissors and seam rippers,
sewing them into strips, and weaving them onto large-scale looms.
No experience needed.

• Share Your Story
“How do you wear pants?” See prompts or have a conversation to spark
your thoughts. Share something serious or silly. Contribute at the in-person
workshop or contact me to have a conversation live or on Zoom. Anytime you
can email written responses to: howiwearpants@gmail.com.
No full names will be used in the sharing of responses, only initials and any aspects
of your identity you choose to share.

• Donate Clothing
Bring pants (or other clothing you find relevant) to the open gallery hours, drop
off anytime at my studio, or lmk where they are available for pick-up. They can
come with a story or just arrive on their own.
Donated clothes will become part of a collective woven art installation and won’t be
returned. Items like belts, laces, ribbons or straps can be woven in as is, other
clothing will be deconstructed. Please donate clean items.

Q: How Do You Wear Pants?  
Use one or more of the questions below as a springboard to share your story. You can email written responses to howiwearpants@gmail.com, have a recorded conversation with me, or respond in-person at the workshop.  Your name will not be published, only initials and any aspects of your identity you find relevant to share (gender, age, sexual orientation, race, cultural background or religious beliefs, etc.).

What does having body autonomy mean to you?
Do you feel autonomous in your body, able to move in the world safely and make your own choices about your body?  What factors inform this (consider your relationships to gender, race, class, ability, etc.)?

Do you think that clothing is related to body autonomy?
How about clothing and power? Do you think who decides what you are allowed to wear is related to who decides what you are allowed to do? Have you experienced or witnessed gender-based teasing, name-calling or harassment based on how you or others are dressed?

How does clothing play a role in your expression of gender?

What does it mean to perform gender for you? Do you ever transgress gender norms in how you dress? What does cross-dressing or playing with how you perform gender mean to you? 

Have you been restricted in what you wear based on gender?
Required to cover parts of your body? Felt that what you were wearing brought you more or less safety, or attention? Have you ever been required to wear a uniform, cultural or religious garment, or adhere to a dress code based on gender? How do you feel about it?

What societal norms have influenced your beliefs about gender and attire? What have you internalized about gender and clothes (ie. sizes of bodies, stereotyped masculinity/femininity, fashion, etc)? Do you have a connection to other places in the country or world where freedom of attire and body autonomy are relevant topics right now?

Deconstructing pants began in my studio practice as I considered their conceptual and
literal meaning through a feminist lens. What began as a response to the policing of
pregnant bodies with my work “Laws Outta My Pants,” has evolved into a broader
exploration of body autonomy and gender norms. I’m thinking about the history of
wearing pants, what norms and restrictions on clothing still exist today, and why any of
us care who wears what.

Today there are many ways these issues are still playing out – from religious and
cultural “modesty” restrictions, to sports and school uniforms, to enforced norms based
on traditional gender roles. Metaphorically and materially, pants are a rich vehicle for
exploring topics of gender, power and body autonomy. We can look at how ideals of
gender, race and socio-economic status inform our ability to “perform” gender and
explore our relationships with gender roles, identity and expression.
The criminalization of a person wearing clothes “not belonging to his or her sex” is not in
the distant past, even in California. In San Francisco it was illegal to cross-dress in
public until 1974, with laws specifically targeting gay men and transgender women. In
1989 a female senator made history by donning pants in the California senate, and it
was not until 1993 that women were allowed to wear pants in the US Senate.
I’d love to hear how clothing is important to your identity and why. How have you
experienced clothing restrictions or norms? Do you think clothing is related to body
autonomy? How about clothing and power? Have you been told to put on your “big boy
pants” or called a “bossy pants” and what lies underneath these types of expressions?
Tell me your story, serious or silly.

Artist
Larisa Usich is an MFA candidate in Spatial Arts at SJSU who likes to fly by the seat of
her pants. This participatory workshop will inform her thesis show to be presented in
Spring ‘24. Connect by email: larisa.usich@sjsu.edu or instagram: @larisa_usich