Style Imitating Art: Booky by Patty Carroll
About Style Imitating Art
Style Imitating Art is hosted by Daenel of Living Outside the Stacks, Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, and Terri of Meadowtree Style. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as curator, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the curator by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the curator will share all of the submissions on her blog.
You do not have to be a blogger to join. You are invited to share your images on Instagram or other social media platforms or you can just play along and the host will share your photo. If you do share on social media, please spread the word by using #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt and also tag the hosts Salazar, Terri, and Daenel so they know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!
The Inspiration Artwork
The inspiration artwork was curated by Terri of MeadowTree Style. You can read why she has chosen this specific piece as her inspiration artwork here.
Booky by Patty Carroll (Still Life Photography, 2020)
About the Artist: Patty Carroll
Patty Carroll is an American photographer from Chicago, Illinois. She was born in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1946 and earned her BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1968. She then went on to obtain an MS from the Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, in 1972. She has been continuously teaching photography at the university level since 1972, both full and part time, at institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College in Chicago, The Institute of Design at IIT, and the Royal College of Art in London as well as other universities.
She has also worked in several art museums internationally throughout her career. Patty Carroll has authored and published 6 books of photography and has been included in various published photography anthologies. Her photographs have won various awards in international competitions and have been featured in popular print magazines and online blogs such as Huffington Post and the British Journal of Photography.
Patty Carroll’s works are held in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress in Washington D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, just to name a few. She has been the recipient of various merits, awards, and grants for her artistic contributions to the artistic field of photography.
Since the 1970’s, Patty Carroll has been known for her use of highly intense, saturated color photographs with a focus on vivid and bold details. Her earliest works focused on typologies and portraiture with her more recent work symbolically expressing the domestic roles of women in modern society.
About the Art: Booky
The photograph, Booky, is part of a series of still life narrative photographs in Patty Carroll’s recent photography book publication called Domestic Demise. This most recent publication is the latest in her Anonymous Women series which focuses on how our image of the perfect home is actually riddled with chaos and catastrophe at every turn.
The photographs in this series are colorfully constructed installations that take a humorous look at gender-based domestic roles. Each image in the series features an anonymous headless female mannequin placed in the midst of a carefully arranged abundance of household objects. The female figures nearly disappear into the background of their environments becoming uniform with their expected domestic role. Patty Carroll’s intention is for us to consider the objects that we collect and fill our surroundings with as a reflection on our own personally constructed identities within the framework of a consumer culture.
Booky, along with the other images in the Domestic Demise series, is a commentary on the chaos of managing a home. The photographs illustrate how domestic women can be crushed by their own possessions and suffocated by a multitude of tasks and obligations which can lead to mishaps and mayhem more frequently than any of us would like. In an interview from April of 2020, Patty Carroll has offered a detailed description of her Anonymous Women series, “I create imaginary, humorous worlds in the studio to photograph that critique and satirize claustrophobic expectations of domestic perfection, an unending but frustrating endeavor. Currently, as all of us are stuck inside our homes, the crushing experience of being home is often humorous yet, sadly dreadful.”
And that is exactly my kind of humor! If we can laugh about all the chaos and mayhem that greets us at every turn in this life, then we can make it through just about anything!
Resources/References:
- Patty Carroll (Personal website)
- Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College, Chicago: Patty Carroll
- Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery: Patty Carroll
- The Deranged Domestic Scenes of Patty Carroll
- in conversation: patty carroll on “domestic demise”
- The Demise of Patty Carroll’s Anonymous Women
About My Outfit Inspired by Booky
The first thing that came to mind when I saw the image and read a bit about Patty Carroll was that her work reminded me of Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills from 1977-1980, which was a series of self portraits that represented the stereotypical female roles that were prominent in the films of the 1950’s and 1960’s. The images were meant to represent the clichés or feminine types “that are deeply embedded in the cultural imagination.” While it is not the same exact message that Patty Carroll is trying to convey, it is in a similar vein. I wrote my Philosophy thesis on the topic of voyeurism when I was in college and I incorporated analyses of Cindy’s Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills, Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, and Jacques Derrida’s The Post Card: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond. So these particular works, as well as artistic works that remind me of them, really do have a special place in my heart. If you have written a thesis then you know how intimately attached you can become to the subject matter.
Strangely, I had recreated one of Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills for a blog post back in 2017 and the dress that I wore for that was the exact same dress that I had in mind for this SIA challenge. It is the perfect vintage style dress with a red floral print and I was going to layer my lace fringed shawl on top. But then I went digging in a bin of unwanted clothing listed for resale on Poshmark (I was looking for two sweaters that someone had recently purchased) and I came upon this white sweater with a blue floral print that so closely resembles the wallpaper in the Booky image that I had to find a way to incorporate it.
My original plan was to layer the sweater over the red floral dress but when I put that idea into action, the result was absolutely ridiculous! So I had to scratch that plan and start anew. A skirt was going to be a much better option than trying to layer this lightweight, slightly sheer sweater over a bulky dress. This burgundy mini skirt, while shorter than I wanted for this particular post, was the closet thing I could find to a reddish floral print representative of the mannequin’s dress in the photo. I ended up really liking the pattern mix even though the colors were kind of all over the place. But they coordinated in a pleasing way to my eye and seemed perfectly suited to represent the abundance of prints and colors in Booky. I added a vintage inspired floral statement necklace because it reminded me very much of the floral lamp. And I really liked the idea of wearing nude heels just to be super literal in matching the mannequin.
Continuing with my very literal interpretations of many of these SIA prompts, I staged my living room to reflect the same domestic chaos of Patty Carroll’s Booky. In all honesty, it didn’t even take that much staging as my house is constantly in a state of domestic chaos. I wanted a little vintage teapot to place on top of my book piles like in the image, but I didn’t have one so I settled on a cool beer jug that I found in the basement. It is a much more realistic interpretation of my crazy life anyway!
In the images above where I am sitting amidst my piles of books and crooked wall art, I am holding my current summer reading which is The Raven Witch Saga by SG Turner. You all know her better as Suzy of The Grey Brunette. Suzy writes young adult fiction that generally includes mystical and magical things which is such a great escape from reality for some light summer reading. I am really enjoying this book but I am an incredibly slow reader so I have been working my way through Book 1 of 3 for like the past 5 months. It is a really fun story that I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys urban fantasies. Plus it is a great way to support my dear friend Suzy!
To see more outfits inspired by Patty Carroll’s Booky, please visit Terri’s post for the complete roundup of submissions. You can also read the details of Terri’s own inspired outfit here, Salazar’s here, and Daenel’s here. Have you joined the Style Imitating Art challenges yet? Be sure to check for the next prompt on Monday, July 5, 2021.
Also I would love to hear what’s on your summer reading list! Please leave a comment below!
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.
Outfit Details: Sweater-Chaps / Skirt-Old Navy / Shoes-Payless / Shawl-c/o Country Outfitter / Belt-Torrid / Necklace-Claire’s / Earrings-Old
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
48 Comments
Jennifer
Love the skirt!! The art picture is amazing!!
Jennifer
Curated By Jennifer
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, Jennifer! The artwork is really cool!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
You seriously had me fooled with your first photo! I thought it was another one by Patty Carroll! What a amazing job you did here! So much fun! And really so good! Amazing. I also love the artists photo! It appeals a lot to me.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Nancy! This was a really fun one to stage! I am loving Patty Carroll’s photography! Another reason that I love this series so much is that I am discovering new artists each week and learning so much more about different artistic mediums. I have always appreciated art, but my appreciation grows with each SIA prompt!
xoxo
Shelbee
Anita Ojeda
I loved the art history lesson! Thank you for introducing me to Patty Carroll’s work. You can pull off just about anything–I love your use of colors, prints, and styles.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Anita! I love researching and learning about the artists that are chosen for this series!
xoxo
Shelbee
mireille
I love that picture in your living room: well done! Nice job with the choice of prints in your outfit, it really has the same vibe as the art piece. Working on wearing my skirts for the next week or so: they have been kind of abandoned in my closet.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mireille. I have been trying to wear more skirts as well. I usually go for dresses this time of year, but skirts are nice to change it up a bit. I haven’t worn this particular skirt in at least a few years. I think I might have shared it on the blog in like 2015 or 2016!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mike
That’s so cool, Shelbee! See? Books are an important part of our lives and our culture. I can’t imagine life without them. They tell us so many stories and so many people write them these days. I wasn’t always fond of reading when I was little because I was forced to read books that I didn’t like and couldn’t really relate to (no disrespect towards all the classic well known authors of the day). But now, with so much variety and diversity, I’m totally overwhelmed with books and reading! It’s great!
Yeah, I hear you about the animals being held in cages. Maybe that’s why I’m a little hesitant to go. We have a small zoo right here in my home town, but I haven’t been in years. I guess as long as the animals are well taken care of and are not abused, then I guess it’s okay. This year, our summer reading theme at the library I work at is “Animal Tales” and kids are checking out lots of books about animals! I even checked a few out myself! So many fascinating creatures out there!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Animals really are fascinating and they can teach us so much about ourselves and the universe if we take the time to observe and appreciate them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on books and animals, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Barbara
Wow, that sounds like an interesting thesis! And i love the fact that your living room was already very ‘booky’:)
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Barbara! It was a really fascinating thesis. I wish I still I had the final work in my possession because I think I probably have much more insight into the topic these 25 plus years later. But alas, that paper disappeared long ago…because you know, everything was just on paper back then…no digital way to save these things. I hope you are having a great week!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lovely
Beautiful outfit and lovely pictures, Shelbee! Love your nude heels!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Lovely! I had fun styling this outfit!
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
Ha! Not only is this a fabulous outfit to represent this week’s art inspiration, but I love your pose emulating the painting. Awesome!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Hehe, thanks so much, Michelle! This was fun!
xoxo
Shelbee
Suzy Turner
I was loving your post so much, with your brilliant interpretation – both in the outfit and the chaotic living room – when I read you had The Raven Saga in your hands!! I couldn’t believe it lol! I had to scroll back on up to get a second look! You really are the sweetest friend, Shelbee! Thank you so much for the shout out!
I also did a mini recreation of Booky in my living room, although mine was much less chaotic lol! I am a bit of a neat freak and I hate having things out of place LOL!!!
I absolutely LOVE this, Shelbee!
Hugs
Suzy xx
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Suzy! It was funny because I took the photos incorporating The Raven Witch Saga (also all of my Harry Potter books are on the table in the photos, too!) and then Terri emailed me asking if I was currently reading anything which I am! And it happens to be that I am reading your book! Hehe. Yay! I love this blogging game! You all are so talented and inspiring and just plain old fun! I have to go check out the other submissions for this SIA challenge today. I didn’t get around to it yesterday.
By the way, any bit of neat freak that I may have had in me was killed when I had a children! My house is completely overrun with boy things…everywhere…on every surface…there are Lego creations and Nerf guns and iPads and just about any other random thing you can think of. If you can picture an object, you can probably find it on a tabletop somewhere in my house! I have to admit that I am a bit envious of your neat home!
xoxo
Shelbee
xoxo
Shelbee
Mike
Hey, Shelbee! I wanted to briefly check in with you and let you know that things are looking better on my end. 🙂 Still working on it!
WOW!! Incredible interpretation you did here! I love the poses you did in your living room! That’s like by bedroom pretty much. I’m a total bibliophile as I’m always buying books. Last month alone I spent over $200 in book purchases! I was on a major book buying binge I guess. 🙂
I’m also happy to hear that you’re a slow reader as well. I am too. It will take me a month or longer to read just one novel. Not that I’m a terrible reader; I just like to spend good valuable time with my books, if that makes any sense!
I don’t feel so bad about my slow reading now! Thanks for sharing that!
Again, great interpretation! I know the round up is over, but I may post my own interpretation for this SIA on my blog (it’s been a while) just because I love the subject so much! Book lover 100%!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Hi Mike! It’s so nice to hear from you and I am really glad to know that you are doing well and feeling better. Oh I remember the days when I couldn’t walk into a bookstore without spending $200! I didn’t use to be a slow reader. In fact, there was a time when I was reading over 100 books per year. But that was long before I had children! Now it takes me at least 100 days to read half a book! Haha. While I still have a pretty large collection of books, when we moved to New York 8 years ago, I ended up donating 25 very large boxes of books to a local teenager who was hosting a book drive for the Make a Wish Foundation. It was difficult to part with them because it took a lifetime to acquire them all, but it was time to minimize a bit and I simply didn’t have the energy to move it all nor the space to keep it all. I was happy my library went to a great cause! I will hop over to your blog soon and see what’s new. I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Mica
It’s such a fun photo as it’s so busy and the more you look the more thigns you notice! I like your final outfit even if it wasn’t what you first had in mind, and I love that you tried to recreate the pic too!
Hope you are having a lovely week 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mica! It is a really fun photo and if you get the chance to visit some of the links I shared, all of the images in Patty Carroll’s Domestic Demise series are really quite fun and interesting. I hope your week is going well!
xoxo
Shelbee
Terri Gardner
Hello, Shelbee-I had to come over and read your post. As usual, you did an incredible job. I’m so happy you like Patty Carroll’s work because I adore it, even with the slightly morbid overtones, because’ like she says, it is done with a sense of humor. See you next time!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Terri! I am definitely a fan of Patty Carroll now for those exact reasons! Thanks so much for introducing her work to us!
xoxo
Shelbee
Joanne
What a great imitator you are! I love not only your outfit interpretation but your recreation of the photo. Such fun! Pinned.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Joanne! This was really fun to stage these photos. We were laughing pretty hard!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mike
Such a beautiful area and how cool is that to have a zoo nearby! I haven’t been to the zoo since I was a kid. I should make plans to go one day!
Yeah, I just started it and it looks to be a good read.
What’s interesting about it is that each chapter has an interesting historiated initial or drop cap (at least that’s what I think they’re called) illustration that begins the opening paragraph. I’ve never seen any other book do this in this style. Those huge letters that are found at the beginning of the first paragraph of a chapter are pretty common in most printed materials and I think are meant to grab the attention of the reader, which they do for me without me really realizing it. But the ones in this book look really gorgeous, like mini sketches or prints. Makes what I’m reading all the more interesting!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Mike, thanks for sharing about the book you are reading! Many years ago, I read Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho which had a tremendous impact on my perspective in life. In the edition that I was reading, each page had this really cool sunburst image at the top and center. Because the book was so important to me and the image was so cool, I actually had it tattooed on the back of my neck. So I totally understand the power of a good illustration of any sort inside of a book!
And yes, you should visit a zoo again soon. I love to watch the animals although I can’t stand that they are in captivity. But at least all of them at my little zoo are in their natural habitat and climate as all of the animals housed there can be found in this region. I hope you are enjoying your weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mike
I do indeed, Shelbee! I even buy plastic book covers (we call them “crystal jackets” at the library I work at) and cover my books in order to protect them, particularly the ones that I’m currently reading as I carry them around a lot. I can’t stand ripped dust jackets!!!
I didn’t realize how many books I had that I recently bought. When I was setting up my scene for my SIA blog post, I was completely blown away! Sometimes it’s hard to tell how many books you have when they’re stacked on top of each other. I’m thinking I should create some kind of card catalog (the non electronic kind) just to help me keep track of them all!
And thank you for your honesty and openess, Shelbee. I too struggle mentally at times, which I admitted to on my latest blog post. Reading, Journaling, music (classical), daily walks (well, most days) and other coping methods help keep my life together and from falling into total chaos. That’s why we’re friends; we have much in common!
I hope that you had an excellent 4th, and I hope that you have a great rest of your week!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I love that you take measures to protect your beloved books, Mike. It is a great quality to have! I am constantly trying to teach my kids the importance of caring for one’s belongings. They don’t seem to get it yet! And I am really glad that you have your self care activities in place. It is super important! I hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend as well!
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
So very cool. You nailed it perfectly. A very classy look.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks, Patrick! This was fun to style and stage. We were laughing pretty hard trying to take pictures with the book on my face!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mike
I also love the pics of the stone steps behind you. It has an “ancient ruins” look to it, which is just awesome!
You always have such great backdrops!
By the way, I’m currently reading “The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst” by Jaclyn Moriarty. It has a very unique layout, which makes reading it even more fun! 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mike! My local park was built in 1899 by Frederick Law Olmstead (the architect who designed Central Park in NYC) with beautiful stone walls, steps, and other structures throughout its 200 acres. There is also a 32 acre zoo attached to it that houses all sorts of wildlife that is native to this area. It really is a beautiful place and it is only about 1/2 mile from my house so I use it frequently for photos. It’s so beautiful there and very conveniently located for me!
The book you are reading sounds really interesting! Thanks for sharing it!
xoxo
Shelbee
Claire
Love this post, Shelbee. The book photo is great 🙂 Brilliant idea. Beautiful outfit and photos 🙂 #TheWednesdayLinkUp
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Claire! This was really fun to style and stage and photograph!
xoxo
Shelbee
Daenel T.
LOL I think I may be the only one who did not do a book picture and I’m the librarian. Such a great shot!
I love this outfit. You are an ace pattern mixer.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Daenel! I did love all the booky photos that everyone did! But you know, you work in books, so maybe you really just needed a little book break!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sheila (of Ephemera)
Wow, I think this is my favourite inspiration for this series so far, and yours is my favourite outfit (sorry, Kezzie, I do love your book dress!). It’s a cohesive outfit on its own, with the piano-scarf kind of standing in for all those household objects that women often end up “owning” (not just as things but as the person who cares for them). Your legs totally look like mannequin legs – well done! I laughed out loud (not just a lol) at your staged living room. it would not take much for mine to look like that either, Shelbee!
Wonderful art and inspiration, and wonderful outfit! Brava!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Sheila! Kezzie’s book dress is absolutely amazing, isn’t it?! Hers was my favorite outfit from this SIA prompt! But I was really happy with the end result of my outfit, too. It is definitely not a style that I wear often, but I was digging the way my legs looked and I did like the flirty girliness of it. I didn’t intentionally make my legs look like mannequin legs, by the way, that’s just what my legs look like! Haha. My living room and the rest of my house are complete disasters with kid stuff literally taking over every surface in every room. I have basically given up on it until these kids grow up and move the heck out! I hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend! Happy Canada Day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Kathrine Eldridge
You are so amazing! Love the look with it’s mix of textures and prints. But the recreated scene from the art is fantastic! So fun and cool!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Kathrine! I was really happy with this fun pattern and texture mix. And we laughed so hard while we were staging the living room! I hope you have a very happy 4th of July, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jacqui Berry
Ha ha, I love this Shelbee. You always go that extra bit! You look fabulous in this skirt and court shoe look – great legs Hunny. x Jacqui x
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aw, thanks so much, Jacqui! I really do get a little crazy with these SIA prompts! Haha. They are so much fun though! Happy weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Mike
Wow, Shelbee! Over a 100 books a year?! That’s amazing!
But yeah, I hear what you’re saying. I used to be able to read more too back in the day. But as family responsibites arose and me having to take on more and more responsibility in general, it became more challenging to read as much as I like.
That’s so wonderful that you donated your books to the book drive! I’m sure the teen over it appreciated that very much.
I parted ways with a good fraction of my personal library too. Before we moved into our current house 2 years ago, we lived in an apartment. And I probably had close to 200 books or more. I donated about 50 of them to the building’s reading room, which was sort of their “library”. I felt a little torn in doing it, but I knew that these books I would probably never get around to reading, and they were books I bought mostly on impulse at the time. I figured that someone else could enjoy them and they would get better use than I had for them (other than collecting dust on my shelves!)
It made moving a little easier for me, that’s for sure!
But in the 2 years since being in our house, I’ve probably replaced those books with new ones and more! My interests have changed since then so of course, I buy books that suit my interests! 🙂
Thanks, Shelbee! I hope to be able to take some photos this weekend and get them posted on my blog on Monday. Thanks in advance for stopping by!
Have a great weekend my friend! Happy 4th of July!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh wow, Mike, it sounds like you enjoy your books and collecting them as much as I once did! Granted, at the time when I could read 100 books a year, that is about the only thing I did! I was not working because of my mental health at the time and I spent most days locked in my room with my face in a book. As much as enjoyed devouring books as a means of escape, my life is much better now with less time for reading. Although I do enjoy reading very much and wish I would make more time for it.
Happy 4th of July to you as well, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Chickenruby
Love everything about this post, it’s all brilliant. Loving the skirt, I keep thinking I’d be worried about the length, but I’m thinking ‘why not?’ ‘what am I worrying about?’
Thanks for linking with #pocolo
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Suzanne! I used to worry about wearing short skirts and dresses but then I stopped giving a hoot! My legs are my favorite part of me and will show them off at every chance I get! I hope you are having a wonderful week!
xoxo
Shelbee