A Self Portrait...
Without Myself
aluminum and
copper flashing dress
glass dress
My name is Reanna
Schultz, I was born in
Yankton, SD in 1990, the
third child to Rocky and
Kristi Schultz. Since we
grew up in a rural area
outside of town and
didn’t have cable, my
brother, sister and I
found our
imagination-fueled
entertainment in our
surroundings, which so
often was rusting
tractors, mountains of
dirt, bugs, derelict
structures, and building
materials from a near
decade-long renovation
of our home. The
remodeling project was
a dominating event
from my upbringing
where I gained a
propensity for building
cedar dress
materials and a strong
work ethic. I took these experiences for granted
until I entered the sculpture program at USD. I
chose to emphasize in sculpture because it
brought forth in me a nearly indescribable
sensation that no other discipline could give me.
The vastness and infinite variety which sculpture
spans is a promise that everything has potential.
Sculpture is my means of artistic communication
because I enjoy the process and challenge of using
nontraditional materials and methods.
The use of construction materials is relevant in
the dress series I produced for my thesis show for
my BFA I completed this May at the University of
South Dakota. When I began the dress series, I
hadn’t realized how closely connected the
material choices I was making were to my past. I
have a total of ten dresses made from different
materials all requiring their own creative problem
solving process, including glass, concrete, nails, tar
and shingles, house paint, aluminum flashing,
cedar, plaster and lath, porcelain, and copper
wiring. One of the reasons I created these dresses
from these harsh materials is to start a
conversation about the stereotypes about women,
contradictions and hypocrisies alike. Part of this
stems from a
struggle to be
accepted in a
male-dominated
field of work, such as
welding or foundry
work, both which I
happen to enjoy
regardless of my sex.
The current series
I am working on
attempts to dissect
personality by the
influence of the
surrounding people.
I use life casting of
specific people’s
physical attributes
which I use as a
metaphor indicative
of a personality trait
tar and shingle dress
they possess and
ultimately affects me. I am casting these parts in
different permanent
materials, such as
aluminum, glass,
bronze, and iron to
contradict the notion
that one’s
personality is
ephemeral and
cannot be kept the
exact same. In short,
this body of work is a
self-portrait without
myself but with the
people who helped
me become who I
am now. It’s a way
for me to show my
gratitude for the
people who have
given me courage,
self-confidence,
diligence, and
conviction when I
needed it.
nail dress
n Submitted by Reanna Schultz
HERVOICE JULY/AUGUST 2014 v 5