Dear Aunt Artemisia is an occasional contribution by our guest columnist who is not shy about offering advice on art-related matters: making art, living as an artist, or living with one. E-mail your questions to connect@dianereardon.com.

Dear Aunt Artemisia,
     My artist friends say I have a problem. We were all going to an opening and I made them late because they insisted that I change out of my normal Dockers and polo shirt. Just because I am a sculptor, does that mean I have to have an artist’s outfit to wear to these gigs?
     Decidedly Dockers       

Dear Decidedly,
     You may have a form of the dreaded “artist’s identity syndrome”. This frequent but rarely diagnosed disease can take several forms. One form, as in your case, is difficulty in establishing an artist’s presence, both through your duds and props. Other forms include not knowing what to call yourself when asked (watercolorist, mixed media technician, etc.) or what to write as a description of what you do for a catalog, class, teacher’s bio, or to hang on or by your work.
     If you’re willing to experiment with your look, you might consider trying a bit of one of the four basic artist looks: basic black, character portrayal, show and tell, or just plain artist-weird.

Basic Black. This is an easy one, but check to see if it’s everyone else’s uniform too in your region. When that’s the case, as in NYC, this look may give no added presence unless you add some distinguishing prop (the classic French beret, an odd purse, etc.). 
Character portrayal. This may or may not relate to the type of art you’re making: consider Che Guevara, Goth, the just-in-from-the-marble-dust studio look. Once the word gets out, your artist friends can contribute pieces to help the look along.
Show and Tell. Display of your own work is easier if you are a jewelry or fiber artist making wearables. Your imagination can turn almost any medium into a wearable sample. If you can’t see a way to do this with your particular art form, you might trade with artist friends; then if people ask about their piece you can segue into your own work.
Just plain weird. This is harder than it sounds. Unless you know how to alter what you buy, creative shopping is required and you have no central theme to go by. Some formulas that have worked are vintage or wearing articles not originally designed for the human body. Check out the youngest pre-teens you know. Dress out of the expectations for you gender and age.
     If these all turn you off, you still have the option of dressing like yourself in your trusty Dockers look. Remember, though, in an art crowd, this may make you stand out more than you like. Unless, of course, that’s what you’ve been doing all along.
Fashionably, Aunt Arte
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