Twin sisters Natalie and Nicole Wiswesser, full-time students in the Myers School of Art at The University of Akron (UA) as well as seniors at Highland High School in Medina, are among 20 finalists whose works have been accepted for the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Made Surreal — A Fashion Design Competition.
Twins Nicole (left) and Natalie Wiswesser model part of Natalie's "Unsolicited Grope" project for the Cleveland Museum of Art's Made Surreal — A Fashion Design Competition.
The sisters are taking classes as full-time students in the Postsecondary Enrollment Options Program at UA, which enables high school students to earn college and high school credits.
Natalie and Nicole will model their hand-made creations in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s atrium on Friday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. as part of MIX Couture, one of many activities being presented in conjunction with the museum’s Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography exhibition on view through Jan. 11, 2015.
More than 50 entries were submitted by designers from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York.
"Unsolicited Grope" is the title of Natalie’s work. “I was inspired by my sister,” Natalie explains. “Nicole suggested the idea that evokes a feeling of being held down or trapped by some overwhelming existence. I think that fits the competition's 'Made Surreal' theme."
Twins Natalie (left) and Nicole Wiswesser work on Nicole's "Inescapable Gloom" project, which is a finalist in the Cleveland Museum of Art's Made Surreal — A Fashion Design Competition.
Natalie says it was challenging to bring her design to life because she could not recreate it exactly as she saw it in her mind. And, there was a lot of trial and error involved. Yet, she says, "Unsolicited Grope" remains true to her original vision.
"Inescapable Gloom" is the title of Nicole’s work. “I was inspired by looking at surrealist photographs,” says Nicole. “Although the title is fairly bleak, the design is going to be potentially humorous.”
Both sisters credit their UA drawing teacher, Distinguished Professor Mark Soppeland, for encouraging them to enter the competition.
“We are excited that our friends and the students from our art class at Akron will get to all experience it together and have a fun night at the art museum,” says Nicole.
Media contact: Cyndee Snider 330-972-5196 or cyndee@uakron.edu.