In conjunction with the Wolfsonian Museum-FIU exhibition “Myth and Machine: The First World War in Visual Culture” I’ve installed “Intricate Pattern Overlay” an exterior paint mural on the facade and side face of the museum’s historic building in Miami Beach. The mural is inspired by the invention of dazzle painting, a systems of high-contrast stripes and other motifs painted on warships in the US and UK during World War I. Often painted by women, dazzle camouflage did not conceal, but rather, made ships harder to target. Known as “disruptive coloration”, dazzle painting appeared to break up the perception of outlines of a form. I’ve been interested in dazzle painting for several years, and when the Wolfsonian contacted me, I came up with a plan for a mural that developed out of my recent works on paper.
