Kate Kosek

Night Cap, 2021

hand mx dyed cotton yarn, acrylic yarn, commercially dyed cotton fabric, foil lined cotton fabric, tinsel cord, steel, spray paint, paracord, polyfil, cotton batting 48” x 12” x 12”

I was playing in the studio one day, when the blue/pink triangle ended up on top of the purple egg. It looked like a little hat and I thought it was funny. Since blue/cyan and red/magenta mix to make purple, I was thinking of this egg as a baby and perhaps the result of a crazy night out between a male and female - hence the title “Night Cap.” Color mixology/cocktail mixology/baby mixology…get it? Also, triangles are a symbol of the birth canal and the top one on this table is positioned exactly at my crotch level. This joke quickly turned dark for me when I realized what was happening in Minnesota where a man convicted of rape had his charges dismissed because the woman had "knowingly consumed alcohol" prior to meeting up with him - even though she blacked out on his couch and was attacked. Ugh made me think of fucking Brock Turner as well and the entire shitty narrative that women’s choices are what lead to these violent outcomes. But there are also cases where women feel pressured by their partners into “consenting” to something they don’t want to do because the fear of violence. I don’t think this piece successfully conveys that darkness to the audience, but it makes sense in my mind. This piece is like a mathematical equation that uses color and symbols to create a narrative that maybe only makes sense in my head. Maybe it comes off too light-hearted, but I (like many people) use humor and colorful imagery as a coping mechanism to counteract how shitty life and people can make me feel. Would love to hear your perspective on this.

Kate Kosek

Penelope Brancusi, 2021

cotton & acrylic yarn, paracord, plastic canvas, steel, 3D printed PLA 97” x 13” x 11”

This piece references Penelope's 'endless shroud' in the Odyssey merged with a structure that alludes to Brancusi's 'Endless Column.' The plastic canvas and 3D printed eggs symbolize fertility, but also represent the faces of Penelope's suitors. I’m constantly thinking about the expectations surrounding womanhood, specifically partnership and fertility. In my experience, others assume I won’t find happiness without marriage or children. It’s funny because those same people will also make statements like “never get married” or “don’t have kids.” I love how Penelope tricked her suitors into thinking she was going to remarry one of them when she had no intention of doing so. Yes she was beautiful, but they were mostly after her money and power. “Gold diggers” are usually stereotyped as female, but in this case it’s the males assuming that role.

Kate Kosek

He needs a sister, 2021

cotton and acrylic yarn, tinsel cord, paracord, mx dyed cotton fabric, foil lined cotton fabric, polyfil, steel 37" x 37" x 7"

This piece sparks many topics of discussion for me even though it was made very intuitively. I started out wanting to create an apron with a uterus shaped pocket positioned where my actual uterus is so that it could hold a heating pad in it when my menstrual cramps were being extra painful. After my nephew was born this past year, I began noticing how first time child bearers are immediately asked the question: when are you having another one? This is a prime example of a “well- intentioned question” that is totally inappropriate. That is what the golden eggs symbolize; one child just out the womb while another is in utero. I was making this while learning about Marx’s theory on the reproduction of labor power, so the golden eggs also represent future capital. Not all parents are able to have children without the help of IVF treatment, which costs a whopping $10,000 per round. So you’re not only asking an emotionally and physically loaded question, but you’re potentially asking them to make another large financial investment if they’re unable to reproduce without the aid of science. My color choice references the stereotypical blue=boy, pink/red=girl dynamic. The feminization of the color pink began around the mid-19th century. Before then, pink was a color of luxury and class. Little boys were dressed in pink because it was a paler shade of red, which was considered as “masculine” military undertones. Are you having a boy or a girl / Is it a boy or a girl? Yes, more inappropriate questions that are asked because we are trained to define someone as either/or without considering how they define themselves. All these societal expectations begin at birth.