Editorial

Art-Forward Costumes

Close up of a house cat skeleton's head

With the window for trick-or-treating rapidly approaching, we thought we’d help out any procrastinators looking for a costume. And since our gallery guards and Visitor Service Associates spend a lot of time getting to know the works on view, we asked a few of them what artwork from the collection they would want to make into a costume. Their inspirations, which are shown in the video, varied wildly; each selection is also listed below. To find your own art-inspired costume, view our entire collection online.

A sculpture that resembles a rabbit-shaped mylar balloon stands on a pedestal. A museum gallery is visible in the sculpture's reflective surface.

Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986. Stainless steel; 41 x 19 x 12 in. (104.1 x 48.3 x 30.5 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, partial gift of Stefan T. Edlis and H. Gael Neeson, 2000.21. © 1986 Jeff Koons. Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago

Jeff Koons's Rabbit

Jeff Koons, Rabbit, 1986. Stainless steel; 41 x 19 x 12 in. (104.1 x 48.3 x 30.5 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, partial gift of Stefan T. Edlis and H. Gael Neeson, 2000.21. © 1986 Jeff Koons. Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago

It’s one of the most interesting works in the exhibition.

—CHARLES, SECURITY

What you’ll need:

  • Garbage bags
  • Rabbit ears
  • Silver spray paint

Directions:

  • Lay garbage bags and rabbit ears on newspapers in a well-ventilated space
  • Spray paint garbage bags and ears
  • Let dry
  • Tie garbage bags around arms, legs, and body
  • Inflate; good ‘ol oxygen from those healthy lungs should do
  • Put on ears
A grey-brown inflatable raft with two oars rests on a grey floor.
Jeff Koons, Lifeboat, 1985. Bronze; 20 1/2 × 87 1/4 × 62 3/4 in. (52.1 × 221.6 × 159.4 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Gerald S. Elliott Collection, 1995.56.a–c. © Jeff Koons. Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago
Ernesto Neto, Water Falls from My Breast to the Sky, 2017. Cotton voile crochet, cotton knit fabric, cotton rope, stones, polyamide stockings, lavender, wood, polyurethane foam, and painted bowls; overall dimensions variable. Photo: Nathan Keay © MCA Chicago

Conceived as a half-and-half costume, Lifeboat Water Falls combines the net form of the Neto with the lifeboat—two water-themed artworks.

—MISTEAD, VISITOR SERVICES

wire form of a face with clear eyes, a blue nose, and a red mouth hanging from a balanced mobile

Alexander Calder, Little Face, c. 1943. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of the Leonard and Ruth Horwich Family Foundation, 2019.12. © 2022 Calder Foundation, New York/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

Alexander Calder's Little Face

Alexander Calder, Little Face, c. 1943. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of the Leonard and Ruth Horwich Family Foundation, 2019.12. © 2022 Calder Foundation, New York/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

What you’ll need:

  • Plastic box
  • Blue and red paint
  • Bottle caps glasses
  • Cardboard

Directions:

  • Make a plastic box to use as frame around your face
  • Paint your nose blue and your lips bright red
  • Make/buy bottle-cap glasses
  • Use the cardboard to make a “Blow Me” sign—a hint at Calder’s desire for his sculptures to move

—BRIAN, SECURITY

Rendering of Little Face costume Photo: Bridget O'Carroll

The simplest things can speak so clearly & delight us at the same time! Little Face by Alexander #Calder, 1943, at @mcachicago #art #museum

—BETH SINGER (@bsingerdesign)

Three black boxes each with two heads carved out of brown cubes in various ways. Shoes lay at the bottom of a few of the boxes.

Marisol (Marisol Escobar), Six Women, 1965–66. Wood, paint, mirrors, shoes, formica, and plaster; 69 × 105 × 52 in. (175.3 × 266.7 × 132.1 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, gift of the artist 1968.1. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago Art © Estate of Marisol Escobar/Licensed by VAGA, New York

Marisol's Six Women

Marisol (Marisol Escobar), Six Women, 1965–66. Wood, paint, mirrors, shoes, formica, and plaster; 69 × 105 × 52 in. (175.3 × 266.7 × 132.1 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, gift of the artist 1968.1. Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago Art © Estate of Marisol Escobar/Licensed by VAGA, New York

This would be the perfect group costume.

—CAITLIN, VISITOR SERVICES

Yinka Shonibare, Alien Obsessives, Mum, Dad and the Kids, 1998. Wax-printed cotton, plastic, and polyester fiberfill on plastic and metal armatures; overall dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, restricted gift of Howard and Donna Stone, 1999.54.a–h. Photo © MCA Chicago

Yinka Shonibare's Alien Obsessives

Yinka Shonibare, Alien Obsessives, Mum, Dad and the Kids, 1998. Wax-printed cotton, plastic, and polyester fiberfill on plastic and metal armatures; overall dimensions variable. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, restricted gift of Howard and Donna Stone, 1999.54.a–h. Photo © MCA Chicago

I really like the patterns, colors, and their eyes.

—JANICE, SECURITY

Takashi Murakami, Wink Sculpture (pink), 2001

—JONNATHAN, SECURITY

Additional Suggestions

Albert Oehlen, Auch Einer (Another One), 1985

—GRAHAM, VISITOR SERVICES/BOX OFFICE

Ed Paschke, Heavy Shoes, 1970

—SERENA, SECURITY

Olafur Eliasson, Convex/concave, 1995/2000

—MEGAN, VISITOR SERVICES

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #137, 1984

—ANONYMOUS, SECURITY

A gigantic cat skeleton stands in the center of a large atrium with its back arched and its tail pointed straight up in the air.

Maurizio Cattelan, Felix, 2001. Oil on polyvinyl resin and fiberglass; 26 x 6 x 20 ft. (7.9 x 1.8 x 6.1 m). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Edlis/Neeson Art Acquisition Fund, 2001.22. © 2001 Maurizio Cattelan. Photo © MCA Chicago

Maurizio Cattelan's Felix

Maurizio Cattelan, Felix, 2001. Oil on polyvinyl resin and fiberglass; 26 x 6 x 20 ft. (7.9 x 1.8 x 6.1 m). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Edlis/Neeson Art Acquisition Fund, 2001.22. © 2001 Maurizio Cattelan. Photo © MCA Chicago

—FAN FAVORITE

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