Over the past few weeks, the paper dresses scattered all around campus have been hard to miss. These dresses are a part of a project done by the Sculpture 1 class known as the ‘27 Dress Project’. Students were tasked with creating 27 paper origami dresses however they liked. The dress’s patterns varied from polka dots, stripes or they were even multicolored, it was entirely up to the student. They were then told to find a location around campus that held some significance to their idea and place the dresses there. This resulted in hundreds of the mini origami dresses decorating the walls of the school, adding some color and brightness to NDB.

Martha Anne Kuntz, the Visual and Performing Arts Teacher and Chair, assigned this project to her Sculpture I class.

“My inspiration was a movie called ‘27 Dresses’ starring Katherine Heigl in 2008,” Kuntz explained. “The main character in the movie was always a bridesmaid, never the bride, and had collected 27 different dresses from the weddings she attended.”

Mrs. Kuntz thought it would be a great idea to make the dresses while she was looking for projects during the pandemic. But why are they around campus and not in the sculpture room?

Mrs. Kuntz told the Catalyst, “Students can view a location and think of ideas or they can have an idea and find a location that fits that idea.”

She added that she enjoys seeing students inspired by different locations throughout the school. Several Sculpture I students were asked how they felt about this project and what inspired them.

“I put them in the hallway leading into the sculpture room because it was accessible and they fit the theme of the sculpture room.” said Freshman Kat Laing.

She also mentioned that after creating her first few dresses, she found more inspiration and was able to create colorful, patterned dresses. These dresses have now been placed all over campus, including places like the Moore, the dining room, and classrooms.