"USED, discarded clothing " By Linda Friedman Schmidt

USED is a tactile artwork created from discarded clothing depicting a used, handled, and touched vintage doll, something from childhood, something silent, something mute, something obedient you own and control. Created through a process of manipulation and control, this artwork alludes to the the dehumanization and manipulation of humanity. The worn clothing remembers and tells stories that explore not only childhood and feminist issues, but also the artist’s family Holocaust history, the loss of self-identity in survivors who became emotionally disconnected empty shells. A doll is what some become when it is too painful to be human. A doll is what some are forced to become to get love.