2020 Faculty Biennial Profile: Gretchen Gasterland-Gustafsson

Meet the artists of the 2020 MCAD Faculty Biennial.

I have been making these masks since the early spring when we first became aware of the coronavirus, and the attendant Personal Protection Equipment shortages that came with it. We host two international students from China whom we were assisting with buying commercially produced masks to send to Hubei to alleviate shortages there, before we needed masks here. I did some research about fabric masks and determined that the Olson Mask with the filter pocket would be a good style and effective.

While engaged in making masks of several styles, I have thought about human fragility and the importance of mutual care. The act of mask making has helped me find a productive outlet for anxious energy generated by our collective new normal situation beginning with stay-at-home orders and slowly evolving into strategies for re-opening safely. I think about the act of mask wearing as a way we can all express care for others, doing what we can to keep others safe from viruses we may ourselves be unaware of spreading.

These face masks are made from 100% cotton lined with either more 100% cotton or 100% silk, depending on which you choose, with 18 gauge wire for better fit around the nose, and elastics that are tied in a bow to either go around the ears as is, or to retie to go behind the head for best fit adjustment. Each mask has a filter pocket and a filter made from U.S. manufactured Filti fabric. Masks are fully washable, you may want to remove the wire for machine washing, but always remove the filter and sanitize it separately.

Face Masks for MCAD started as a Jamboard to solicit interaction. I encourage people who adopt the face masks to post a picture of themselves wearing them along with a statement about what they are excited about doing this fall at MCAD.

About Gretchen Gasterland-Gustafsson

Gretchen Gasterland-Gustafsson earned a PhD in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society. Her dissertation was titled Design for Living: German and Swedish Design in the Early Twentieth Century.

She has a Fil.Lic. in art history from Lunds University in Sweden, where she focused on contemporary art and social consciousness, specifically in the work of Adrian Piper, David Hammons, and Glenn Ligon. She was brought to Sweden on a Fulbright scholarship for a project centered on Swedish Emigration to Minnesota. She also holds an MFA in printmaking from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Gasterland-Gustafsson is currently the head of costume design for Out on a Limb Dance and collaborates with local artists on various projects involving both writing and making.