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Intricate Pattern Overlay

November 25, 2014–May 4, 2015
The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue

Intricate Pattern Overlay was an original painted mural by Miami Beach artist Michelle Weinberg, inspired by the dazzle camouflage technique. Adopted by Britain and the United States during the First World War, the technique abandoned traditional methods of concealment and instead relied on highly visible patterns of line and color that made it difficult for enemy vessels to determine a ship’s exact placement and heading. The dynamic optical effect influenced modernist art and served as an inspiration for post-war fashion, including women’s bathing suits.

Coinciding with the major exhibition Myth and Machine: The First World War in Visual Culture, Intricate Pattern Overlay was executed in a two-color palette of deep gray and Mountbatten Pink, a color scheme used briefly during the Second World War.