Underpin & Overcoat

Underpin and Overcoat rescales and reimagines political buttons and places them on the architectural exteriors of buildings. Big, bold, and bright, these buttons reference political images and slogans but without advocating specific beliefs or positions. Instead, political statement itself and the hard-won right to give voice to political ideas, emerge as the medium and the message. Underpin and Overcoat brings the themes of Worn out of the gallery and into the streets.

For its debut at four sites around Rochester, NY, in 2020, local artists, Amanda Chestnut, Tania Day, Erica Jae, Abiose Spriggs, Thievin' Stephen, as well as the Seneca Art & Culture Center at Ganondagan were invited to contribute designs. These designs, like those conceived by Worn collaborators Miller & Toelke, were hand painted and sealed in durable fiberglass and resin. This project was made possible through the support of the Rochester Contemporary Art Center, the Susan B. Anthony House, and SewGreen Rochester.

Click on the buttons below to learn more about the ideas and artists behind each design!