The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Variety

Media Credit: COURTESY OF LIBBY BLACK Pictured is Libby Black's "Can't Keep My Eyes Off You," a piece in acrylic paint on canvas, 2007. [Click to enlarge]

When most people see a thing they can't afford, they lament their financial insufficiency.

When Libby Black sees something she can't afford, she creates a paper imitation.

A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, Black has established a career out of recreating luxury goods using thick paper, acrylic and glue.

From a Louis Vuitton suitcase to a Mercedes-Benz, nothing is out of Black's price range when it comes to artistic inspiration.

"It's kind of this fantasy," Black said. "It is about why a lot of these fantasies and desires exist for a lot of people."

For Black, fascination with the world of high-end fashion began during her childhood.

"I was raised being told that if you look good, then you are good," she said.

One of Black's more ambitious pieces has been recreating the entire interior of a Louis Vuitton store out of paper. It led to some unfavorable attention from the corporation.

"They called me down to their offices, and they told me to shut it down," Black said. "I kept it open and nothing came out of it. They just tried to scare me."

Black since has attracted more favorable invitations, including one to lecture at the University and show her work at the Broad Street Gallery.

"Her work is about recreating these high fashion, luxury goods … and questioning people's love for these things," said Shelly DiCello, an assistant professor in printmaking at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. "The kind of material she is using speaks about [people's] relationship to these objects, paper being ... something that is transparent and can be broken down."

Black also will collaborate with Lamar Dodd students in a project called "Prada Shoes."

In the project, 20 participants design a pair of Prada shoes they would like to own. Their designs will be etched onto copper plates printed on paper in a process called intaglio printing.

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