Elaine Reichek is a conceptual artist who uses embroidery to explore aesthetics in art. While an Artist-in-Residence (February 2001), Reichek began to develop a group of sixteen embroideries showing scenes from the biblical Book of Genesis and particularly the story of Adam and Eve. Reichek's beautifully sewn embroideries borrow images from artists ranging from Dürer and Michelangelo to Gauguin, Magritte, Barnett Newman, and Robert Smithson. Similarly Reichek replaces texts that usually appear in samplers with quotations from a wide range of sources: the Bible, Milton, Mary Shelley, Charles Darwin, Ray Bradbury, and film director David Cronenberg.

In 2003, the museum's Centennial year, Reichek returned with an exhibition of her work. Unlike any previous show at the museum, madamimadam is a virtual exhibition. Working when the galleries were closed to the public, Reichek briefly installed her samplers among the works in the Gardner's permanent collection. madamimadam comprises a group of images of this temporary installation that can only be seen through Reichek's digital project. In this virtual exhibition of her work amid Mrs. Gardner's collection, the artist subtly overcomes restrictions in Mrs. Gardner's will, which stipulates that her installation can never be altered.

Technical Requirements:
Flash 6 plug-in or higher (download), Internet Explorer 5+ or Netscape 6.2+, 800x600 screen resolution (minimum). This exhibition was designed for use with a broadband connection. This exhibition was designed for use with a broadband connection. Dial-up users may experience long download times.

madamimadam was prepared in collaboration with Heather Shaw, Mike Wiggins, and Yoav Horesh, graduate students at the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston. This project was supported in part by the Thomas A. Pappas Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. madam i'm adam was originally presented in conjunction with the 2003 Boston Cyberarts Festival.

Launch madamimadam
(designed for broadband users, see Technical Requirements below.)