“More Work for Mother,” by Elaine Luther

Feb 22, 2021 | My Art & Studio

New Work by Elaine Luther. Graphic says New Work and has images of two art works in the More Work for Mother series, small house forms with gold leaf on the inside, and doll house miniatures.

Introducing new artwork by me, Elaine Luther, about domestic labor; this is a series of 5 house forms, each with the inside back wall gold-leafed.

There’s this body of research that shows that whenever “labor saving” devices are invented, and touted as “less work for mother,” they actually result in more work for mother, as standards rise. For example, with automatic washing machines, clothing is washed more often.

This is a series of pieces I’ve been working on for a couple of years. I began collecting dollhouse appliances, and my concept was that each appliance would be at the center of a gold-leafed assemblage piece. I saw two paintings, while traveling, of Mother Theresa, both as an old woman, as the icon she became, and as a young woman, in traditional Albanian costume. Both were on a field of gold leaf. I regret that I did not take a picture of the museum sign, so that I would know the artist’s name.

On and off, I tried to make these pieces work, but they just ended up looking like Our Ladies of Perpetual Housework all over again.

I also collect and built house forms, and I tried putting all the appliances in one house form. Ah-ha! This worked! Here are the images of More Work for Mother.

"More Work for Mother" by Elaine Luther, 2021. A red box, about 3" deep is in the shape of a simple house, with a peaked roof. The back wall is gold-leafed. The sides are collaged with bits of text on tracing paper. The inside is crowded with appliance: a washing machine, kitchen sink and cabinet, two fridges, one microwave and one stove. An iron sits atop the microwave. An ironing board is just outside the house on the left. Cubes of acrylic "ice" are the to right of the house form. Various foods are scattered about. A laundry hamper sits atop one fridge. Dishes are in the sink and in the drain rack.

“More Work for Mother” by Elaine Luther, 2021.

Here is a side and the back:

Side view. "More Work for Mother" by Elaine Luther, 2021. A red box, about 3" deep is in the shape of a simple house, with a peaked roof. The back wall is gold-leafed. The sides are collaged with bits of text on tracing paper. The inside is crowded with appliance: a washing machine, kitchen sink and cabinet, two fridges, one microwave and one stove. An iron sits atop the microwave. An ironing board is just outside the house on the left. Cubes of acrylic "ice" are the to right of the house form. Various foods are scattered about. A laundry hamper sits atop one fridge. Dishes are in the sink and in the drain rack.

Side view, “More Work for Mother,” Elaine Luther, 2021.

Side view. "More Work for Mother" by Elaine Luther, 2021. A red box, about 3" deep is in the shape of a simple house, with a peaked roof. The back of the house is collaged with black text and a hand drawn map on tissue paper.

Back view, “More Work for Mother,” Elaine Luther, 2021.

Here are some close-ups of the inside:

Detail, "More Work for Mother," by Elaine Luther, 2021. The view from above shows the detail of the water bottle, milk carton, dozen eggs, dish rack, and dishes in the sink. A coffee mug next to the sink holds tiny utensils. A sharp knife sits next to the sink. A mug of coffee is inside the microwave. Two bunches of bananas and an apple are on top of the fridge that is on top of the washer.

Detail, “More Work for Mother,” by Elaine Luther, 2021.

Detail, "More Work for Mother," by Elaine Luther, 2021. The view from above shows the detail of the water bottle, milk carton, dozen eggs, dish rack, and dishes in the sink. A coffee mug next to the sink holds tiny utensils. A sharp knife sits next to the sink. A mug of coffee is inside the microwave. A laundry hamper sits on top of the second fridge, holding clothing. A black metal pot and spatula sit on the stove.

Detail, “More Work for Mother,” Elaine Luther, 2021.

I also made some smaller ones. Here they are:

"More Work for Mother 2," by Elaine Luther, 2021. A small house form is gold leafed on the back wall and is filled with a tiny scene of plastic dollhouse furniture for a kitchen scene. The stove has a pot on it, there's a knife on the table, a bell pepper sits atop the microwave.

“More Work for Mother 2,” by Elaine Luther, 2021.

"More Work for Mother 3," by Elaine Luther, 2021. A small house form is gold leafed on the back wall and filled with small plastic dollhouse furniture making up a bathroom scene. There is a sink cabinet, a vanity and a toilet. There is also a tiny bottle of shampoo and a comb.

“More Work for Mother 3,” by Elaine Luther, 2021.

"More Work for Mother 4," by Elaine Luther, 2021. A small house form is filled with plastic shopping baskets, filled with small, random items, and rubber shopping bags. A tiny cash register sits just outside the house form. The baskets are all pink or purple. The cash register is red.

“More Work for Mother 4,” by Elaine Luther, 2021.

"More Work for Mother 5," by Elaine Luther, 2021. A small house form is painted robin's egg blue and the back inside wall is gold leafed. A tiny plastic table is set with tiny ceramic dishes with cherries painted on them, a wooden jug of milk and tiny utensils. A silver painted frying pan is affixed to the back wall, above the table.

“More Work for Mother 5,” by Elaine Luther, 2021.

Materials:

Found house forms in wood and MDF, imitation gold leaf, acrylic paint, paper collage elements. Dollhouse miniatures in wood, plastic, ceramic, metal assorted plastic toys from various miniature universes.

Measurements:

The large, red one measures: 13″ H x 11.25″ W x 2.25″ D.

The smaller ones are 6″ to 7″ in height and range from 4″ wide to 6″ wide. The small ones are all 1.5″ deep.