Dyer, IN
Robin Dluzen
Look for the Union Label
2021
reclaimed vinyl on vinyl
Uncle Freddy’s, 518 Hillside Drive, Dyer, IN
Look for the Union Label is an homage to the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. The site-specific piece is composed of cast-off materials from the artist’s union trades job as a Graphics Installer with Sign Painters Local 830. A vinyl fabric from an outfield pad at a Major League Baseball stadium is combined with adhesive outdoor vinyl, depicting the graphics from vintage garment tags of clothes produced by ILGWU tradespeople. The ILGWU was a pivotal force in the history of trade unions in the United States and a union that boasted a majority female membership. Look for the Union Label reflects the artist’s journey as a union trades apprentice; it is an acknowledgement of the many union tradespeople who reside in the neighborhood where it is installed and speaks widely to the resurgence of interest in labor unions to protect our country’s essential and vulnerable workers.