Stock Market Skirt :

The Stock Market Skirt is an installation project by Nancy Patterson.

The project displays the current market value of a specific stock through a "blue taffeta and black velvet party dress is displayed on a dressmaker's mannequin or 'Judy,' located next to a computer and several monitors of varying sizes".

The skirt is wired with a stepper motor that controls a system of weights and pulleys that alter the hemline of the skirt.



The data itself is obtained using a number of PERL scripts which are run on a Linux box. The current value of the stock is displayed on a series of monitors which surround the mannequin.

As the price of the stock rises, the skirt hemline also rises. As the price of the stock falls, the hemline follows suit.

The concept of this piece is based on an investment myth that can be found on Investopia.com -

"The idea that skirt lengths are a predictor of the stock market direction. According to the theory, if skirts are short, it means the markets are going up. And if skirt are long, it means the markets are heading down."

Of course this is just a myth, perhaps a coincedence. The analysis states that shorter skirts are worn in times of a boom, when the markets are doing well and people are generally happier and more excited about things. Longer skirts are then said to be worn during slumps in the market when people are generally worried or depressed.

The installation is simple both in terms of its delivery and its concept and yet it is more complicated. A viewer can interact with the installation over the internet by buying or selling stock in the company currently being tracked by the software. Initially this would have to have been done by placing a phone call to their broker, but could now be done using an online brokerage.