Week 3- Hussein Chalayan and Post-Modern Fashion

Hussein Chalayan

Chalayan is an artist and designer, working in film, dress and installation art. Research Chalayan’s work, and then consider these questions in some thoughtful reflective writing.

1. Chalayan’s works in clothing, like Afterwords (2000) and Burka (1996) , are often challenging to both the viewer and the wearer. What are your personal responses to these works? Are Afterwords and Burka fashion, or are they art? What is the difference?

Not all clothing is fashion, so what makes fashion fashion? (Research some definitions  for these terms.)

Hussein Chalayan, Burka (1996) (99

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                                                                 Hussein Chalayan, Afterwords, 2000

 I personally like the way that Hussein designed "cloth" for Muslim women. This is the obvious art work could linked to be  Post-Modern Fashion. As we can see that similarity happened at both Chalayan's fashion and Aiweiwei's Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo. They give the viewers culture shock and pluralism ideas, take advantage of the dominance of high culture by popular culture. Mixing the contrast and created a new form.

As everyone knows the custom of Muslim is more special because women cannot revealing too much skin in the public, bachelorette protect their face to avoid strangers can see it. Hussein Chalayan break the rules, it is a new valuation of hybrid culture forms cancel "high/Low" categories. According to Kreis (2000) by 1990 artist start have their own mind in their art. They tried to visually represent what could not yet be given verbal expression(p.251). Artist start destroy the traditional style and have more open stage. Like Hussein used his own way to express's feeling about what is fashion mean.

I think Afterwords (2000) and Burka (1996)  are genuine fashion because Chalayan's clothing not only can give people eye effect, they also utility in the real word. Afterwords(2000) was an amazing fashion because he used different textures which was nobody else used before, metal gives the feeling more restore ancient ways combined with modern fashion girl, what a big differences and contrast shows.

What makes fashion “Fashion” is that it is more than a visual-tactile-olfactory code or language, but that this “code” is constantly in flux, constantly changing and almost always ambiguous.

So what makes Chalayans fashion fashion? I think his works are often express a concept. He always keep consistent design style and develop clothing that others don't sectors, relative to fashion, he chose pragmatic, relative to luxury, he chose to design. Therefore I do think his clothing can be called fashion.

2. Chalayan has strong links to industry. Pieces like The Level Tunnel (2006) and Repose (2006) are made in collaboration with, and paid for by, commercial business; in these cases, a vodka company and a crystal manufacturer. How does this impact on the nature of Chalayan’s work? Does the meaning of art change when it is used to sell products? Is it still art?

                                                      The Level Tunnel (2006) 

                                                                      Repose (2006)

Chalayan has strong links to industry. He put his wild idea associated with business and balance up, creating market clothes which has hit the market trend and so popular. He jump into design 3D work which really different by designing cloth, but he successful made valuable industry work and sell them a good price. As he said : My work is about ideas. If I had to define my philosophy in just a few words, it would be about an exploration, a journey, and storytelling – it is a combination of these things with suggestions and proposals at the same time.There is no limit for art so every visual thing can be defined to art, just because how special Chalayan's idea make him special.

3. Chalayan’s film Absent Presence screened at the 2005 Venice Biennale. It features the process of caring for worn clothes, and retrieving and analysing the traces of the wearer, in the form of DNA. This work has been influenced by many different art movements; can you think of some, and in what ways they might have inspired Chalayan’s approach?   

Hussein Chalayan, still from Absent Presence, 2005 (motion picture)

The Absent Presence is an enigmatic story based on identity, geography, genetics, biology and anthropology. It opens the argument on how certain identities can or cannot adapt to new environments and generates a research based narration for Hussein's cross-disciplined installation with filmic images and sculptures.

The ways they might have inspired Chalayan’s approach which was his project for venice biennale last year was a strong experience. the one before that called place to passage, which he toured with, was a film. His collections are always challenging and

he get a lot out of them. all the projects have a different impact on him. He make a real effort to push himself as far as possible with each one.

4. Many of Chalayan’s pieces are physically designed and constructed by someone else; for example, sculptor Lone Sigurdsson made some works from Chalayan’s Echoform (1999) and Before Minus Now (2000) fashion ranges. In fashion design this is standard practice, but in art it remains unexpected. Work by artists such as Jackson Pollock hold their value in the fact that he personally made the painting. Contrastingly, Andy Warhol’s pop art was largely produced in a New York collective called The Factory, and many of his silk-screened works were produced by assistants. Contemporarily, Damien Hirst doesn’t personally build his vitrines or preserve the sharks himself. So when and why is it important that the artist personally made the piece?

I think it doesn't matter when and why it is important that the artist personally made the piece, all we talk about is idea. How artist created an idea that interested audience and it become their intellectual property and is credited to them no matter how much they personally crafted. It is good for artist trying something new.

‘The Tangent Flows’ was a concept based on his experiment, it is important that the artist personally made the piece like Chalayan's experiment, try different materials like he said: It is part of his creative process, a method that keeps him interested in fashion design.

 After his design concept have tremendous influences he success due to his full of emotions, every time he create clothing, he does not happy only finish the standrad practice, for him is a huge mankind step and he do the works by himself completely. For Chalayan, fashion is an applied art in as much as it represents the employment of an artistic sensibility to create functional objects: function over beauty.

http://exn.tumblr.com/post/491987881/what-makes-fashion-fashion-pt-1   

http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/home/
http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/chalayan.html 
http://www.husseinchalayan.com/blog/    

http://dilsahdesigndiary.blogspot.co.nz/2010/10/review-on-hussein-chalayan.html 

Week 2 - Post-Modernism - Ai Weiwei and Banksy.

Post-Modernism
This week's ALVC tutorial covers Post-Modernism. Use the ALVC texts and definitions from the internet to define the term and answer the following questions


1. Define Post-Modernism using 8-10 bullet points that include short quotes.

• Reflexivity
• Relativist thinking
• Rejection of modernism reason
• Non-Universalist thinking
• Pluraist
• Irony
• Deconstructive
• Linguistic

Postmodern is of course composed by two parts "post" and "modern".
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism.

2. Use a quote by Witcombe (2000) to define the Post-Modern artist.(page 24)

According to Witcombe (2000) The post-modern artist is "reflexive" in that he/she is self-aware and consciously involved in a process of thinking about him/herself and society in a deconstructive manner, "demasking" pretrnsions, becoming aware of his/her culture self in history, and accelerating the process of self-consciousness (p.24)


3. Use the table on pages 47 and 48 in your ALVC handbook to summarize the list of the features of Post-Modernity

Post-Modernity shattered the utopian ideals of Modernity. It was a reaction against Modernity. It includes a belief in social Pluralism and the individual view or construction of reality. Those with a Post-Modern ideology believe in expressing their own thoughts and perceptions about philosophy, literature, social sciences, architecture and reality. Post modernity has many theories and beliefs, ‘no one grand narrative.’


Use this summary to answer the next two questions.
4. Research Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's 'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo'(1994)
in order to say what features of the work could be considered Post-Modern.

'Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo'(1994), Ai Weiwei

 

Ai Weiwei dropping a Han Dynast Urn.

As we can see from his work, the Han Dynasty Urn is an old traditional Chinese pot which added modern logo "Coca-Cola". The contrast he made that related to the features of summize the work could be considered Post-Modern because Postmodernism is a philosophical movement away from the viewpoint of modernism. Like I mentioned Postmodern is of course composed by two parts "post" and "modern".

By painting the Coca-Cola logo on a purportedly ancient pot (Coca-Cola Vase), Ai Wei Wei is discussing capitalism and the recent invasion of American values, companies and methods into China’s ancient culture, with incredible economy of means. Yet China’s ancient culture is no more. It has been transformed first by homegrown Communism. So the label may be on a Chinese capitalist product, Either way, our cultures, for all their differences, are amalgamating before our eyes. In my opinion he challenges society’s values and priorities with his work, give viewers visual impact. 

6. Research British artist Banksy's street art, and analyze the following two works by the artist
to discuss how each work can be defined at Post-Modern.(Use your list from question 3.)



'Flower Riot', Banksy





Los Angeles (2008), Banksy



Banksy is an England-based graffiti artist. His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humor with graffiti done in a distinctive stenciling technique. His work Los Angeles and Mona Lisa were a reaction against Modernity, it created a new feeling and endow with a belief in social Pluralism and the individual view or construction of reality. 





Reference:

http://theworldsbestever.com/2008/02/new_banksy_pieces_surface_in_l.php

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/03/11/how-china-conquered-the-art-world.html

http://www.theartblog.org/2010/03/clay-shows-begin-ai-weiwei-at-arcadia-bodies-at-the-mutter/

WEEK 1- Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'.

Nathalie Djurberg's 'Claymations'.

Swedish artist Nathalie Djurberg's intricately constructed claymation films are both terrifyingly disturbing and artlessly sweet.

The new works created for the Venice Biennale explore a surrealistic Garden of Eden in which all that is natural goes awry.

She exposes the innate fear of what is not understood and confronts viewers with the complexity of emotions.

Nathalie Djurberg was awarded the silver lion for a promising young artist at the Venice
Art Biennale 09.

(http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg)

'Experiment' (2009) Venice Biennale

  

Research Djurberg's work in order to answer the following questions;

 

1. What do you understand by the word 'claymation'?

 

Claymation is the generalized term for clay animation, a form of stop animation using clay. The term Claymation was coined by its creator. Claymation involves using objects or characters sculpted from clay or other moldable material, and then taking a series of still pictures that are replayed in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement.

 

 An animation process in which clay figurines are manipulated and filmed to produce an image of lifelike movement. Many still shots are combined in a movie editing software to create an animation. 

 

 

 

 

2. What is meant by the term 'surrealistic Garden of Eden'? and 'all that is natural goes awry'?

 

Nathalie Djurberg Creates a Surrealistic Garden of Eden

The flowers confront viewers with the complex nature of emotions in a terrifying and artistic way. It called ‘experiment'. 

 

Swedish artist nathalie djurberg intricately constructed claymation films are both terrifyingly
disturbing and artlessly sweet. the new works created for the venice biennale explore a
surrealistic garden of eden in which all that is natural goes awry. she exposes the innate
fear of what is not understood and confronts viewers with the complexity of emotions.
natalie djurberg was awarded the silver lion for a promising young artist at the venice
art biennale 09.

 

 

 

 

3. What are the 'complexity of emotions' that Djurberg confronts us with?

 

 

Djurberg toys with society’s perceptions of right and wrong, exposing our own innate fears of what we do not understand and illustrating the complexity that arises when we are confronted with these emotions.

Her work explored themes such as violence, sexuality, sadism, cruelty, death and brutality, her films usually contain no words but are accomplianied by scores by hans berg as well as a fair amount of grunts and groans.

4. How does Djurberg play with the ideas of children's stories, and innocence in some of her work?

                                                                       (Kids & Dogs), 2007

 

Djurberg's children stories have a lot incommon with traditional folktales. They deal with archetypical themes and involve traditional roles as the good, the bad and the kind helper. The films also have animals as characters e.g. the wolf, the bear and the tiger. As in tales strange and magical things happen in Djurberg's films; animals speak, trees walk and humans fly and talk with animals.  

 

Once Djuberg considered the choice medium for the children's cartoons of decades past, and turns our sensibilities inside out, reminding us that kids are not always so innocent, and that simple objects can turn an ordinary kitchen into an orchestral score for a film that makes for an awe-stricken audience and leaves with a bang. 

 

 

 

5. There is a current fascination by some designers with turning the innocent and sweet into something disturbing. Why do you think this has come about?

 

The idea of having innocent and sweet in the same work has been around for a long time. Especially Djurberg deeply fascination by using clay into something disturbing. This is shows the way how the contrast between the two creates a strong emotional and viewing impact also can reflect the more deeper meaning.  In not Just art but in films, books, poetry and plays.it has become increasingly popular in recent years

 

 

6. In your opinion, why do you think Djurberg's work is so interesting that it was chosen for the Venice Biennale? 

 

 

 

Venice Biennale said: I'll spare you the details and just mention that i fell head over heels for Djurberg's videos. Her animated vignettes depict a bitter-sweet world of handmade plasticine puppets, shot with the old-fashion stop-motion technique. Don't be fooled by the little girls singing and playing with daddy, by the cute tiger in the girl's bedroom or by the fat mama. The works speak about abuses, perverted sexual behaviours, and cruel impulses of human beings who just "can't help it."

 

I have to say Diuberg is a very talented artist that I admire. According to Biennale I know that Clay can tell a story. It has a magic that every viewer strongly attached to it and unforgettable.

 

 

 

7. Add some of your own personal comments on her work.  

 

 

                                                 A World of Glass (film still) 2011 

 

 

                                                         I found myself alone  2008

 

Just like the two works appears, totally different feeling and it related to the innocent and sweet into something disturbing. Diuberg used an ingenious experiment with naked decadent women by using dark colour. the other work apparently opposite and gives viewer pure and sweet. Little Clay not only play for fun, it is a magical story teller.

 

 

 

Reference:

 

 

 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-claymation.htm

 

 http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6886/nathalie-djurberg-experiment-at-venice-art-biennale-09.html

http://zine.artcat.com/2007/10/nathalie-djurberg-at-performa-07.php