Week 3- 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 Afterwordsand 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.)

In my opinion Chalayan's works are most likely to be displayed for artworks rather than wearing them in public. The 'Burka' piece of work is for Muslim to cover their identity and is part of their religion. In their culture exposure is not acceptable and women had to cover their whole body. 

'Afterwards' the clothes might be uncomfortable too but its very handy in a way like the skirt is used for a table when you leave it on the ground but when you wear it, its kinda heavy because it has a very flat surface.

"Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later, art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful after"---Mona Simpson.  

which means that fashion is rotating its time and will never run out in style. 

Hussein Chalayan, Burka (1996) (99

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                                                                 Hussein Chalayan, Afterwords, 2000

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)

In my opinion art can be either be a poduct that can be advertised/ to sell or something exhibited for people to see because it doesn't mean a piece of work is no longer art, for the reason that its sold. His works do relate to nature, from the viewers perspective 'the level tunnel' piece of work gives a message of peace around in the woods and 'repose' gives viewpoint that you're in a plane up high through the clouds. Art has no limitation that makes artists reach any standard they want. Anything that is visually presented is known as art and Chalayan's ideas are mostly performed in that way which makes him unique in that way.

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?

The idea behind this media installation is on identity,geography, genetics, biology and anthropology. Also by the looks of this installation, its theme is based on humanism because of the explanation that is showing the viewers is how people get to find their true identity from a new environment. 
I think the artist Chalayan might be part of inspiration to his works because his films shows what attracts the interest in modern technology and post modern in the society which also seen.

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

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) andBefore 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?

In my opinion, I personally think how expressing personal emotional expressions are important in every artists works because perhaps shows the artists timeline of lifestyle. For example authors write about their personal experiences and in times they write about their own personal stories but artists express them visually, sometimes it might not be recogniseable but it has a deep story to the piece of work that the artist surely wants the viewers to feel the same way. In one of Jackson Pollocks work 'Lavender mist' it has his boot print, a cigarette, keys ets in to his painting which is connecting himself and the painting to one so when people view his work they can straightly know who and Pollock's personality. 

http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/home/

http://www.husseinchalayan.com/blog/ 

http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/chalayan.html
http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/home/
http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/ready-to-wear/hussein-chalayan
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fashion 
http://exn.tumblr.com/post/491987881/what-makes-fashion-fashion-pt-1 
http://ilikecatsmorethanpeople.blogspot.co.nz/2010/11/hussein-chalayan-burka-1996.htm  
http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-LEVEL-Tunnel-(Absolut-Vodka-Hussein-Chalayan)/701114

Week 2- Post Modernism

Ai Wei wei and banksy

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 
• Relativism
• Rejection of post modernism thinking
• Pluraist 
• Non-universal thinking
• Irony
• Deconstructive
• Linguistic

The term 'Post-modern' means after the modern period which was used for philosophy, literature, social science, and architecture.There are a range of postmodern thinkers, they may have different opinions and people from different fields have different definition of post-moderism. 
"Most importantly we see the dissolution of distinctions, the merging of subject and object, self and other."-John Wayne
Postmodern is different to any other art and is defined very widely that it is hard to define as one. 

"Postmodernism was a movement in architecture that rejected the modernist, avant garde, passion for the new." -James Morely 

Modernism was clearly understood in art and also within architecture even though it hasnt been assigned to a definition.

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

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.

3. Use the table on pages 47 and 48 in your ALVC handbook to summarize the list of the features of Post-Modernity.
The features of Post-modernity are Social and cultural purism and disunity and is mainly focused on surface and texture rather than depth. Culture adapting, hyper-reality, image saturation. Because of how the media and and reality has been torn apart, a new artefact has been influenced by the ones previous to it.

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.

The 'Coca-Cola' work done by Ai WeiWei  was a piece that was installed in an exhibition which was the most shocking piece of work because of how simple it was. This work symbolizes appropriation, globalization and attracts this piece from the viewers because more of the brand rather than the object that is displayed. This reminds me of ' Fountain - R Mutt' originally and secretly that was done by Marcel Duchamp, how everyone thought it was a piece of rubbish done by a fool named 'R Mutt' later they found out that the piece was done byMarcel Duchamp. Ironically Ai weiwei's piece was the highly treasured artefact and was also became more increasingly valued after being noted as postmodern art.

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 a very famous graffiti artist who uses stencils for his work. His works are mostly symbolized as a mockery of the society that is surrounded to him. The way Banksy     lays out his works and how he relates reality and fantasy together is very smart of him which he is clearly can be labelled as a postmodern artist. Both of the works above can be noted as post modern because the flowers are symbolized as peace and love and the 'Los Angles' explains how back in the days stone age did not have fast food and also points out the timeline of present and the past.

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://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/78/DevastatingHistory

http://www.architectural-review.com/delight/ai-weiweis-colored-vases/8615365.article

http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/elab/hfl0242.html

Witcombe, C (2000) Modernism & Post Modernism. Retrieved 29 January, 2004 from http://witcombe.sbc.edu?modernism/modpostmod.html
ALVC Resource book

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'?

origin of 1980's from clay+animation 

a method of animation in which clay figures are filmed using stop-motion photography.

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

'Surrealistic Garden of Eden' explains how Djurberg has worked with nature by surrealistic way but instead of the idea we have about nature (calm and peace) she've explained it the opposite.
"all that is natural goes awry" might mean how nature around us is dieing because of the pollution that is quickly developing. Djurberg has showed that vision by using claymation.

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

Djurberg work, does show the complexity of emotions. Her work can easily take in control of emotions by using its colors, tones and the characters. For an example 'the parade' the characters aren't used in a positive way, it was destroying things and the expressions within the characters was sad; like for this can make the viewers, the same way how the Djurberg wants us to.

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

Djurberg shows the negative side of children's stories. With the origin of children story lines, she includes her style of weirdness and slightly removes the innocence to her work. Also she's mainly wanting to give out the point of the meaning rather than slowly visualizing what is behind that message and think of it negatively.

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?

I think there are a lot to be seen by just looking what can be seen with our eyes. Most of the designers do turn the innocent and sweet to something disturbing for some viewers because I think its also explaining and letting out the conscious side we humans have, like another part of a human being that is known only by personally. Nowadays people tend to look more of a materialistic world and not wanting to bother of thinking beyond that point. Designers have made a start of stepping forward to the reality.

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

I think Djurberg's work is interesting because of how she has made work in claymation and also the work has its own deeper meaning to it than how its visually shown. Theres more than just viewing it with your own eyes, you have to carefully understand why and how did Djurberg has put art that way. Theres two sides of personalities to Djurberg's art, sweet and innocent on the outside and different in the inside, reflecting on us humans and because of this idea she put in her work might've reached the standards to get chosen for the Venice Biennale. Its a place people can understand artworks in a mature way and are all fascinated to see. 

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

I agree how some of her works can be disturbing and the expressions she create on the figures face is very realistic. It can easily be shown how the characters are feeling and how Djurberg wants us to think of the character. For example with the art below, it can be seen disturbing to some people but on the other side it can be shown of a meaning how the mother is trying to saving many children's lives.

Nathalie Djurberg- 'Feed all the little hungry children' Parade
parade

Reference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZGjhxYVhmo
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nathalie-djurberg
http://artnews.org/artist.php?i=1211
http://www.yourdictionary.com/clay
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/v/venice_biennale/index.html
www.inquiringdolphin.blogspot.com