Poster

Design Ethos

So far...

R e f l e c t i o n - 

I've come a relatively long way since reading, Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and The Meanings of Things. I delivered a class presentation yesterday on my progression / concept development to date. To backtrack, I'll post the slides and elaborate on the notes that I'd prepared for the presentation.

First of all, I was going back through the various information, images and reflection that I have worked through, pausing to reconsider my Intention Abstract that was initially written to pre-empt this semester's body of work. The first paragraph is perhaps more relevant now that my thoughts have contextualised through the manifestation of a design concept.

I am often inspired by clothes that transcend functional distinction; fashion that tells a story or perhaps isolates an individual character. I usually try to pack a lot into my work and there’s often a real contrast between conceptual exploration and aesthetic expression, where I’m intrigued by societal issues, human perception and our interaction with the world around us.

Pursuing my intrigue with hoarding, my initial alignment with fashion was a love-hate relationship that i regarded as at times, 'obsessive' and 'useless'. However, as I have read through the first couple of chapters in the book I am reading, (Stuff: Compulsive hoarding and the meaning of things) I've gained some really great insight into the disorder and now have a better understanding of the significance of acquisition - particularly for a hoarder, who's desire to possess is stronger than any other instinct. I'm starting to see beauty in its meanings and closer connections to fashion - obviously exemplified with total extremity.

The boundaries between normal and abnormal blur when it comes to hoarding. We all become attached to our possession and save things other people wouldn’t. So we all share some of the hoarding orientation. The passion of a collector, the procrastination of someone who hasn’t taken the time to put things away, the sentimentality of one who saves remainders of important personal events. [Pg. 24]

To this quote, I could add statements of how strongly we feel about items of clothing, particular details, colour combinations. The book provides intimate case studies, where the people described have such a love for aesthetics; every object is rich in detail.

For hoarders, "everything seems equally important – it’s all homogenised." One particular woman had piles upon piles of what would typically be regarded as junk... old newspapers, empty boxes / containers etc. However, among it were valuable items such as money, cheques and photographs of her children. She had trouble categorising / isolating meaning, since everything she owned was considered to her, valuable. This raises questions about what is valuable for one person in accordance to the next.

Another point that has interested me is that while objects provide a more meaningful life, promoting positive and soothing sensations that can be associated with security / identity / nostalgia, they paradoxically result in substantial discomfort / destruction / taking over space and distorting perception / sense of self / affecting quality of life.

So here there is a war. A tension between what is instinctive and is perceived to the individual as comforting and natural, versus what is unhealthy; weighing the person down and instilling negativity, causing depression, anxiety etc. 

I came across the term, Horror Vacuii, (which sounds fantastic) meaning 'fear of empty or white spaces' –commonly used to describe Victorian homes / Baroque style in the 19th century. Every inch of every surface, be it wallpaper, pillows, upholstery, rugs or lampshades, is covered with lavish brocade.

Therefore, there is no place for the eye to rest. I'm really into this idea. Excessiveness in its extreme, which relates back to the idea of hoarding - filling every spot in one's living space with possessions / objects / stuff. I imagine my collection visually translating this idea or phobia, where in the last look, the body is completely covered; displaying a progression that eventually inhabits the body and the garment.

I have, of course, been considering structure as a general approach to the topic. Una Burke's work is a good example of where I see my work heading at this stage - creating pieces that literally stand alone.

[DESIGNS: Una Burke, Lisa Sharno http://lisashahno.com]

One approach to the visual representation of concept. Examples of last week’s class work build from shoulders and neck, cocooning the wearer and providing a haven among the structure.

And then there's the use of materials. How will I represent the eclectic nature of what one might collect / hoard and challenge the notion of value through materials?


Am I combining useless and invaluable materials with surfaces that may reflect the opposite?


At this stage, I'm thinking about the notion of layering. I'm visualising piles of 'stuff'. I'm interested in creating new materials that may assist me to build structure. 

Barbie trashes her dream house

H o a r d i n g - 

I came across these photos through a blog, Unclutterer, which provides daily 'tips on how to organise your home and office'. Initially, I thought I was looking at some more awful hoarding images, where a person's belongings has reduced the quality of their living space. Upon second glance, I came to realise that the scene had actually been produced in 1/6th scale! Carrie M. Becker is a collector of "everything tiny". Titled, Barbie Trashes Her Dream House, I thought I'd upload just because the detail is so astounding.

My intrige with consumption, and perhaps hoarding as an extremidy, comes down to my view of fashion. Though I'm obviously directly involved and activly participating in the cycle of fashion, I do have a love-hate relationship. I don't quite know how to describe it, but I guess I'm responding to the fast-fashion-ish nature of things. I just can't bring myself to live it, breathe it like some people do - obessesively following and exhausting all avenues to stay ahead of the masses.

So am I looking at reacting against the typical viewpoint of what fashion, in all of its superficiality, is about? Maybe rather just commenting on the nature of the fashion system. Our lives are over-stimulated, as is the notion of fashion. I think I'd like my collection to reflect this.

Things of fashion

[Images from The Art of Fashion: Installing Allusions, Sjarel Ex, Museums Boijmans Van Beuningen 2009]

D o p p e l g a n g e r -

I was recommended an amazing book - Doppelgänger: Images of the Human Being, (R. Klanten, S. Ehmann, F. Schulze. January 2011) which has curated the most beautiful series of photographed work by various artists. The book presents seven chapters, which explore different approaches in capturing or questioning the identity of human beings. The chapters are: Embody, Dissolve, Appeal, Reshape, Perform, Deform, and Escape. Classic proportions are visually exploited with the use of decoration, sculpture and unconventional materials, which in turn, reinvents, disguises, obscures or enhances the form underneath. 

I found most of the images breathtakingly beautiful, which I guess might lead one to question the nature of beauty or even fashion, since the possibilities here are re-imagined. The first two images, (Kimiko Yoshida) that I have posted are for me, particularly stunning. The Japanese artist continually cultivates her desire to investigate her own identity through these self-portraits. 

[Above: Levi Van Veluw]

[Above: Madame Peripetite]

[Above: Nick Cave]

             

[Above: Ganz Toll, Urban Camouflage]

[Above: Leeman Smith]

          

[Above: Xavier Veilhan]

[Above: The Visualisation of Sound, Ted Sabarese]

Project

struc·ture  (strkchr) n. 1. Something made up of a number of parts that are held or put together in a particular way:hierarchical social structure. 2. The way in which parts are arranged or put together to form a whole; makeup: triangular in structure. 3. The interrelation or arrangement of parts in a complex entity: political structure; plot structure. 4. Something constructed, such as a building. Interested in exploring the idea of 'body structure' or 'sculpture', I collected a series of images - some of which I'd taken myself, to project onto the body. Some of the images were of architecture or parts of buildings, while others included lamps, light fittings, (objects I'd regarded as 'mini-structures') and 'useless' objects.  The projector exercise was interesting and some images were more successful than others. Either way, I think it was a good way to consider where some of these shapes could be applied to the body and to enable experimentation with scale.  I've been developing design ideas in my folio and I keep coming back to the method that was used for my Catalyst project, where perpendicular shapes or panels were inserted into a fitted garment to create an exaggerated, three-dimensional perspective. The projected images alone are also prompting ideas for further exploration. In particular shots, the structure and the body almost become one, where the forms from either are difficult as definitive. The image almost distorts the figure - perhaps a way to question relationships between the body and the object. Otherwise, and on a more emotional level, an expression of our reliance on things; objects; structures; anything that's not human.

Marni & i candy

Y e o n  L e e -

Uses recycled plastic bags to create lavish works of texture, scale and colour. Typically referencing objects that are symbols of status, i.e. - the chandelier, to create a contradictory perception of the humble plastic bag which takes on a new life. The plastic bag holds no monitory value and is the only mass-produced item that can be obtained for free. Lee says she's delivering "innovative meaning to daily consumable object as an art object."

Visually, the installation is really striking, particularly within the white exhibition space. The disposability of the plastic bag has been rejected and rather, the object conserved and exalted as something beautiful, which is an idea that I really like.

Yeon Lee

M a r n i - 

I also forgot how much I loved Marni. I like that they're about an entire look, where accessory is of equal importance to garment - particular old Marni. The collection that I scattered through this post is from 2009. I've always also appreciated the plays on proportion. No real structure here, but definitely lots of layering and various lengths. When I'm looking at these images, I'm picturing different plastics, almost like a stack of tupperwear containers - all in amazing colour combinations.

I'm starting to look at architecture and also mini-structures within home wears. I found some beautiful light fittings by 7Gods. The pieces are curvaceous and organic; the shapes are amazing. 

I'd like to create my own shapes with plastic sheets or something equally as rigid - perhaps in the same way that I approached my Catalyst project - and then look at projecting them onto the body. I've also been thinking about a plastic neck cuff, maybe it would hinge open. 

Key words / phrases thus far:

Body sculpture

Moulding

Exaggerated form

Plastic

Layers / stacked

Architecture

Body armour

Neck brace

Collecting

Hoarding

Conserving

Glorifying

Leather

Rubber

Synthetic