Thursday, 18 August 2011

week 3 Hussein Chalayan

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?

Afterword  (2000)-Hussein Chalayan


When i saw this collection, i was amazed becase of i thoght it was just same as other kinds of fashion show but it was not a normal fashion show. it was more perfomance art rather than fashion both of collections.
In case of Afterword(2000), the transformantion of funiture into dresses, carrying cases , and a skirt suggests the necessity of leaving one's home in a hurry with nothing but the clothes on one's back.
Moreover, his collection has something special and  diffrentiated with other fashion designer when i saw the cover of chairs transformed by model's clothes that was really amazing and it seems like art rather than fashion also, the chair which  fabric was taken off by models and changed to bag.
Personally , i believe that fashion is more commercial or well- ordered for viewer or buyer however, art has no that kinds of temper but not alwasy. While, fashion is a term commonly used to describe a style of clothing worn by most of people of a country but ultimately, fashion is an individual statement of expression for each of us.




Burka (1996) -Hussein Chalayan


2. Chalayan has strong links to history. 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 manufacturere. How does this impact on the nature of Chalayan's work? Dose the maening of art change when it is used to sell products? Is it still art?
  • The LEVEL TunnelBDC & Hussein Chalayan for Absolut Vodka
  • BDC was assigned to assist fashion designer and artist Hussein Chalayan with the development and production of an installation piece for the vodka brand LEVEL, a high-end product from Absolut Vodka. The installation was to tour around the world to 5 different locations to promote the brand.  Together with Hussein Chalayan, we interpreted his visions as an artist into a physical structure.

    In short, the concept was to give the visitor a full body experience of the LEVEL vodka brand. A 15 meter long glass tunnel, with laser sensor controlled sound, water, scent and light was created for the visitor to walk through blindfolded. This to enhance the other human senses (smell, feel, hear).

    A flute was made from a LEVEL vodka bottle, on which a Bach sonate was played. The tunes was then translated into the shape of an elevated floor with sensors, playing the tune as you walk through the tunnel. You actually walk up and down the pitch of the sonate. The scents of different vodka ingredients are released at certain points. Underneath your feet, the water moves back and forth according to your speed.  Light is following the tunnel visitor for the bystander to be able to visually follow the walk.

    The tunnel was inspired by a cut through landscape, with all different levels, purifying the water that is later used in the vodka destillery. It was a great project to find a solution for a load bearing, watertight glass construction that had to be demountable and easy to assemble.

    Project done while employed at BoysDon'tCry AB. Pictures are from the display in Mexico City.
I think that it is still one of the his art but related to commercial business.It doesn not change the meaning but it could be heple for earning money and it is good for both artist and the company becase company can get new advertisng with art and for Chalayan , he could be more famous and his art field will be wider.
Also, personally, these days there are so many art has influenced by commercial thing or their nature chaged to more businesse but i think it helps for developing art area.


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

Hussain_Chalayan_6.jpg
Hussain_Chalayan_9.jpg


The Absent Presene is an enigmatic story based on identity, geography, genetics, biology and anthropology. It open 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.
i think that he want to descibe the realities of modern life and influenced by post modernity. Also, it discuss our living environment and can not always adapting and people could not do that.

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 fashionContemporarily, 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?
Personally, when the artist made their work personally,  i think we can feel it what the artist  say and what is the meaning of  his/her work and then the value of work would be double. Also, i believe that we can more easily to understand their work .
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2 comments:

  1. Ricky Mak28 August 2011 at 23:28

    i do have the same feeling and agree as what u said on the first part, about Hussein Chalayan's work on the fashion masterpiece, the dress. during the fashion show, it is more of a performance art, an ordinary dress, but also a fusion with the table; this idea really amaze me, really freaked me out by what designers can do these days with not just ordinary art itself, but adding extra elements with it which strikes audience with a surprisingly amazing idea.
    he is truly one of the fashion artist which i find really interesting, and i will look more about him in the future.

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  2. April Liu29 August 2011 at 05:42

    I agree with you that fashion is more commercial or well- ordered for viewer or buyer however, art has no that kinds of temper but not always. I believe that fashion is an individual statement of expression for each of us.In my point of view, Chalayan is a really interesting person, his works full of creatively, and these works broadened my horizon. His every work shows his exhibition, and also can catch people’s eyes at first time.

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