S U R R O U N D I N G S A S G A R M E N T S

‘ Fashion is the social by-product of the opposition of processes of conformity and individualism, or unity and differentiation, in society.’ Simmel (1904)

‘Clothing comes to share in the work or ambivalence management as much as does any other self-communicative device at our disposal: our voices, body postures, and facial expressions and the material objects we surround ourselves with (Goffman 1959)

‘ That clothes we wear make a statement is itself a statement that in this age of heightened self-consciousness has virtually become a cliché. But what is the nature of the statements we make with our clothes, cosmetics, perfumes and coiffures, not to mention the other material artefacts with which we surround ourselves? Are such statements analogous to those we make when we speak or write, when we talk to our fellows? In short, as the novelist Alison Lurie (1981) has recently claimed, is clothing not virtually a visible language, with it’s own distinctive grammar, syntax, and vocabulary?’

P E R C E P T I O N

"What you see is where you see it. Perception is reality. You are judged by who you're with. That said, in the long run you will benefit much more if you endure the temporary snubs and jabs and stand up for who you believe in. If you sincerely like his work and if he's a nice person who would also stand up for you, then start your own scene. There's nothing like a point of view. Confidence and decisiveness will conquer wishy-washiness." Mark Kostabi

‘the desire for approval did not die out as a man passed through the different stages of civilisation. The same motives must be satisfied, whether the individual lives in the jungles of Africa or on Park Avenue in New York City. The only difference lies in the expression which is given to these motives, and this is determined to a large extent by the ideals of the nation to which the individual belongs.’
Hurlock, E.B, 1929, The Psychology of Dress: An analysis of Fashion and its Motive, AYER Company, USA

C L O T H I N G A N D B O D Y

‘fashion and clothing are in the business of dressing something up as something else, that they take the body and disguise it or present it as something that it is not. It is the claim that fashion and clothing impose meanings on a raw material that either does not originally have any meaning or which has a sort of natural meaning, The second is that fashion and clothing may be used to mislead, to make people respond in ways that they would not or should not.’


‘is clothing an aesthetic object separate from the body it encases or does it protect and enhance the human form? A central concern is not only the clothes that cover our bodies but the bodies we recover under our clothes.

’Benstock, S, Ferriss, S(ed.) 1994, On Fashion, Rutgers, USA.

lash bodice

lash scarf

accessorising the hair garment

http://www.showstudio.com/project/makeupyourmind

L A N G U A G E

"Language complicates things. We often think language mirrors the world in which we live. I find that's not true, i find that language makes the world in which we live.
Things don't have an immutable value by themselves, we describe them a value.
Language can't be understood in its abstract, it can only be understood in terms of story - and everything, all of this, is story, and it's important to remember that because if we don't then we have become ahistorical."
Chris Abani, The Stories of Africa (June 2007, TED)

L I N E L I G H T E X E R C I S E

This week we did a workshop involving extrapolating a 3D object from a 2D linear drawing using a projector and a smoke machine. In a group of 3 we drew a 3D image made up of three 2D shapes to create a 3D 3D smoke cubby.







We were then asked to interpret our 3D smoke results using fabric. Jemi, Jacinta and I used bamboo rods to construct geometric shapes which we then pushed into a tube of fine mesh.
Below is the outcome.

PERFORMANCE ART

T H O U G H T S P R O V O K E D

1. Shadow's cast by a particular object alter and shift depending upon where the light source is - Could a garment's shadows be considered the elements surrounding the 'real' or 'final' garment? for example;

• patterns
• cutting
• design process
• merchandising
• wearer interaction etc...?

2. Is darkness a giant shadow or simply a bi-product of light? similar to nudity - is nudity only exist as an opposing state to being clothed?
"nudity and nakedness are human constructions"
Barnard, M 2002, Fashion As Communication, Second Edition, Routledge, London.

3. Is being sufficiently clothed for a situation the same as being 'dressed' (this idea of being 'over-dressed' or 'under-dressed' for a particular time/place)
* As a result, is being naked in the shower then being appropriately 'dressed' for that situation?

4. After removing my stewed apfel bustenhalter i was left with a sticky stewed apple residue invisible to the eye but sensitive to touch which made me feel more 'dressed' than when wearing the fresh and more structurally sound bustenhalter which appeared more identifiable as a garment. This got me thinking about garment residue.
when we undress are we left with a garment 'residue' - a feeling, a memory, the markings the smell - are we 'undressed' as apposed to naked? can we ever really be 'naked' again? from the first moment we are wrapped/swaddled as a child are we then forever after simply 'undressed' or once we shower/bath do we rid our selves of all residue making us fresh and naked for the following dressing?
...... or when you're showering are you dressing your physical self in water?! artist wank!
*note to self - start saving lives...

5. Are we really only concerned with which body parts are exposed, combined with environment in feeling 'dressed' (environment being both physical and mental)?

6. is feeling comfortable the same as feeling dressed? - i wear an awful lot of uncomfortable clothing and would still consider myself dressed in them.... perhaps not appropriately dressed for some situations but dressed all the same.

7. Can you be naked but appear 'dressed'?

KEYWORDS/THEMES

• naked vs undressed
• silhouette
• behind the garment - pattern/cut
• viewer perception
• wearer perception
• comfort
• the language of 'dress'