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| Burka 1996 Hussein Chalayan |
Hussein Chalayan hails from Nicosia, Cyprus and has twice been crowned British designer of the year. (Designboom, 2011) His work is informed by his appreciation of architectural theories and embraces ideas from the fields of science and technology. As can be seen from the examples displayed here: Afterwords (2000) and Burka (1996) Chalayan’s work is often confrontational to viewers as well as those wearing the garments. Chalayan’s work in drawing inspiration from a variety of aesthetic fields presents garments, which question the difference between art and fashion. According to the Oxford Dictionary Fashion can be defined as; “A popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration, or behavior “ (‘Fashion’, 2011) While Art is defined as: “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power” (‘Art’, 2011) Although definitions by nature can be quite limiting when discussing broad concepts, such as the scope of art and fashion, the help to provide a criteria against which to assess differences of the two areas. Primarily, it can be seen here that the difference between art and fashion is concerned with the idea of utility. Art may be produced for pure aesthetic value but the term fashion encompasses the idea of utility and further more so the idea of current social utility. If we are to consider Chalyan’s works in light of this information, it becomes clear that both works involve aspects of both areas considered. In my opinion the work Burka veers more to the field of visual art as the social connotations and visual statement presented take precedence over the garments involved in the work. Afterwords on the other hand is a much more typically fashionable piece yet through its use of a range of mixed media materials it begs to be included in the field of wearable arts much more so than typical runway fashion. I believe that Chalayan is best described as an interdisciplinary artist as he produces a range of powerful works, which reference many creative genres.
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| Afterwords 2000 Hussein Chalayan |
Many viewers find Chalayan’s work overbearingly confrontational at times, His graduate show which featured a collection of decomposed/exhumed silk dresses caused a stir at the time of its release and following works such as Burka do not exactly fly under the radar. (Designboom, 2011) I personally enjoy the confrontational nature of Chalayan’s works and find the use of juxtaposition in his body of work refreshing as it questions common conceits about art making. I believe his ability to achieve such an effect across such a wide range of art making practices evidences his high level of technical skill and appreciation of cultural theory.
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| The Level Tunnel 2006 Hussein Chalayan |
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| Repose 2006 Hussein Chalayan |
Another key feature of Chalayan’s work is his link with business and the marketing industry. In works such as The Level Tunnel (2006) and Repose (2006) Chalayan has explicitly joined forces with industry to produce works, which function to promote commercial business.
The Level Tunnel was collaboration with Absolut Vodka, which sought to recreate the experience of vodka in an interactive tunnel experience. (The LEVEL Tunnel, 2007) While, Repose featured an aircraft wing adorned with Swarovski crystals as part of the Swarovski Crystal Palace exhibition. (Art Rattler, 2011) The meaning of art is always questioned when painters/designers begin to transcend the confines of the gallery/runway setting and when business is involved the ideology behind such works is always controversial. However, in the case of Chalayan who states in an interview with the British Design Museum that “ 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. It is a quest into certain areas and proposing a way of looking at something. I am very much an ideas person, which my team helps me to realize. I am not a one-man show. When you are someone trying to create an idea, you don’t always have the means to make it practical first time round – the perpetual struggle of making a prototype and then making it real.” It becomes clear that perhaps commercial business has a lot to offer when it comes to the logistics of orchestrating artistic exploration. Obviously the nature of works is influenced by such a relationship as the fields or advertising and marketing are typically more restricted than free art making practice and projects are undertaken with a clear end goal in mind. Yet in a world where marketing is perhaps our most powerful form of visual communication I feel it is inevitable that the boundaries between art and marketing will be blurred, such a grey area is intriguing to artists such as Chalayan who are concerned with juxtaposition and cultural theory and provides scope for hybrid projects which may further all disciplines involved in their production.
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| Absent Presence 2005 Hussein Chalayan |
Another prominent work Chalayan’s is his 2005 film Absent Presence.
The film screened at the Venice Biennale and considers garments in terms of the role of the wearer. DNA is traced and analyzed to produce predictions about the life of the wearer and their activity in the garment. This work is quiet obviously steeped in the tradition of scientific reasoning and therefore references Enlightenment thinking and art making processes in its veneration of the power of scientific learning. To quote Chalayan: “The Absent Presence is an enigmatic story based on identity, geography, genetics, biology and anthropology” (“Hussein Chalayan,” 2011). This statement classifies the film as rather humanist in nature and supports the above point. However I think an element of the sublime can also be found in the work as the interest in tracing the residue of our human experience reminds us that there are more powerful forces than the individual human at work in the sphere of our existence and demands the viewer be aware of the fact that our existence is far less private than we imagine.
In the tradition of artists such as Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst other artists produce some of Chalayan’s works. For example the Sculptor Lone Sigurdsson made some works presented in Chalayan’s Echoform (1999) and Before Minus Now (2000) fashion collections. This kind of practice raises the question of when and why is it important that the artist personally made the work?Personally I think that essentially all art involves aspects of intertextuality and collaboration and that if contextually relevant the practice of employing others to produce a work does not diminish the achievement of the initial artist.The following statement describes the contextual position of Chalayan’s work well:“Presenting fashion as a site of exploration and as expressions of concepts, Hussein Chalayan challenges preconceived notions of what clothing can mean, rather than as garments with only functionality in mind. Motivated by ideas and disciplines not readily associated with fashion, Hussein Chalayan’s pioneering work crosses between architecture, design, philosophy, anthropology, science and technology.” (Art Rattler, 2011) When viewed from this multidisciplinary context it is easy to see how engaging the skills of art makers from various disciplines could further Chalayan’s explorative process. Essentially if the concepts/ideas driving an artwork are the concern of and originally questioned by the initial artist, I feel that it is not necessarily degrading to employ another to execute the technical/physical creation of a work. In fact such collaboration adds another dimension of meaning to the work and explicitly conveys a deeper level of contextual significance than can be achieved if the work is the product of a single artist.
In the tradition of artists such as Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst other artists produce some of Chalayan’s works. For example the Sculptor Lone Sigurdsson made some works presented in Chalayan’s Echoform (1999) and Before Minus Now (2000) fashion collections. This kind of practice raises the question of when and why is it important that the artist personally made the work?Personally I think that essentially all art involves aspects of intertextuality and collaboration and that if contextually relevant the practice of employing others to produce a work does not diminish the achievement of the initial artist.The following statement describes the contextual position of Chalayan’s work well:“Presenting fashion as a site of exploration and as expressions of concepts, Hussein Chalayan challenges preconceived notions of what clothing can mean, rather than as garments with only functionality in mind. Motivated by ideas and disciplines not readily associated with fashion, Hussein Chalayan’s pioneering work crosses between architecture, design, philosophy, anthropology, science and technology.” (Art Rattler, 2011) When viewed from this multidisciplinary context it is easy to see how engaging the skills of art makers from various disciplines could further Chalayan’s explorative process. Essentially if the concepts/ideas driving an artwork are the concern of and originally questioned by the initial artist, I feel that it is not necessarily degrading to employ another to execute the technical/physical creation of a work. In fact such collaboration adds another dimension of meaning to the work and explicitly conveys a deeper level of contextual significance than can be achieved if the work is the product of a single artist.
References:
http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/home/
http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/chalayan.html
http://www.husseinchalayan.com/blog/
Your answers are very good. I was surprised when I saw the work 'Burka'. It is very confrontational. The Burka is worn by muslim women, who are very secretive about showing their skin, so to have the bottom half of one lady showing and the entire body of another lady showing was very surprising. I think his work will either be 'love it' or 'hate it'. There will never be a middle area. One good thing about confrontational work is that people when remember it either way, whether its good or bad, it will always leave a lasting memory.
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