CADI blog 2012: Week 3- Hussein Chalayan and 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.

Hussein Chalayan, Burka (1996) (99

Hussein Chalayan, Afterwords, 2000

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 Burkafashion, or are they art? What is the difference?Not all clothing is fashion, so what makes fashion fashion? (Research some definitions for these terms.)

Fashion isn't Just considered style, clothes or even expense. It is Rather a social status and reflected physical appearance of ones personality or even status in society. It is a fine line in todays modern society to define a difference between what is Art and what is fashion, Both Art and Fashion challenges people and raises controversy.

" There is a need to define the term fashion, as this chapter is primarily concerned with the sequence of events that form a process which trends in fashion clothing and accessories emerge.Breward (2003, p.09) describes fashion an an important conduit for the expression for social identity, political ideas and aesthetic taste.Perna (1987) defines fashion as ' an expression of the times'. Such broad interpretations fit well with the modern consumer society in which many aspects of peoples' lifestyles for vehicles are reflecting peoples social status or success." (2007, Bruce, M and Hines. p. 169)

Personally I think both ' Afterwards (2000) ' and ' Burka (1996) ' Reflect this fine line between what is art and fashion, to me they cannot be clearly defined in todays' society but can be clearly analysed in both categories. To me I find the work both provoking and questioning the aspects of both, It has become a wearable art, in my opinion that is the safe term to define his work without really placing it into what it has really come down too. You can wear them as clothing but is tests the boundaries just as art in a post modern world does.

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 works do show a change in His usual style, but that is what a commission is,it is yours to a point.

The meaning of art does change because it is no longer a social issue or cultural one, but it become something that finds and seeks out an audience and emphasises the issue of the product. As seen in ' Repose' the dark lit room and rather subtle tones with the one blue streak where the crystals have been laid out and exposed to ' show off' the crystals beauty.

As also with ' The Level Tunnel' the Subtle tone, mood lit arena and a motion effect tunnel, portrays the vodka company's expectation of the effect and feel of the drink. It's all round surrounding has emphasised the product and the addiction of the ' surreal' motions that's usually come with drinking alcohol.

Hussien Chalayan 'Repose' (2006)

When Art is used to sell something it loses the usual meaning and gains another one. The focus isn't on the work itself but focuses on how the product can be enhanced in a new, fancy and interesting way so people would stop and think about this product and what its supposed to give me if i buy it. Whether it be Vodka or Crystals this work clearly shows how it has reflected and enhanced the product to give consumers a ' sneak peek'into a product they could potentially buy.

Hussien Chalayan 'The level tunnel' (2006)

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?

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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) and Before 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?

Personally when an artists personally makes a piece they have given a part of their soul.

As an artists sometimes struggle with the work, comes to terms with how it has turned out and how the ideas are conveyed, so in turn everything becomes a process. It takes a true and valuable process to really engage the viewers.

Understandable with great structure such as Anish Kapoor, His sculptures are on such large scales it would be nearly impossible to construct them using the industrial vehicles alone. But in art there is only so much you can do at that type of scale. Whilst in this case I feel that is he had done them himself he would really be able to comment and express about the making process, how the ideas came through as he was making and the difficulty with working with the material. When you put an idea in front of a person and say ' I want this done by Friday' it becomes just and idea put through and made industrially and not created with passion, aggravation and time like it should be.