hussein chayalan

Week 3- 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.

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?

Firstly i find that the work ‘Birka’ challenges viewers and the models with different concepts through the evolution of a long burka and fully covered women to where a women is nearly completely nude. The concepts which i find to be presented through this art work are Feminism, ones identity. These ideologies provoke thinking amongst viewers as they are not items which are customised to compliment a womens figure but the simplicity of the garments really shows that its not a cat walk type garment but more something that develops thinking which is why i see this more as art. I see fashion garments more something to be purchased and something in which enhances a persons figure or clothing that is very abstract and appealing and I see these garments as art because i think a lot more artist’s address issues and provoke thought amongst there work like this work of ‘Burka’

 Chalayan, Burka, 19

9I thin

I think the  work afterwords can be seen as both fashion and also maybe a spatial design piece. I think it is extremely appealing and has the appearance of a skirt but uses materials which are more so related to sculpture,  the piece does enhance her appearance by complimenting her figure but is not likely to be a purchased item as it is not practical. The item directly addresses functionalism as a primary ideology as it involves an exploration of other ideas like architecture and really explores these ideas which is something Hussein really has a passion for doing.

“Even from your graduate collection at Central Saint Martins, you began using unconventional methods to construct your work. Why did you first decide to work in that way?”
“It wasn’t a decision. As I am a curious person and an ideas person, everything I do is imbued with my curiosity and my love of exploring ideas.”

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/1200/Interview_with_Hussein_Chalayan

                                                                 Hussein Chalayan, Afterwords, 2000

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?

 I don’t think there is a huge impact on the nature of Chalayans work in this case “the level tunnel” being funded by the new “absolt vodka” makes no change people are still intrigued in this work being able to walk through and interact with the piece being amongst it. “the concept was to give the visitor a full body experience of the LEVEL vodka brand”

I think this intrigueing piece draws in consumers and is a good way of advertising as it incorporates art as well as advertising but does not affect this piece. I think that if it was a not so well known artist it may not be the same case and not seen so much as art but more so just an advertisement.

 http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-LEVEL-Tunnel-(Absolut-Vodka-Hussein-Chalayan)/701114

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?

i think the major art movement that influenced this film is that of post modernism because the film relates to a new concepts that is modern in society and explores the idea of cell extraction from clothing garments i think this post modern concept could of been one influence to continue the work he has done.
by m

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) andBefore 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?

 A lot of artists get such a big name that they can personally not have to make their own work and there art becomes more of a brand rather than their own personal work like artist Damien Hirst who is one of the most powerful artists today he does not make a lot of his art work but it is still labelled a Damien Hirst. I think that it is important to have work that is personally produced by the artist in some areas but for work like that of Chalayan’s in the fashion industrie i think that secondary producers is okay otherwise no work could get done as it is time consuming as long as the design was to be the artists. I think with work which is painting should be the artists work as it is there own perspective and ideas painted to that canvas and cannot be expressed by someone else. I think having personally produced works have a far greater deal of value as you know it is something in which has not been made for the marketing and brand name but is art created for a purpose.

http://www.husseinchalayan.com/#/home/
http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/chalayan.html 
http://www.husseinchalayan.com/blog/ 

http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-LEVEL-Tunnel-(Absolut-Vodka-Hussein-Chalayan)/701114

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/1200/Interview_with_Hussein_Chalayan

www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2011RTW-HCHALAYA