Where the realms of public and private become intertwined.
60 Minutes Silence. Gillian Wearing. 1996.
Gillian Wearing – an artist known for her controversial and provocative art. Her work is the epitome of contemporary art, as it attempts to unearth issues in new and intriguing ways. I am not a particularly big fan of her work but do rather like this piece and used it to illustrate a point in a previous essay. Although it appears as a still image here and in most places on the internet, it is in actual fact a video installation, a mighty long one at that, racking up a total of sixty consecutive minutes. The officers, who are in actual fact volunteers, are made to sit or stand as still as they possibly can for the whole duration! For the minutes I have watched of it, they all seem to do the task justice but of course cracks begin to show. The initial stillness that is seen at the start, develops into slight motion as each officer allows their individuality to be shown through fidgets, twitches and facial expressions. It is interesting how it proves individuality breaks through the facade of uniform. One male participant lets out a significant scream at the end, reiterating the effect control has on the individual body.
Subcultures are always a fun topic to look at and with the Exactitudes project by Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek, this idea of uniform is explored further through photos of different subcultures from all over in their matching -yet slightly altered clothing. Group identity does not always have to be limiting, it can be a positive form of unity and clothing helps to establish it. Dress codes of specific groups is a way for individuals to belong while simultaneously expressing uniqueness from others. It is a type of catch 22 situation, as individuals attempt to be different but end up looking the same as those who are into the same sort of style or scene. The project began it 1994 with the pair photographing the gabba movement in Rotterdam. The photos are taken in a studio and when the people are approached they are asked to bring the outfit they are in, along with a few others, the outfit most suited to the look of the group is the one that makes the cut. In order to choose the pose of each group, they ask the individual who they believe best embodies the look to strike a few poses and pick the best one from the lot. Then all the rest of the participants of this subculture must follow suit and imitate the chosen stance. Look at the wonderful pattern made on their homepage, produced with the repetition of ‘personal’ identity.
All in all, a very cool project. The website lets you have a peek at them all in close detail so it is possible to see the individual through all the monotony. Go HERE to explore more.
Eurotrash is cool? Not that weird television programme from years ago – the one that was a little bit naughty, but Miguel Trillo’s snaps of youth fashion in Spain, in the years between 1981 and 1994.
Cindy Crawford = a Cindy that could easily give Barbie a run for her money.
by Herb Ritts.
‘Cindy Talks!’
Stills from her presenting days for House of Style. A show about supermodels around the time of their heyday, and fashion. Wish there was a way to watch them but I can only seem to find ten minute clips from jumbled episodes
Two great shoots and another great combination. Linda Evangelista and Steven Meisel.
Paris Vogue. 1989.
Paris Vogue. 1989.
Paris Vogue. 1989.
Paris Vogue. 1989.
Paris Vogue. 1989.
For Alberta Ferretti. 1990.
For Alberta Ferretti. 1990.
For Alberta Ferretti. 1990.
For Alberta Ferretti. 1990.
Chantal Regnault left France after the ’68 uprisings in Paris to move to New York. Though, it wasn’t until the late 80s that it was possible for these photos to materialise. She managed to gain entry into the Afro-American and Latino homosexual and transgender crowds of New York, where a new craze called Voguing was taking shape at the close of the 80s.
This book documents this scene and allows the readers into a time and place that will never happen in the same underground way as before. The book is published by Soul Jazz Records.
‘Voguing came out of the extraordinary house ballroom scene that emerged in Harlem, New York in the 1980s where men competed against one another for their dancing skills, the realness of their drag and their ability to walk on a catwalk runway like a model.’ Soul Jazz Records
Ellen von Unwerth and Claudia Schiffer. Both gals shot to fame with the photos downbelow. It has even been stated by Guess that they aided in relaunching their image and it’s no wonder. Here they make a return for an anniversary of 30 years for Guess and Claudia looks, almost, like nothing has changed (it has been 23 years since some of the first ones were taken!!) They both had a continuous partnership with Guess, Ellen more so than Claudia, and these pictures are a full celebration of that. Apparently the campaign will not just stop at Claudia and will include other Guess models of the past, can’t wait to see what they look like as the originals are pretty fantastic! More Guess + Ellen von Unwerth campaigns to come!!
‘A series of films about how humans have been colonised by the machines we have built. Although we don’t realise it, the way we see everything in the world today is through the eyes of computers. It claims that computers have failed to liberate us and instead have distorted and simplified our view of the world around us’ (BBC)
‘It was amateur footage of an event involving an early video game called Pong that gave Adam Curtis the idea for his new series.In 1991, a computer engineer from California called Loren Carpenter organised a mass experiment in a huge shed. Hundreds of people were each given a paddle, and told nothing. But on a big screen in front of them was projected a game of Pong – a very basic computer game, where a ball is knocked back and forth on a screen, like table tennis. Each half of the audience jointly controlled the bat on their side of the screen; they had to operate it together and, spontaneously and without discussion, they successfully played a game of Pong, whooping and cheering at their collective collaboration.
“It was like a switch went in my head,” Curtis says. “Carpenter saw it as a world of freedom with order. But I suddenly saw it as the opposite – like old film of workers toiling in a factory. They weren’t free – they looked like disempowered slaves locked to a giant machine screen. It was a video game, which made it fun, but it still made me wonder whether power had really gone away in these self-organising systems, or if it was just a rebranding. So we became happy components in systems – and our job is to make those systems stable.” ‘ (The Guardian)
An eye-opening three part documentary by Adam Curtis shown last year on the BBC that includes concepts about technology, humans, nature and ecology systems. The title originates from a 1967 poem of the same name by Richard Brautigan. The poem suggests a time where humans, animals and computers live harmoniously amongst one another and computers allow man the freedom to return to a natural, non-consumerist state. However the context in which Curtis uses the phrase is that of a more ironic tone. He explores the preconceived notion that machines help to liberate humans by giving them opportunities to do more with their time and become truly independent by saying that in fact they do not liberate man, they stifle his creativity and allow man to become subordinate to technology systems.
It questions how exactly such systems are supposedly able to stabilise humans and orders, those such as the ones we are governed by today, i.e. political, economical. Using historical events and key thinkers, we are provided with a new way of looking at how different orders were envisioned to improve the world and how consequently, in Curtis’ eyes, they failed to work.
Complex ideas, good soundtrack – accompanied by even better visuals. Makes you feel like a 6 yr old again, sitting cross-legged, watching educational films during carpet time. Enjoy! Definitely one to watch when you’re in a thinking mood.
If you can’t stand the subtitles, just found THIS link, I didn’t watch them on this though so can’t guarantee they work, but they seem fine.
The tough guy image of dickies, vests and oversized shirts that some are familiar with as strictly for the latino fellas, is just as badass when taken on by the latina ladies!! It is the eyebrows, eyeliner, lipliner and hair that I love the most and of course the way the stereotypically male clothing is taken on by the gals with style.
‘Coco Chola’ by Mason Poole, styled by Djuna Bel for i-D magazine.
Naomi does it…
Kate does it…
Coco does it…
The wonderful Gwen has been at it for years…
Images taken from Mi Vida Loca (1993), written and directed by Allison Anders. A tale of a girl gang and the friendships and turmoil within it. A go-to for style and if you want to talk the talk.
