INTERVIEW WITH LI EDELKOORT

Posted on June 14 in NEWS by federico_p

On the occasion of the opening of the Arnhem Fashion Biennale Polimoda met Lidewij Edelkoort, renowned trend forecaster, who is the curator of the project. Arnhem is Holland’s fashion capital and home to the famous ArtEZ Institute of the Arts where Edelkoort studied and whose Fashion Department will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2013. FETISHISM IN FASHION’s main exhibition takes shape at MoBA CENTRAAL through 13 thematic rooms that illustrate fascinating and expansive definitions of fetishism. The true scope and nature of fetishism will come to life through the display of garments, accessories, photography and film. The 13 themes are: Nudism, Sado-Masochism, Infantilism, Nipponism, Spiritualism, Absurdism, Romanticism, Legendism, Regionalism, Patriotism, Nomadism, Shamanism. During the interview Edelkoort explains the origin of the theme Fetishism in Fashion: “We are all born in bondage, a cord wrapped around our baby body” She revealed what is her own fetishisist thought and her idea about talent. “Talent is someone/something which is able to change my view, my vision, putting me into question. It has to add something and to transport me into another dimension”.

Federico Poletti

A CELEBRATION FOR MARC QUINN

Posted on June 4 in NEWS by costanza_v

The Giorgio Cini Foundation opened the celebration of Marc Quinn, curated by Germano Celant, the solo show includes sculptures, paintings and other art objects by one of the original Young British Artists. Consisting of more than 50 works, including the public debut of at least 15 new works, Marc Quinn will be one of the artist’s most important exhibitions to date.

In addition to reuniting Quinn and Celant, who last worked together on the exhibition Garden at the Prada Foundation, (Milan, 2000) Marc Quinn marks a return of the artist to Venice, following his 2003 show at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, The Overwhelming World of Desire, and highlights the Giorgio Cini Foundation’s growing interest in contemporary art.

On view is a new form of the artist’s monumental work, Alison Lapper Pregnant installed in September 2005 on the fourth plinth of London’s Trafalgar Square (2005-7). Breath (2012) is a 1,100 cm inflatable version of the original, placed adjacent to the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore to welcome visitors to the Foundation. Breath was the centre piece of London’s Paralympic Games’ opening ceremony. The work seems to describe the journey of an image when it becomes part of cultural discourse something without boundaries of scale held up by the breath of those talking about it.

LOVE SITUATIONS BY MUSTAFA SABBAGH

Posted on May 16 in NEWS by costanza_v

For the first time in his career, Jordanian artist Mustafa Sabbagh will be visiting Milan at the Format Gallery exhibiting his works of medium and large format, some unpublished, and specially produced for this occasion. Mustafa, through a clever use of portraits and landscapes depicts a harmony of relationships. His images tell the story of individuals but also of couples. He blends a harmonious knowledge of the other partner as they are portrayed living together, separated, absent or neglected.

The images of Mustafa Sabbagh, mainly autobiographical, share an intimate perspective on relationships with their audience. The artist has developed an aesthetic of emotions in their sublime depiction: troubled, anxious and fascinating at the same time. The dresses and costumes are like a second skin which dramatize his images containing and corrupting the senses. In his world, objects are an integral part of the language that is the vessel of relationship with others.

His art is never limited to a game of meanings but instead shows the abyss – staring into the melting pot on the horizon. In observing the images of landscape, nightlife, beaches, forests, skies and mists, and also of his nudes, we are dealing with pure expressions of void. Mustafa Sabbagh’s focus on unconscious emotions continues to create an abstract view of the physical and mental health of objects to reflect the inner soul of his images.

Federico Poletti

VINTAGE ERGO SUM

Posted on May 7 in NEWS by costanza_v

Il fascino del passato e la moda oggi

“Il “vecchio”, reale o apparente, salverà questo mondo troppo assetato di nuovo.” (James Hillmann)

Ormai è un dato certo che la memoria crea stile. Il cosiddetto “effetto nostalgia” ha contaminato ogni aspetto della contemporaneità ed è sufficiente digitare la parola magica “vintage” su qualsiasi motore di ricerca che i risultati sono talmente numerosi , tra blog, siti e forum, da rischiare di farci perdere la strada nei meandri della rete.

Questo termine, accolto nel gergo comune della moda negli anni ’90 per sostituire le più datate e conosciute definizioni di “usato” e “seconda mano”, introducendovi il concetto di rarità o comunque di selezione tra gli indumenti retrò, oggi è un fenomeno che esce dalla sua dimensione di nicchia, che agli esordi individuava un segmento specifico di mercato, per abbracciare significati semantici e di prodotto molto più ampi e complessi.

Infatti una delle tendenze di costume sociale ed economico più oggetto di studio del terzo millennio è proprio il vintage marketing[1], che oggi esamina con estremo interesse la spinta  verso questa tensione critica sempre più invasiva tra passato e presente, sfociata in una sorta di melting pot globale postmoderno saturo di forme comunicative eterogenee, oscillanti tra innovazione e continui sguardi al passato. Mode e tendenze provenienti da ogni decennio del secolo scorso e anche da epoche precedenti, vengono incessantemente analizzate, scannerizzate, fagocitate e riproposte in ovvi oppure in inediti déjà-vu, che hanno contagiato molte aree del contemporaneo. Moda, architettura, design, cinema, musica, televisione, gastronomia, tecnologia, obbediscono alla nuova formula matematico-simbolica “uno più uno uguale tre” vale a dire: “prendere il meglio dal passato per fonderlo col meglio del presente ed avere come risultato qualcosa di superiore.” [2]

In quest’ottica il fenomeno del “vintage” vero e proprio e dello “stile vintage” da esso derivato, attraverso la tecnica del “copy and paste” e del rapporto emozionale con il tempo, diventano pura espressione dell’estetica postmoderna.

Vari spunti di riflessione sono stati offerti da due importanti eventi culturali che si sono svolti  tra il 2011 e il 2012: le rassegne “Postmodernism. Style and Subversion, 1970-1990” tenutasi al Victoria and Albert Museum di Londra e “Schiaparelli & Prada. Impossible Conversations” da poco conclusa al Metropolitan di New York. [3] Senza volerlo le due mostre sono collegate fra loro da un fil rouge semantico e culturale, nell’esplicitare il trionfo del gusto citazionista/revisionista e nel sottolineare che il tempo e la storia procedono sempre di più secondo uno sviluppo circolare e non sequenziale, con continue deviazioni di percorso e di scarti cronologici, che ci proiettano all’interno di una trama spazio/tempo “reticolare”, immagine stessa della complessità contemporanea. [4]

Il postmodernismo nell’esibizione londinese viene presentato come un movimento di reazione e di opposizione all’ortodossia del razionalismo modernista fondato sul perpetuo rinnovarsi dei linguaggi, assumendo una presa di posizione epocale contro il purismo del “moderno”, percepito come totalitario ed univoco. La produzione artistica postmoderna vi appare più come ‘campo’ consapevolmente aperto a interferenze culturali che come uno stile preciso, fenomeno spiazzante basato sulla molteplicità stilistica, che riscopre la valenza liberatoria di pratiche precedentemente condannate quali l’eclettismo e il revival,  sia nella sua fase più “storica” (dagli anni 70 agli ’80) che nel sua fase di dilatazione temporale che giunge fino all’oggi.[5]

Leggi tutto il testo Vintage Ergo Sum [.pdf].

Aurora Fiorentini

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[1] C. Meo, Vintage Marketing. Effetto nostalgia e passato remoto come nuove tecniche commerciali, Milano, Il Sole 24 Ore  2010; cfr. S. Brown, Post Modern Marketing, New York, Routledge 1995

[2] C. Meo, Vintage Marketing, cit. pag. 23

[3] G. Adamson, J. Pavitt, Postmodernism. Style and Subversion, 1970-1990, London, V&A Publishing  2011; A. Bolton, H. Koda, Schiaparelli & Prada. Impossible Conversations, New York,  Yale University Press 2012

[4] A. Giannone, P. Calefato, Manuale di comunicazione, sociologia e cultura della moda, Volume V. Performance, Roma, Meltemi 2007, pag. 114

[5] G. Fabris, “Modernita addio? La genesi del nuovo consumatore”, in Il Nuovo consumatore: verso il postmoderno, Milano, Franco Angeli 2003, pag.13

VISIONICA

Posted on April 24 in EVENTS by costanza_v

During the event Fuori Salone 2013, the media library of Santa Teresa in Milan hosted the most interesting lab of Milan Design Week, presented by VisionLab – Triennale Milano, curated by Alberto Pizzati Caiani.

The theme was “the ability to see what is not visible, but is there …”.
VISIONICA aims to “uncover different places and visionary senses in otherwise unexplored scenarios” involving the public in new sensory experiences, experimenting participation and reactions to image, sound and technology proposed by artists and scientists who work with their facilities, ensuring high levels of engagement and interaction.

One of the most interesting projects for the contest was definitely Brainwave – a Torrevado project by Roberto Dal Bosco. The Meditative Video Device (DVM) is an innovative installation designed to conduct people into a state of total relaxation and contemplation. The DVM reveals the state of mind of the viewer, training them to control it in order to achieve peace and relaxation. The DVM is based on non-invasive technology and is immediate, acting as a simple “game” where the joystick function is replaced by brain waves.

Federico Poletti

MAURER & MELNIKOV @ MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2013

Posted on April 18 in EVENTS by costanza_v

Two interestingly distant worlds trying to communicate with the Krizia exhibition space during Design Week 2013. On the one hand the work of Ingo Maurer, with its magical light creations that combine LED and synthetic materials. His new designs: Candle in the Wind, presented as an LED chandelier and table lamp; Zak Zarak, an articulate LED table lamp composed of magnets, plastic and aluminum; Biotope, a one-off installation where nature meets illumination and acoustics, and a new exploration of the OLED technology.

On the other hand, the exhibition is dedicated to the preservation of the architectural heritage left by the great Russian avant-garde architect Konstantin Melnikov, in order to generate interest in his work, not only among young architects and designers, but also for the wider creative community . The exhibition presents the buildings built by Melnikov in Moscow in the years 1924-1936, among which there is also his home. The exhibition presents contemporary photographs of the buildings, but also original Melninkov sketches and drawings. Part of the exhibition is dedicated to the works of the participants in the architectural competition “Avangard”, a project for a new type of stop station of urban transport in Moscow, scheduled for introduction in the near future on the major arteries of the city.

Federico Poletti