Contemporary Art & Cultural Interactivity: 2009-01

24 January 2009

Vivienne Westwood ：A Life in Fashion Exhibition

Vivienne Westwood

A Life in Fashion Exhibition

I went to Vivienne Westwood A Life in Fashion Exhibition this 10 Jan 2009. It was held in Artis Tree, 3/F, Cornwall House, TaiKoo Place. This exhibition was really very great and I like it so much!

“Destroy T-shirt”

The T-shirt on the left hand side is called “Destroy” muslin. It is formed from 2 squares of fabric with elongated, straitjacket-like sleeves and with back D-rings. Vivian Westwood and Malcolm McLaren used highly charged slogans and provocative images in a deliberate attempt to provoke the establishment.

Westwood’s obsession with exaggeration and distortion has resulted in some challenging designs. She thought fashion for her was like walking a tightrope.

For the pair of platform shoes, the design is so fashionable. These platform shoes were made with bright blue leather and ribbon. It contains aesthetic value and catches the audiences’ eyes so much. They were acquired by the V&A and have become one of its most popular exhibits.

For the above Café Society collection, she created a number of evening dresses, which are too vast to be shown on a normal catwalk. This dress from Dressed to Scale, A/W 1998, is made in silk taffeta, tulle and raffia. She believes we would have a much better life if we wear impressive clothes.

15 January 2009

Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm

Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm

Miao Xiaochun: Microcosm is an exhibition which shows some multimedia works of Beijing-based Miao Xiaochun. I went there on 10 Jan with my MA classmates. It was my first trip in the Contemporary Art & Cultural Interactivity Class. It was a good chance for me to broaden my horizons and know more about contemporary art.

Microcosm, the centre piece in the exhibition, is the interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch’s 15th century masterpiece, the Garden of Earthly Delights. Also, there are some other series such as line and ink prints, graphite drawings and embroidered silk. Miao used computer to make the 3D modelling. He used lines to depict the contours of an object’s fundamental shape. This shows the beauty of its form.