For a short time in July, 6-29th, the V&A displayed a small exhibition titled 'Britain Creates 2012: Fashion + Ar Collusion'; commissioned as part of the London 2012 Festival. It featured nine parings of fashion designers and visual artists who each created a collaborative piece of work. It was 'an opportunity to acknowledge and promote the long-lasting relationship between fashion and art'. Each collaboration strived to merge the creative heads of the artist/designer...becoming dartists! A piece that particularly stood out was the only wearable piece in the exhibition, by Giles Deacon and Jeremy Deller. Deacon is known for his playful approach to clothing, whilst Deller is a video and installation artist who is concerned with taking his work beyond the gallery walls into everyday life. The pair were united by the idea of 'art for all', a principle promoted by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The print design that covered the full-body running suit and flowing train was resultantly inspired by a William Morris stained glass window. I think Deacon and Deller's piece has successfully connected a variety of disciplines. It has progressed from a delicate and dynamic piece of craft-work to a digitally manipulated image through to a strikingly dynamic piece of clothing. The mixing and merging of mediums was a significant principle in the postmodern movement 1970 to 1990. However, this aesthetic is still very much visible in current creative expressions; exemplified by this exhibition. Postmodernism offered an explosive reaction to the modernist ideals in art and design represented by groups such as the Bauhaus. However, the Bauhaus movement also sought to blur the line between disciplines, and created a united workshop environment that is seen in creative education today.
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| Stained glass window of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot, by William Morris |
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| Giles Deacon + Jeremy Deller 'Untitled' 2012 Deller described the final piece as an 'Arts and Crafts suit of armour for an athlete'. The artists subsequently planned to incorporate their design in this summer's olympics by printing it on marathon blankets and other items to be handed out to runners and spectators. This effectively expands on the artists original intentions of creating art for all! |
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| Left to Right: Giles Deacon and Jeremy Deller |
Another piece that caught my attention was a large, textured inkjet print by Matthew Williamson and Matt Collishaw. Williamson is a British fashion designer whose signature aesthetic is defined by bright and intricately detailed pieces. Collishaw is a London based artist who uses photography and film to explore ideas of illusion and desire, questioning the notion of everyday conventions. The collaborative piece has used one of Collishaw's butterfly artworks as the basis. His large prints have been created by crushing the wings and body part of a dead butterfly between the glass plates of a 35mm slide. The crumbling result is then scanned and moved around on photoshop. The art critic Ben Lewis described them as C19th science meets C21st technology. Williamson reacted to the print by highlighting the iridescent scales and recreating the crumbling texture of the crushed butterfly. He used a bright and delicate arrangement of sequins and stones to create areas of varying relief. The overall piece, made a striking impact in the exhibition, which measured over 2 metres in width. The adorned butterfly lured you in to analyse its abstract beauty...the beauty of death.
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| Matthew Williamson + Mat Collishaw 'Lepiszoulo' 2012 |
Close up of 'Lepiszoulo'
showing the Williamson's sequined relief (approx 1.5cm) applied to Collishaw's butterfly inkjet print
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