Future me, you tell me.

Austin Holdsworth shows a vulnerability and self-consciousness of achievement with his clock design that when you type in your birth date, prints all the people that achieved a significant moment at your current age, demonstrating that “somebody has done something amazing at any age” (Holdsworth, 2022). Employability is often accredited to industry experience and longevity of job specifications. Having built up a business teaching clothes making and pattern cutting, freelance pattern cutting work and bespoke bridal design, there is still a feeling of not having relevant experience of the Fashion Industry.. Yet as someone who has fitted garments to every shape,curvature and angle of the female form this gives an in-depth knowledge and experience and technical adjustments needed to achieve a perfect fit.

Holdsworth’s ‘Toaster Project’ shows the vernacular and mechanical synthesis of hand building an everyday product of low cost to demonstrate an in depth knowledge of making that has been lost to the multiplicity of commercial design. On questioning the origins of his ideas, he states with the love of the polarities of the inquisitive concepts of Philosophy and the practical constructs of Engineering he aims to fill the spaces of contemporary speculative design. The apparel industries equivalent is the global phenomena of fast fashion in contrast to the concept and vision of Haute Couture.

The combination of artistry, expression, and concept in conjunction with the technical crafting of pattern and cloth of my practice, would help to blend a gap between applied and fine art of fashion. Is there a ‘space’ to be filled by forming a transcategory of ModeArte? A vision of a model of nurturing creativity – give the space to designers or artists to push their practice without the hinderance and pressure of commerce and targets.

Over 100 years ago the Constructivist artist Vivara Stepanova, had hope that the concept of “non-objective creativity is just the dawning of a great new epoch” (Levrentiev, 1988). If Stepanova was alive now, what would she do? What medium would she choose to apply in contemporary practices? Is there scope to speculatively create an algorithm to analyse the artwork of visionaries of the past and manifest their creative output in the current syncopation of art, design, and technology? In the vision of non-objective creativity, Vivara states modernism represents “a new beauty, a beauty of disruption, a beauty born of paintings liberation from centuries of the accursed subject matter” (Levrentiev, 1988).

Originally, I thought I would develop the expression through print, but this is circulating back to what is safe and known, an easy way to portray the sketchy style. The internal craft of structure of the Jacture toile shows the multi – layered seams have an interesting effect that is more communicative of the gestures of drawing than the outside of the jacket and am inspired to explored this technique of expression further. Despite the frustration of the toile not being a satisfactory rendition of the theme – this gives me the push liberate the practice from the accursed rules of the technical and use the drawing to create something new in the discipline of ModeArte? The work of Rei Kawakubo embraces this notion, often in an extreme manner, where the body encapsulated becomes irrelevant and could easily be upheld in the santity of the white walled gallery.

A critical evaluation of the status quo is required, do we need a ‘collar’, ‘sleeve’, or ‘pocket’? What is clothing, what is art?

Expression, protection, warmth, looking, pleasure, sensation, creativity, communication.

The infill of key concepts of the Creative Studio module of this taught masters degree,isn’t about the completion of a finished article but the speculative immersion of ideas, tangential inquiry and reflection on practice. In this transitionary phase of academia between undergrad into postgrad research. We are not necessarily taught our subject specific discipline but encouraged to retrieve information from the environment of available resources, seeking confirmation of our learned instinctual knowledge to establish independent inquisition of practice. This Master’s degree is my studio, an opportunity, not to reach a finite goal of potential, but gain knowledge of Contemporary Practices. and push the continued momentum of a discipline.

We may not have the scope to realise all our ideas, but the key is the concept. The journey through the creative studio module has led us to questioning of the content. So when the institution delivering the program is asked ‘what are we doing?’

The answer is – ‘You tell me’.

Images

1. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022) Jacture Front [Satin and backing fabrics]
2. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022) Jacture Back [Satin and backing fabrics]
3. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022) Jacture Detail [Satin and backing fabrics]
4. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022) Jacture Internal [Satin and backing fabrics]
5. Kawakubo, R. (2015) Blood and Roses, S/S 2015 [Dress]. In Bolton, A. (2017). Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garcons; The Art of The Inbetween (p.165). The Metropolitan Museum of Art
6. Kawakubo, R. (1997) Body Meets Dress – Dress Meets Body, S/S 1997 In Bolton, A. (2017). Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garcons; The Art of The Inbetween (p.137). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
7. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022) Silhouette Composition [Digital manipulation of pencil on paper]

References

Levrentiev, A. (1988). Vavara Stepanova; A Constructivist Life. Thames & Hudson.

For our subject specific practice, we were given the option to sit in on a tailoring module for pattern cutting and construction, having previous experience of drafting tailored garments I was more interested in the complex infrastructure, canvasses, pad stitching, tapes, shoulder pads, sleeve head rolls and interlinings. Looking at a box of shaping structures of shoulder pads and sleeve head rolls was fascinating, consisting of layers of canvas and padding, muslin, and horsehair they had a sculptural quality of their own merit.

My  interest is to create a jacket, a sleeve, a cover for the rest of my work. The workshop to design a book cover assimilated these concepts. An interesting exercise in terms of thinking of how to encapsulate our research, what single image would ‘make the invisible visible’ (patrick, 2022). Despite not having the time to complete the task, taking the concept of how to present the work was useful. Relating tailoring to my project as a self-portrait – not only a visual reference to drawings and photographs of myself but also a synopsis of my creativity – expression, skill, craft, a merging of the artistic and technical. A jacket cover to the rest of the more specific and intimate gestures of focused core strength of corsetry, movement, and body consciousness.

I took several of my drawings, selecting the area of the body to create the seam lines of a jacket. I began drafting the lines from a flat pattern but concluded it would save time to model such a design that doesn’t follow the conventional rectilinear geometry of flat pattern construction.

During our workshops with Debbie Moorhouse, we began to model on the stand – a way of drafting a pattern directly onto a mannequin to create an accurate close fit. Having previously modelled straight cut and bias blocks on a conventional stand I decided to use the lingerie mannequin to get an even more ergonomic shaping. We went on to model the  the iconic Christian Dior ‘Bar’ jacket of the New Look, a post-war revolution of ostentatiousness, setting the scene to play out fashions ’Golden Era of the 1950’s.

Closely studying images of the garment, we built the shaping with wadding for the nipped in waist and exaggerated hip line, and placed drafting tape marking out the seamlines. One of the skills of a pattern cutter is to be able to assess, scale and cut from an image, the type of fabrics and the direction of the cut. This can only be gained through knowledge and understanding of experience. This exercise gave me a deeper insight and satisfaction into shaping cloth around the body, particularly when modelling a two-piece sleeve from a drafted one-piece block, each nuance of pinch and slash naturally forming the pre- determined shapes found in the rules of flat pattern drafting.

As the Creative Directors at Christian Dior change, each one creates their own version of this iconic look, I decided this would be my version. Common practice in the fashion industry is to make up a half body toile and sample to save time and material costs. Adhering to this, I have thought about how this could be shown as a piece, could it free stand alone as a sculpture? Can I show the internal structure? Would it be possible for the internal structure to make up the other half of the garment?

After having used the chrome mannequins at the University for the photo shoot I have previously thought of marking out the expressive style found in the drawings on the mannequins. Seeing the displays of many exhibitions of designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Balenciaga and Christian Dior, and having viewed the video of the Alexander McQueen, Savage Beauty exhibition, the mannequins were quite conventional. Particularly in comparison to McQueen’s holistic soul bearing visions that he manifested, from make up to hair, accessories to the stance of the model, the looks were never just ‘an outfit’. Why was the body to display not taken into more consideration?

How would I display my work? I feel a striking look could be achieved with an open wired mannequin in the sketchy linear style of my drawings.

Looking at fabric choices and thinking of sustainability, I have selected from my large supply of saved fabrics and surplus remnants patiently waiting for a use, deciding to not buy anything new and engage in creativity working around our limitations. I had a supply of duchesse satin pieces used to show customers bridal colour palettes which weren’t large enough for the unusual pattern shapes but were pieced together to use for the toile.

The main fabrics that would be used for a finished piece would be a fine wool suiting, a checked semi-sheer cotton seersucker, printed interior fabrics and remnants of crinkle cotton and a silk and metal organza. The cotton seersucker will be too fine to use on its own so will need backing but rather than using a conventional interfacing or interlining, the printed cottons would be used. Sourced from colour palette furnishing sample books, the prints would emphasise transparency and add a subtle infusion of sketchy coloured lines.

‘Jacture’ (jacket/sculpture) would need some internal structure shaping, particularly around the extended pocket area leading to an inspection of the canvas and interlining supplies at Dugdale’s Textile Merchants in Huddersfield. I would also like to test some of these to see if they dye well, as I may wish to make a feature of some of the sculptural infrastructure.

The ‘working drawing’ is the most essential data for a pattern cutter, giving scale, proportion, and accuracy without the need for a written language of instruction. Following this diagram the pattern was cut along the seamlines carefully judged to cross key curves and hollows which is essential for effective pattern making. I cut and traced a complex notch coded pattern, meticulously checking, and calculating its construction with functioning pockets, revers and pleats.

Making up the toile, notch matched notch and the pieces molded to the more defined shape of the lingerie dummy. Cutting on the bias worked well to cling to the torso, the interfacing backing of the fabric kept the form, better than expected.

But the toile sewing together so well, leads me to feel this isn’t pushing my skills enough. Calculating how the pattern is fixed together, required instinct and the ability to transform 2D to 3D. The result, satisfying as the construction and perfect fit has been, is too safe, slightly reserved. Is this apprehension on my part? I feel my previous efforts in the Professional Practice Module were more satisfactory in creating something new. This type of pattern cutting is such a close ergonomic formation of seamlines, that it would be more relevant to the corsetry and body consciousness pieces.

How do I break this sculpted but safe mold? The interpretation is too literal. To go from the free expressive drawings to such a technical assemblage of design is not the concept of my study. The drawings are my observations and the body my canvas. The technical drawings to copy are creating a formalised architecture sticking to rules and hierarchically imposed regulations when I wish to apply the Gaudi principles of organic creation to make a Sagrada Familia in Fashion.

The pattern pieces themselves were inspiring shapes, a complete divergence from the usual jacket pattern geometry and have the potential to be reworked as garments themselves or to use as aesthetic digitally manipulated props to back the research into process.

Looking into the work of Rei Kawakubo, the simplicity of some of the fashion sketches directed me to my more expressive drawings of movement, particularly those of a simplistic line. Is it the ‘designing’ that is restricting my interpretation – producing technical working drawings to then try and make an Avant Garde piece of work? Too much literal interpretation of line into technique is holding me back.

Save the technical for the construction of the pattern. Disseminate the images to pivot around the core, experiment with overlaying and separation of the sketchy quality of line and draw directly onto the mannequin with fabric to shape and cut new concepts.

Images

1. Six shaping shoulderpads and sleeve head rolls.
2. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Five Close-ups of sketches. [Pencil or pen on paper].
3. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Jacture Working Drawing – Front. [Pen on paper].
4. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Jacture Working Drawing – Back. [Pen on paper].
5. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Book cover ideas. [Pen and pencil on paper].
6. Dior, C. (1947). Bar Ensemble [Haute Couture Spring/Summer]. In Cullen, O. & Karol Burks, C. (2019). Christian Dior (p.25). V&A Publications.
7. Ferre, G. (1991). Forcement Dress [Haute Couture, Spring/summer, Christian Dior]. In Cullen, O. & Karol Burks, C. (2019). Christian Dior (p.29). V&A Publications.
8. Galliano, J. (2009). Look 17 ensemble [Haute Couture, Spring/Summer, Christian Dior]. In Cullen, O. & Karol Burks, C. (2019). Christian Dior (p.31). V&A Publications.
9. Grazia Chiuri, M. (2017). Look 43 ensemble [Ready to Wear, Spring/summer, Christian Dior]. In Cullen, O. & Karol Burks, C. (2019). Christian Dior (p.32). V&A Publications.
10. Six stages of modelling on the stand, building shape, denoting seam lines, overlaying fabric to create pattern pieces.
11. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Jacture Toile, Front. [Calico and modelluing tape].
12. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Jacture Toile, Side. [Calico and modelluing tape].
13. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Jacture Toile, Back. [Calico and modelluing tape].
14. Five photographs of the ‘Jacture’ pattern pieces.
15. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Mannequin design 1 [Pencil on paper].
16. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Mannequin design 2 [Pencil on paper].
17. Three photographs of fabric choices available from, saved collection, remnant samples and purchased ‘Deadstock’ fabrics.
18. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Jacture Coded Working Drawings. [Pen on paper]. .
19. Three pattern pieces window mounted to show unusual shaping.
20. Slashing and fanning of pattern pieces with shaped inserts, inspired by shapes from drawings, shown when window mounting.
21. Two photo’s of window mounted pattern pieces.
22. Sivinska McCartan (2022) Sectional Composition for Jacture design. [Digital Manipulations of pen and pencil drawings on Paper].
23. Kawakubo, R. (2014). Drawing of MONSTER A/W 2014 [Drawing]. In Bolton, A. (2017). Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garcons; The Art of The Inbetween (p.165). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
24. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Cobra. [Image on Drawing tablet].
25. Kawakubo, R. (1987). White shirt + pants, Khaki, Lili Maneen, A/W 1987/88 [Jacket]. In Bolton, A. (2017). Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garcons; The Art of The Inbetween (p.113). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Kawakubo, R. (2015).
26. Kawakubo, R. (2004) Abstract Excellence, S/S, 2004) in Bolton, A. (2017). Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garcons; The Art of The Inbetween (p.61). The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Claire Barber, Senior Lecturer in Textiles, talks of the breadth of her career as a site-specific artist. Her practice has traversed the globe via her residencies in several continents. The research consists of living in the space, absorbing the sounds and feelings surrounding her, observations in the varying times of day,  in order to make an artistic response. A solitary and sensorial form of inquiry that is also combined with the learn-ed academic research into the local, social, political, and economic history of the place she inhabits. Rather than simply following whims of the latest random ruminations, this process shows dedication and commitment giving a richness, depth, and integrity in Contemporary Art Practice.

Claires’ focus on craft as an expanded field, is demonstrated in the project One to twenty, The Glovemaking Factory by making an artistic response to the once elite manufacture of fine ladies’ leather gloves to the post-industrial shift of survival of re-purposing niche skill to make gloves for firefighters – grasping the unique selling point of a firefighters need for dexterous manipulation.

Not only does the work Claire produce a social engagement with an otherwise overlooked local industry, it also raises the issue of the value of a craft.. From concept to skill, her dedication to in-depth research covers all the bases, demonstrating the value of the craft of creativity.

Is the notion of craft being lost to the digital pace of design and manufacturing?

The pressures of needing to meet targets, deadlines and  be submissive to the markets of the masses of industry, is perhaps diluting the origins of our love of fashion. The fashioning of cloth around the body by hand, understanding the principles of cut and construction to the nuances of shape, calculated to the millimetre, does not come from the Fordist production line of the unrecognised skills on the repetitious factory floor. Not only does the facilitation of this craft understand shape and structure but also how the cloth and body move in synchronization to conceptualize the feel of the piece being sculpted on the skin of the 3d gallery of the human form. This understanding comes from longevity and breadth of experience and often a purity of inherent knowing. In this there is great value.

John Galliano’s craft of creativity is demonstrated in a film that reveals the co-working intricacies at Maison Margiella for the Artisanal Couture Collection Autumn/Winter 2020. The eclecticism of his vision, like Claire’s practice, evolves from living a life as a creative. The designers research into the cultural social phenomena of ‘The Blitz Kids’ of the 1980’s and the visual beauty of sculpted wet shrouds of religious statues, dispels the prior reputation of Maison Margiells’s extremes of jarring conceptual un-aesthetics. Galliano defines the convergence between the fine and applied arts to collaborate with artists and filmmakers to print, photograph and film the pieces – creating works of art in the trans-configuration of mesmerizing talents evidenced in this film.

Describing the purpose of couture collections as ‘to show what we are capable of’ (Galliano, 2021), the statement has me speculating as to whether an artist such as Olafur Elliasson would have to justify his practice in such a way? Is there still a social hierarchical domination of the ‘Fine Art’ placed at the top of the pyramid of the Creative Industries?

The richness of the research into history, culture and craft is not to apply mimesis but to create something new and has inspired me to take on the multiplicity of creative thought. Contemplating reason at the point of decision-making, confirmed my choice of the jeweled indigo colour palette representing faceted value of the body and creativity alongside the value of the natural materials used as renewable resources of cloth to create an ethical ostentatiousness. The silhouettes of the Final Major Project – a corseted piece to denote the strength of the core and the awareness of somaesthetics. A clinging body conscious piece to celebrate the beauty of the tonal nuances shape of the female form. A looser more fluid piece to represent the kinesthetic meditative flow of movement. And a jacket cover to encapsulate the concept of the collection.

Aspects of display have also been considered by familiarising myself with the photography studio, and designing the website to help craft an artistic persona. I would like to collaborate with someone to contemplate a visual theme, work on the documentative content and produce a short performance video with an emotive soundscape to convey the expression of the pieces.

Images

1. Barber, C. One to twenty, The Glovemaking Factory [Art Installation]. axisweb. One to Twenty – The Glove Making Factory, Yeovil | Claire Barber | Axisweb: Contemporary Art UK Network https://2fwww.axisweb.org/p/clairebarber/workset/241098-one-to-twenty-the-glove-making-factory-yeovil/
2. Galliano, J Maison Margiels. (2020, July 17). Stills from video, Maison Margiela Artisanal Co-Ed Collection Autumn-Winter 2020 | S.W.A.L.K. [Video]. Maison Margiela. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCnbjRlICSQ

Dale Holmes, Lecturer in Fine Art, uses the exhaustion of riding his ‘bicycle’ studio at extreme length, as performance, to produce, postscript, written ramblings of self-induced psychosis – an attempt to portray vulnerability of endurance through experience. This experimental work is synonymous with the automatic writing of the DADA movement, the stream of consciousness iterated in the book ‘On the Road’ by Jack Kerouac, or Hunter S. Thomson’s diary of narcotic toxic psychedelia veiled as journalism in ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’.  But his work is obscure if not obtuse, without the retrospective wordy academic justification of practice. To have the opportunity to indulge on the whims of the ‘light bulb’ moments of tangential enquiry raises the question – is this an artistic practice or a hierarchical entitlement of Male Artistic Privilege?

In this age of hyper digital manifestation of artwork through technology and media, the digital necessity to upload, may frustratingly detract from the essence of creativity – to make. Dale Holmes continues in his materiality of analogue practice. On his residency in a tennis club studio space, he paints the daily visual absorptions of experience of physical activity, and adrenaline-fueled competitive jeopardy, the potential injury being the aesthetic impetus. The sensorial daubing of cartoonic pain onto larger than the life canvases, complete with drips and smudges, grace the walls of the exhibition for the culmination of the residency.

Is it the privilege of creative indulgence of context that means he can present these works and others, such as his commentary on merged nostalgic sports branding, a printed sweatshirt – as a piece of art? Or is it simply strength of purpose to follow the mind’s flow of eclectic tangents through no fixed media, infused with humour and justified with intellect?

Yet to have such a creative indulgence, is at the core of the A-Z project of Andrea Zittel. A creative hub where artists and students can stay, at no cost, in the buildings or pods that Zittel designed herself, to unplug the demands and intrusions of daily life. To a point where the habitants wear a uniform, removing the decision-making process of self-expression through clothing. Making a point of art practice being a ‘discipline’, focus is key – requiring a work ethic to research and absorb the inspiration surrounding us, to live creativity as your life.

The transdisciplinary models of creativity of the early modernist era embraced egality across disciplines. The surrealists collaborated with designers such as Elsa Schiaparelli to embrace instinct and sensorial autonomy (Wilcox, 2001). The Russian constructivists rejected the ‘emotional and spiritual’ of conventional artistic practice as too subjective and embraced the design and industry of manufacture to ‘construct’ their artwork (Da Hyung, 2022). This merging of practices creates a richness of creativity embodied by this era. As a creative pattern cutter, I wish to merge the sensorial and constructivist principles, with an egalitarian approach to both ideologies. Fashion itself is transdisciplinary, involving concept, design, pattern-cutting, textiles, production, photography, marketing, graphics, interiors, and theatre, works as much as, a well-functioning creative device as the Olafur Eliasson studio, but not given the pedestal status of hierarchy in the world of Fine Art.

My piece from 2002 ‘This shirt is not a shirt’ was based around the surrealist displaced context of Duchamp’s ‘The Ready-Mades’ exemplified by The Fountain a urinal turned on its side and placed in a gallery, now found to have been created by Baroness Elsa Von Freytag (Hustvedt, 2019). The simplicity of a shirt was extended, distorted, repeated and subverted with alternative materials. But the creativity cannot cease with the finished garment. As a creative pattern cutter, the concept cannot simply remain in the clothing on the body. To effectively display the garment, a visual justification through evocative presentation is necessary to conjugate the work and concept.

I decided to utilise facilities to document this garment and familiarise myself with the process in preparation for future sessions. Influenced by the atmospheric photography of Cecil Beaton, viewed at the exhibition at the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield, 2021. The background, accentuated with lighting, props and setting is as much a part of the composition as the subject being photographed.

To frame the work to be photographed, Initially I wished to use projected photographs as studio back-drops, a collection of accidental abstractions – random aesthetic shots taken with the ‘off’ button of smartphone. Unfortunately, the limitations within the studio meant couldn’t project images large enough to use for the backdrop. Looking at Beaton’s use of shadow and light, colour contrasts and compositional framing, I improvised with studio lights and mannequins to create the atmosphere I desired. The twisted and dismembered ‘human but not human’ limbs of the chrome and gloss white mannequins were used to frame the surrealist reference. Pleased with the effects of the shoot and with limited resources and technology I had available, this shoot emphasizes the need for vision and resourcefulness and to take on the transdisciplinary practice to effectively convey meaning and metaphor of the end-product.

Images

1. Zittel.org. (2022). Homepage [Website]. Z | Projects (zittel.org).
2. Sivinska McCartan , C. (2002). ‘Readymades’ Moodboards. [Photographs and transparencies]. Beatson, C. (1936). Homage to Dali: Shiparellui’s suits with ‘Bureau Drawer’ [Photograph]. In Ross, J. (1986). Beatson in Vogue (p.168). Thames & Hudson
3. Beatson, C. (1941) Black tulle dotted dresswith sequins Molyneaux [Photograph]. In Ross, J. (1986). Beatson in Vogue (p.171). Thames & Hudson.
4. Beatson, C. (1929). Alfred Lunt and his wife Lyn Fontanne [Photograph]. In Ross, J. (1986). Beatson in Vogue (p.193). Thames & Hudson.
5. Beatson, C. (1936). Black silk jersey, intricately draped, by Alix [Photograph]. In Ross, J. (1986). Beatson in Vogue (p.168). Thames & Hudson Beatson, C. (1941).
6. Beatson, C. (1931). Margot Askwith, Countess of Oxford [Photograph]. In Ross, J. (1986). Beatson in Vogue (p.168). Thames & Hudson Beatson, C. (1941).
7. Sivinska McCartan , C. (2021-2022). 9 random Shots. [Photographs ].
8. Sivinska McCartan , C. (2022). 8 Chrome Poses. [Photographs ].

References

Da Hyung Jeong, (2022) Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Vavara Stepanova. MoMA. https://www.moma.org/artists/5643#works

The Institute of Investigative Living. (2022). Projects. artnet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/andrea-zittel-a-z-west-2205355

Ruiz, C. (2022). Andrea Zittel Is Seeking a New Director for A-Z West, the Desert Compound She Has Run for More than 20 Years. artnet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/andrea-zittel-a-z-west-2205355

Wilcox, C. (2001). Radical Fashion. V&A Publications

The range of life-drawing sessions I have attended varies, between online specific themes of performance art with constant movement, dancers from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and classical Indian dance shaping to conventional in-person guided studies at the Millenium Gallery, Sheffield.

Although the artwork produced was useful to develop an expressive gestural style, props and themes set by hosts were distractingly incongruous to the concept I wish to encapsulate; the somaesthetics of core strength, the sensation of stretch, extended lines of the female form and meditative self-awareness developed through yoga practice. Inevitably setting up my own sessions was a way to dictate the length and shaping of the poses to emphasize the concept.

Led by dance tutor and choreographer, Charlotte Potts, previously a student of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, I collaborated to produce a recorded session merging the yoga flow and contemporary dance. I performed the routine myself to create a movement piece from which to draw.

I also arranged three group sittings at my studio with previously drawn life-model Jenny. With a PowerPoint yoga poses as stanceinspiration for the model.  As host, having to combine the responsibility of timing and direction felt more pressured to produce a good session, detracted from the focus on observation – a total contrast to the anonymity of online or gallery sessions.

To tackle this dilemma, responsibility of timing was given to the model for the shorter poses. And subsequently a series of poses were timed in conjunction with the Art Sounds playlist, a technique deployed by Matisse during his ‘cut-outs’ sessions (Buchberg, 2014). As ‘music carries with it a feeling’, this altered the dynamic of expression to a more relaxed frame of mind; enabling a more atmospheric approach converging with free-flowing gesture in relation to the style of the music being played.

The longer poses of the in-person sessions give more time for visual absorption, each view a new frame to discern the nuances of tonal hollows and mounts of the female form, but the drawings often become over layered and complex. Multiple drawings of the same pose help maintain the free expression and retains the intense observation. With equal merit, the rapid seizure of line taken from movement-based pieces, abandons the constraints of mark-making accuracy, subconscious instinctual gesture searching into the fluid connection between the optical and the tactile.

Looking into drawing of varying concepts, of the body, gesture and abstract, noting that there was a severe lack of publications in the library of female artists whose practice uses drawing as a primary source of creativity, despite having seen extensive array of sketches and delicate abstractions of line of the work of Bridget Riley Hayward Gallery Exhibition. Work by Paul Klee and Vivara Stepanova, developed geometrical mechanical interpretations of the female form, the Stepanova piece having a great sense of movement and vivacity.

A variety of mark making enhances the work as a piece itself rather than just an expressive observation; gestural drawing with paint, combining different media between a sketchy style, pastels pen, and digital manipulations. Despite having tried different drawing materials: charcoal, pastel and pen I still enjoy the pencil but feel the need to progress in the expressive dimension of my practice.

During feedback it was suggested to investigate recording movement with Motion Capture based in the Barbara Hepworth building at the University. Discussing this system with technician Stephen Calcutt, my concern with using this technology, is that it removes the instinct and intuition element of drawing by hand. As I previously explored drawing the faster pace of dance, if capturing the movement becomes too abstract it loses its frame of reference, the preference is to retain an essence of the female form in the images produced.

52 digital tracking ‘spots’ attach to the subject, wearing a skin suit, and may be positioned anywhere on the body. In this sense, to retain the intuitive expression perhaps the ‘spots’ can be used to emphasise specific areas of the body – the line of the arm or leg, the shapes made by fingertips, the edge of the jaw, follow the contours of the core strength of the torso – ‘drawing’ the areas of focus with the tracking spots. This may be worth exploring to push the boundaries of the determination to retain the instinctual. As stated by Lucy Gunning, in the book What is Drawing?

“How recording something with a pencil or a camera isn’t so much a way of capturing an existing thing as creating a new one.” (Kingston, 2002, p. 77.)

With time restrictions this is something to be explored in future studies, as I found with photography, there is a limited range of sensory articulation, how do we retain the intuition and the sensorial drawing through technology?

Using drawing tablets would gain a digital format for drawing, exploring software manipulations and use of layers to fragment the linear planes, the separations of drawing. This is physically achieved in this installation piece by Diane Cooper. Digital manipulation and layers of imagery give the photography of Hannah Starkey a richness of colour and depth of light that at first glance in the current exhibition at the Hepworth Gallery, appear to be paintings an essence that is lost when viewed in a book or online.

This separation and layering approach would be an interesting development, disseminating the linear expressions, alterations of scale, and layers of abstraction.

Looking through my source sketch books, with examples of the brightly coloured semi abstract paintings of Maggir Robinson my own graphics work and prints from previous studies that perhaps my medium of choice could be print. To use the drawings just to denote the seam lines of the garments may appear as flat blocks of colour. Adding placement printing of close ups of the sketchy quality of the drawings to give depth and visual texture of to the pieces.

After meeting with Technician Peter, we discussed remezol dyes that bond with the fibres of the cloth, devore satin and velvet, and discharge printing that removes colour from the fabric to replace it with another, often leaving a halo effect, would it be possible to use a metallic print and make a feature of the halo?

Looking at colours, I have wished to use faceted .jewel tones to represent the value of the body, the preciousness of creativity and sustainable worth of using quality natural fibres. The primary colour range of ruby, sapphire, emerald, jet, silver, and gold has felt troubling and garish.  The richness of the indigo dyed samples samples and the black of the Remazol dyes having a blue/black hue, has cemented my colour choice from black through a precious palette of shades of blue.

Images

1. 1. Drawing session from recorded performance.
   2. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Side Stretch. [pencil on paper].
   3. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Cobra. [drawn image on drawing tablet].
   4. Powerpoint slide for pose inspiration, Images taken from Asana Rebel. (2022). yoga Images [screenshot]. https://asanarebel.com/en/
   5. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Flow Kneel. [pencil on paper].
   6. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Flow Kneel Stretch. [pencil on paper].
   7. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Flow Lunge. [pencil on paper].
   8. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Flow Lean. [pencil on paper].
   9. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Flow Forward Lean. [pencil on paper].
   10. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Seated repose studies 1, 2 & 3.. [pencil on paper].
   11. Klee, P. (1922). Dance, You Monster, To My Sweet Song [Pen and ink]. In Huggler, M. (1965). The Drawings of Paul Klee (p.21). Borden Publishing Company.
   12. Stepanova, V. (1920). Figure [Coloured ink on paper]. In Levrentiev, A. (1988). Vavara Stepanova; A Constructivist Life (p.58). Thames & Hudson.
   13. Bacon, F. (c.1959-62). Turning Figure [Pencil and oil on paper]. In De Zegher, C. (2003). The Stage of Drawing:Gesture and Act (Illustration 32). Tate Publishing.
   14. Gunning, L. (2002). Blankets [32 Photographs]. In Kingston, A. (2003). What is Drawing? Three Practices Explored: Lucy Gunning, Claude Heath, Rae Smith. (p.94). Black Dog Publishing.
   15. Cage, J. (1982). Dereau No. 33 [Intaglio print on paper]. In De Zegher, C. (2003). Stage of Drawing:Gesture and Act (Illustration144). tate Publishing .
   16. Cooper, D. (2003-2005). Swarm [Corrugated plastic, ink, acrylic, foam-core, , photos, velcro, map, pins]. In Kovats, T. (2007). The Drawing Book, a survey of drawing: the primary means of expression. (p.149). Black Dog Publishing.
   17. Starkey, H (2013). Untitled [Photograph]. artuk. https://artuk.org/discover/stories/hannah-starkey-contemplating-womanhood-through-photography
   18. Robinson, M. (date unknown) Abrstract landscape [Oil on Canvas]
   19. Sivinska McCartan, C. (2022). Weave Metallic. [Photograph].
   20. iStock. (2013). Galass background [Stock image]. iStock. https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/sapphire
   21. Fabric Collection, wools, linesn, cotton and silk.
   22. Indigo print Samples, University of Huddersfield.

References

Buchberg, K., Cullinan, N., Gross, M., Haupfman, J., Lohrengel, S., Serota, N., & , . (2014). Henri Matisse, The Cut-Outs (3rd ed.). Tate Publishing

Kingston, A. (2003). What is Drawing? Three Practices Explored: Lucy Gunning, Claude Heath, Rae Smith. Black Dog Puyblishing Ltd.

The Function of the Studio – Daniel Buren

” The studio is the unique space of production and the museum the unique space of exposition.” (Buren, 1979, p. 51.)

In the production of artwork, creative space is of utmost importance, but where is this space and how much is a work defined by where it is made or where it is seen?  The description of art studio and loft spaces in this article seems outmoded and of no reference to the present day.

By the end of the article, we realise that the question is the same, but the format drastically changed, With the onset of digital platforms, instead of the art dealer being invited to the studio we can invite the greater public to view our work, the viral ‘like’ of power becomes the filter of selection.

To harness this creativity, a ‘space’ to make is still necessary. Perhaps we carry our ‘studio’ around with us? As each artwork is unique, the process of exclusive creativity, be it conscious or subconscious, is thought.  The place where we make is just the ‘check in’ location. As David Blamey mentioned when asked about his inspiration – his creative consciousness is constantly listening for the next sound to be carried on the wave of ingenuity. (Blamey, 2022)

Having knowledge gained from previous learning and experience as a post-graduate student, it is now time to master our craft. It is becoming evident that the thought processes are the ‘place’ where work is invented. To show this mental acuity of creation we now have the facilities of instant digital access to document the richness of the physical investigative processes involved. Uploading our ‘creative brain’ with blog content, photographic documentation, manipulating the reality into a visual fiction. Content often being set to its own emotive soundscape of atmosphere, drawing parallels to the works of David Blamey – sound carries with it a feeling.

The ‘Workflow’ Brightspace presentation by Simon Poulter, shows content created by MA students in the form of video documentation and motion graphics, a form of visual communication of the process without the need for a scripted language. This embeds a richness of understanding to the research. Yet a significant factor in how we felt about the semiotic expression was the addition of the aural language. With an atmospheric soundtrack, the video takes on a different meaning, if we mentally subtract the sound, the image has less emotive impact.

Combined with my love of art and fashion, is my love of digital and analogue (non-digital) music, so the lecture by David Blamey was thought provoking. Contemplating how and where to show my work, I have previously thought of adding a soundscape, to sample the scratch of drawing with a pencil, slicing of scissor, over-layed with the hypnotic sound waves, deep resonating bass and intermittent crackle of treble beats, found on tracks on my ‘Art Sounds’ playlist (McCartan, 2022). This may be a possibility with the timely launch of the open source sampling software of ‘SampleBrain’ by Aphex Twin.

Using the read aloud function whilst reading the Buren article, the image of the Brancusi studio was orated in its binary code – a series of ones and twos, varying in repetition with the light and shade of the image. Could this function be used to ‘read aloud’ my drawing using it as part of a sound scape? A simple sampled soundscape could be made to accompany the video documentation of the work, but the focus of this study remains to manifest an indelible working style of drawing through pattern cutting.

So many ideas need extra thought, space, and time for production, as Blamey states, he has collated sounds, objects, and ideas over many years only coming to fruition when the time is right (Blamey, 2022). Wouldn’t it be nice to split ourselves into several versions of existence to process all this creativity?

Perhaps a holistic practice could be found in the cerebral studio of a PHD??

Images

1. Blamey, D. (2022). Kitchen Composition [Soundpiece]. Band Camp. https://continuous-tone.bandcamp.com/track/kitchen-composition
2. Sivinska Mccartan, C (2022). Artsounds [Playlist]. Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/track/4vvFklYoPTicMqbYUo7qyG?si=ki2HloKWQvyPdHQfY_Wozg&utm_source=native-share-menu
3. Sunkel, C. (2022). APHEX TWIN LAUNCHES FREE “SAMPLE MASHING” APP, AN IDEA DECADES IN THE MAKING [Online Article]. edm. dm.com. https://edm.com/gear-tech/aphex-twin-free-samplebrain-app

Ones and twos image

References

Buren, D., & Repensek, T. (1979). The Function of the Studio. The MIT Press, 10, 51-58.

Poulter, S. University of Huddersfield. (2020). Workflow [Recorded PowerPoint Presentaation Teams]. Arts and Humanities. Uni%20Creative%20Studio/Reading%20List/Simon_Poulter_Workflow.pdf

The description of the triptych of studio environs of the installation and site-specific artist, Olafur Eliasson, is the ‘stuff of dreams’. The transdisciplinary workspace covers all the necessary sub-sections of work important to be a contemporary practitioner. Having fellow artists, administrator’s, critics, archivists, students, technical staff, and studio creators to hand, we may enviously covet Eliasson’s environ of idyllic multi-disciplinary practice. As Alex Coles states; “the administrative structure in place bespeaks of soft power” (Coles, 2012, p.64). Believing that being situated in this dreamscape would give any artist the luxury to realise an abundance of dynamic work, may be a misconstrued wishful narrative. Is this ultimate artistic freedom and material accessibility, an intimidating blank canvas of creative pressure waiting to be filled? Such freedom may be too broad a spectrum from which to pluck your ideas and we may become lost in trying to navigate at the junction of decision making.

The economic, familial, spatial, material, skill and time constraints of our circumstantial obstacles can give rise to the exploration of problem-solving ingenuity and the ignition of resourceful enhanced creativity, pushing through barriers to a determined resolution, I have found in my practice that having the creative challenges of material and technical limitations often supersede a piece made with full aesthetic freedom and an unrestricted budget. Such as repurposing discarded clothing, using dead stock and remnants of remaining cloth, inspires such ingenuity.

This is a significant part of my practice, having a magpie’s eye for textile treasures with garments and saved remnants in a trove of materials to be utilized in the work to be produced. Namely dead stock supplies of silk, wool and linen obtained from the now passed owner of Parisienne Fabrics, listed as a fabric supplier in Vogue sewing magazine and a discarded cashmere Saville Row suit, from ready to wear Evisu. The quality of the fabrics has a direct relationship with how a person may feel in the clothing, a more precious quality of fibre gives a joy of value when worn. Also how a person feels as an artist or designer; to mold, steam and shape wool, the sheen, lustre and delicacy of handling silk, and the drape and virtuous texture of linen. Greater satisfaction is achieved with this interaction between the item and wearer/maker.

User Interaction and bodily perception of space is key in Eliasson’s installation Your Blind Passage and brings about discussions of the philosophical writings of Maurice Merlot Ponty. “Ponty casts this discussion of the Optical and the tactile in terms of the body’s relationship to objects and colour” (Coles, 2012, p69)

The concept of my study ventures to synchronise this thought with practice. To journey from the Intuition, perception and expression needed to draw from observations of the figure, to consciously projecting those linearly denoted planes on to the canvas of the body via the medium of pattern-cutting. The synchronicity can then be nurtured when considering internal and external sensations of a garment on the body in choice of materials, fit and construction.

For the last two modules, key concepts have been explored through written and practice enquiry. The research has led me to develop a working method of ‘drawing the feminine through pattern cutting’, with the origins of this practice based around life-drawing of the female form. Rather than setting a personal design brief, the practice has taken on a mode of artistic self-direction. Just as Eliasson opens a critical analysis of the work produced, one of the essential fundamentals of research has been reflection and critical discourse on mutual practices with academic staff and fellow students, often cutting away the fringes of tangential enquiry that may be tangling the focus of our practice.

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Reflecting on the principles iterated by Bruno Munari, that an artist must deploy a design conscious user interface and consider how a person will connect and interact with work (Munari, 1966). Despite the decades clocking off, and an ever-increasing uber-aestheticism in design, there is still a discrepancy between the applied and fine arts, I would like to make this a statement expressed through my work. The intention is to create pieces that have the duality of being viewed as artistic works alongside providing the function of a garment. As a fashion artist this is a constant exchange of ideas and practicality. At this stage we are in transition, just as Eliasion discusses the inclusion of a school at his studio “I often focus on where ideas come from when talking to students about their work, whereas in the studio, I mostly focus on where the ideas will go.” (Coles, 2012, p.66).

From the initial explorative experimentations of expressive drawings to technical processes of pattern -cutting, it is now time to test this practice; to make the concept a reality.

Images

1. Selection of treasured fabrics, boiled wool, woven check suitings and cotton, slub and twill silks.
2. Attention to detail of Saville Row tailoring, ‘Evisu’ Cashmere suit
3. Eliassion, O. (2010). Die blinde passenger [Art Installation]. https://olafureliasson.net/archive/artwork/WEK100196/din-blinde-passager
4. Sivinska McCartan, C (2021). Stretch [Pencil on paper]
5. Sivinska McCartan, C (2022). Half scale toile, front [Calico and cotton].
6. Sivinska McCartan, C (2022). Half scale toile, side. [Calico and cotton].
7. Sivinska McCartan, C (2022). Half scale toile, side. [Calico and cotton]

References

Coles, A. (2012). The Transdisciplinary Studio. Sternberg. http://www.sternberg-press.com/index.php?pageId=13..

Munari, B. (1966). Design as Art. Penguin Classics.