FOWLER MUSEUM: MAKING STRANGE
On campus here at UCLA, the Fowler Museum has an exhibit
called Making Strange by Vivian Sundaram, which combines a pair of distinct bodies
of work that showcases twenty-seven sculptural outfits that are made solely
from recycled material and medical supplies. These fully wearable garments are
presented on mannequins and wooden props in order to promote fashion and
couture on a unique stage.
One goal of the exhibit is to show the tension between life
and death. The use of recyclable materials symbolizes the circle of life, as
materials are reused after their expectancy in order to be reborn into a new
masterpiece. This example below titled “Pink Spider,” is made exclusively from
paper cups and glass-nylon tubing, to create a dress. These paper cups and
glass-nylon tubing have been recycled to be made into a beautiful new piece of
art, after they had been used for other purposes. This piece aims to show that
there can be life after death.
Another symbolic goal of the exhibit is to show the
connection of beauty and illness. The picture below models an outfit composed
of fluid bags and IV tubing from a hospital. Hospitals are often viewed as a
place of illness, but these materials are transformed into a beautiful outfit
that disproves that illness is without beauty.
My trip to the Fowler Museum allowed me to have a deeper
perspective on how art and medicine can be connected. I tended to think that
the two could not have any relevant connection. However, after seeing how
recyclable items and medical supplies could be fused together to create such
astounding art, it has really opened my eyes to how there can be beauty in
serious topics like death and illness.
No comments:
Post a Comment