Miu Miu Jewelry 2012 collection

This is the Spring/Summer collection for Miu Miu 2012. I wanted to include this image because I feel it brings the idea that fashion and styles come back round in various trends and they are always adapted and changed. This Miu Miu collection shows the basic Silhouette style of a black figure head on a lighter background but transformed in pieces to wear around the neck and ears. I like this collection as it brings a modern twist by using colourful backgrounds on a Victorian design but also the idea that within the fashion world now fashion is considered art. Fashion is not just putting on a top and trousers but to many it is wearable art. The relevance with my project can be seen in the garments shapes created out of black card to show a variety of mark making. I really wanted to include this in my blog as a contrast to the first post on the Victorian Silhouette and how through time the role of fashion and art have become closer linked.

Three Ballet Dancers, One with a crimson waist, Edgar Degas

For this post I wanted to move away from the idea of silhouette and focus more on outline of figures. I wanted to at an artist who has used a different media to my other posts and I decided to look at Degas's work. Degas focused a lot of his work on capturing the movement and beauty of Ballet dancers. When I study Degas works it is clear to see the shapes the ballet dancers create is graceful and soft compared to other artists work. If you were to remove the image from the page the outline would be very simple yet elegant.  I choose this image in particular because it is focused mainly on one figure and has a simplistic feel to it yet has the elegance of a dancer. I like this image as it is a very soft image with the se of colours and lines yet has edge to it with the black outline Degas has created around the dancer. This image has great relevance to my work as it has the same movement as my textiles work on scale and space where I depicted a jumping man from Yamamota's work.

Pattern cutting

I decided to not to focus on one particular artist for this post but instead the idea of pattern cutting. Pattern cutting is the process where all garments will start and multiples can be made from just one pattern. I choose this image as it was a tissue pattern from my creative sketchbook project where my final result was a skirt. I wanted to include pattern cutting as it the idea of outlines of shapes being placed together to form a garment. I like the idea of pattern cutting as it is a simple method which allows for hem allowances and a vairty of sizes but also various garments can be made multiple times from one garment. As I have already stated pattern cutting has been relevant to my work as I have used it for making my pac man 1980 skirt, a final piece for my postmodernism fashion as a variety of other garments. 

Self Portrait by Andy Warhol

I chose this image of Andy Warhol to focus on outline and shape which is a key feature of silhouette shapes. Warhol has taken a simple idea of using himself as the subject and looking face on in the camera captured various images during different periods of his life. By using a black background in his series of last self portraits he has been able to change the colour of the face to many different colours by using acrylic and screen-prints on canvas. What I like about this image is how Warhol has put a uncontrollable wig on which has added to the outline of this head and if you were to take away the image of his face you would be left with a interesting outline. This image has relevance to my work if you look at the positive and negative spaces surrounding Warhols head. 

Vase by Sisyphus Painter

This pot is made in Italy in 440BC and is an Earthenware clay with red-figures painted on. I choose to include this image because for me this represents silhouettes but in a complete contrast to Victorian ideas of profile portraits. Due to the pot being painted black the outlines of the red figures are very clear and creates three very structured outlines. I like this image because even though it is being displayed on a big dark pot the imagery can still be seen and remain its own and each figure is strong and stands out in its own right. The style of work does not really fit in with any work I have created my self. 

Sir William Hamilton by Josiah Wedgwood & Sons

This image shows a Jasper with blue dip and white relief and was made in 1780 to 1800 by Wedgwood and sons.
I wanted to include this image because I felt it was an extension to the idea of silhouette and how the simplicity and delicate cut of the paper shapes had been changed over the years to reflect wealth. It was said that the wealthier could afford to have their portraits in more expensive media like this Wedgwood because it was able to show their status with socity. I like this piece but it states the opposite to what a silhouette is defined as. The white relief shows detailing of the faces and can be seen as a progression to the Victorian works. This work doesn't have any obvious reference to my work other than the idea of silhouette.    

Portrait of John Lloyd Jones, Isabella Beetham

This image shows the idea of Victorian paper silhouettes of profile portraits of people. Using blackened cream paper which has been cut out to create an outline of the John Lloyd Jones head against a white background. This was a method which the Victorians adapted and has for ever been changed and become more modern. I choose this image but I like the simplicity of the picture as it lacks details of the face like a drawing includes but shows detail in the way it has been cut and the outline of the face. Within my work this image reflects my Textiles brief on Dada and the concept on chance. I used the idea of outline but adapted it to fashion garments and experimented with the idea. I used the black paper to define the shape of the garment whilst leaving open spaces for black and white mark making. I feel that even though the works looks completely different with style and subject matter there is a link between them.

Silhouette

A theme is known to be a dominant idea within a work of art and for my work the idea is silhouette. A silhouette is a dark shape or outline of an object which is visable against a lighter background. Looking through my work in Textiles it is clear this idea of silhouette a constant theme which runs throughout my work and is showcased through different media. My work however does not neccisarly reflect the style of Victorian silhouettes but has the same ideas behind it.
This blog is going to explore the idea of silhouettes and how through time the concept can change but the idea remains the same using references from my work.