artists
Caleb Cole - Other People's Clothes
In this set of photographs, Caleb Cole has made use of a variety of locations and costumes to create and guide different personalities. His work has influenced my project by providing evidence that supports one side of the argument as to whether we use clothing as a costume - in this case, it would seem that his use of clothes to play dress up indicates that clothes can and are used to help us play a role in life.
More images from Other People's Clothes can be found here.
Miranda July - Thirty-Six Women
Thirty-Six Women is a photo essay collaboration project by Miranda July and photographer Michael Schmelling. It features six women - all strangers to one another - wearing each other's favourite outfits (1). I love the interactive aspect of the project which allows the spectator to guess whose outfit is whose. This interactivity has the potential to make the viewer consider the person behind the clothes or vice versa - are these women playing the role of each other? I hope to provide this kind of interactivity for my viewers with my project.
Click here to see a few images from Thirty-Six Women.
Sandra Müller - HUDOGS
In this project, each dog model wears a visible representation of their personality and behaviour. These images are important as they highlight how clothing can instantly assign narrative and personality.
More images from HUDOGS can be found on Müller's Bored Panda page.
Hans Eijkelboom - Photo Notes
Hans Eijkelboom's 20-year project, in which he took "between 1 and 80 photographs a day, almost every day, 12 months a year" (2) has interested me more than anything. I love the notion that we can be so predictable. It also supports the other side of the argument that clothes may not be used as a costume, that we may simply go with the trend or purchase what is available on the high street.
Take a look at this article for more examples from Photo Notes.
Richard Layzell
Richard Layzell, a performance and installation artist, highlights the notion of utilising clothing and performance to become someone else. His work as made-up character Bailey Savage in the 1980s made his audience believe him to be the man of power and influence (3) he was acting as.
Above is a video of Richard Layzell demonstrating how he uses performance to become a different person.
Juergen Teller
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Photographer Juergen Teller's work spans both the art world and the commercial world of photography. He is known for his beautiful portraiture photography and has worked with many fashion brands, such as Celine and Marc Jacobs (4). For various Fashion Weeks over the past few years he has worked with Vivienne Westwood to showcase her designs. Images such as the Spring/Summer 2008 and Autumn/Winter 2011 publicity photos, taken in London and Nairobi, respectively, demonstrate an admiration for the garments worn. This style of no-nonsense photography, with emphasis on the clothes, has influenced my project in terms of the way in which I have tackled the relationship between the camera and my Participants’ clothes.
Visit this website for a few more images.
References
(1) Heti, S., Julavits, H. and Shapton, L. (2014) Women in Clothes: Why We Wear What We Wear. London: Penguin Group.
(2) Strategy, J. (2014) ‘Photographer Spends 20 Years Documenting How We All Dress Exactly Alike’, Colossal, 22 December 2014. Available at: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/12/photographer-spends-20-years-documenting-how-we-all-dress-exactly-alike/.
(3) Layzell, R. (2011) Falling Phoebe [Lecture]. Available at: https://vimeo.com/62421001.
(4) Alison Jacques Gallery (no date) Juergen Teller. Available at: https://www.alisonjacquesgallery.com/artists/112-juergen-teller/overview.
Video Credit
CIRCY Sussex (2013) Richard Layzell: The artist/researcher in organizational contexts. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsaU81igaNE.