In this studio you will study in the bodily relationship to the object and its symbolism. Choose an artist who explores these relationships through sculpture, performance, costume, sound and/or light instillation. Print out images that reveal their conceptual framework to the class. Write a description and post it next to the images on the wall in class. Be prepared to discuss the piece.

Artists to look up:

1. Ann Hamilton, Body Object Series
2. Louise Bourgeois, Costume
3. Mella Jaarsma, Hi Inlander
4. Yinka Shonibare MBE, How to Blow up Two Heads at Once (Ladies)
5. Nick Cave (artist, not singer), Sound Suits

4.322 Introduction to 3-D Art Work (Fall 2014)

Units: 2 – 4 – 6

Class time:                Mondays and Wednesdays            9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Location:                   E15-207 or E14-251G

Professor:                 Dr. Azra Akšamija                        azra@mit.edu

TA:                            Allison Anne James                      aljames@mit.edu

Technical Instr.:        Seth Cimarron Avecilla                  sethcim@mit.edu

Office Hours:            Azra Akšamija               Tue 1:30 PM - 2:30PM  (E15-231, email to confirm)

Office Hours:            Allison Anne James      TBA

General course description         

This studio course introduces issues in three-dimensional forms such as sculpture, which in an expanded definition includes installation, environment, site context fabrication, and the object’s relation to the body. Focusing on the notion of “fabric” both as a medium and as a framework to explore the complex cultural histories, meanings and functions of clothing, this course is an artistic exploration of connections across cultures. We will investigate how three-dimensional art and wearable technologies can link ideas and people across physical and psychological borders. Students will probe cultural exchanges in different locations through on-site investigations of local traditions and their reinterpretation through creative applications of wearable technologies. Students from all disciplines are encouraged and welcome to enroll.

The course will introduce working with a variety of materials and techniques, with an emphasis on papier-mâché, mold-making and textiles. Sewing skills are beneficial but not pre-required for the class; sewing tutorials, machines and basic sewing equipment/textiles will be provided. Lectures, readings, screenings and field trips will supplement studio practice. Students will be expected to work on two studio-based projects informed by research and discussions in relation to the class theme.  Selected readings from the fields of art history, anthropology, and cultural theory, will provide us with different perspectives on how clothing and wearable art and architecture can be a medium for politics and communication between cultures. Students will have an opportunity to meet with a group of visiting artists from the "Edge of Arabia" collective and discover interconnected stories between the Middle East and the United States.  

The class will meet twice a week. On Mondays the class meets as a workshop, discussion of readings, lectures and screenings. Wednesdays' class meetings incorporate technical tutorials and supervised studio production. Additional individual work is required outside of class (min. 6hrs / week expected). Students from all disciplines are encouraged and welcome to enroll. Limited enrollment.

EXPECTATIONS

The course meets twice a week for 3 hrs each session for a total of 12 units of credit. There will be one midterm project, developed as 4 class exercises in artistic research, and one final project. All projects and assignments will be graded. Students are also required to prepare a 1-page statement for the final project. Readings are regularly assigned to provide a historical and theoretical framework for discussed in class.

Regular and on-time attendance is required for all class sessions and reviews. It is your responsibility to catch up on missed content by contacting instructors or fellow students.

All class work and assignments must be completed on time. No Food or Drink is allowed in lab facilities.

EVALUATIONS

Grading will be based on:

Class participation – 20-%

Readings and presentations 20%

Execution of exercises, journal of work – 20%

Final Project – 20%

Demonstrated growth over the course of the semester – 20%

Completion of the final project is required for a passing grade, as is regular attendance. Unexcused absences and repeated tardiness will automatically lower a grade by half of a letter grade.

I chose to examine the sari, a feminine garment that is close to home, and yet is worn very differently all over South Asia. The sari itself is merely a long piece of fabric, usually about six yards in length and three yards in breadth. The manner in which it is worn, or draped, indicates the origins of the wearer, and it is this facet of the sari that fascinates me, given the fact that the fabric has no shape until it is wrapped around the body. The images above show the Kandyan sari, or the osariya, worn primarily in Sri Lanka. It has a frill at the waist, and the sari blouse often has puffed sleeves. (See here for instructions on how to drape the osariya.) The whole costume consists of the sari, a sari blouse, an underskirt, and traditional jewellery.

It was adopted by upper-class women in the provinces of Kandy in Sri Lanka. Today, it is considered the national dress of the island, although feminist historian Nira Wickramasinghe points out that this method of draping the sari has “a definite origin from across the Palk [Strait]” (i:e: from India).[1] Sinhalese nationalists proclaimed the drape to be “the true Sinhalese dress, a morally acceptable dress because it covered the entire body,” and (male) nationalists laid down the sari specifications: “A proper blouse should cover the breast, stomach and back completely. A cloth ten riyans long should be worn as the osariya or sari.”[2]

Wickramasinghe notes that the main reason for the choice of the osariya as the national dress was because of its Kandyan origins. Sinhalese nationalists viewed the Kandyan kingdom, historically more insulated from colonial influences than Sri Lanka’s maritime provinces, so despite the fact that the sari itself had origins elsewhere, “it was seen  not only as the ‘moral dress’, but also as the authentic, unspoiled and ‘pure’ dress of the Sinhalese.” This invented tradition follows Hobsbawm’s observation that the invention is necessitated by a temporal rupture (in this case the bid for independence from the British) and has a very small group of initiators (here, a vocal group of nationalist Sinhalese males). I am particularly intrigued by the act of collapsing time and the carefully imposed erasure of the fact that the osariya is in fact testament to miscegenation and hybridism in Sri Lanka, rather than purity. (The nationalists did such a good job that I did not realise until I commenced my research that the osariya was not necessarily Sri Lankan origin!) Included in the images is a picture of a batik sari - although the batik dyeing process originates from Indonesia, it has migrated to Sri Lanka, and a batik osariya is considered an "authentic" Sri Lankan dress.

Today, the osariya is the uniform of stewardesses on Sri Lanka’s national airline (see image); meanwhile, a 2009 article on the website of the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, bemoaning the lack of a common standard for attire of athletes representing  Sri Lanka, lays down the rules for the Opening Ceremony dress for women: “The female costume consists of a handloom saree, the osariya worn in the Kandyan style. The set of jewellery and accessories consist of the traditional agate “Agasthi” necklace, “kudu karabu”, “hawadiya”, and the bracelet similar to the “bola valalu”.[3] All of these stipulations ignore that not all Sri Lankan women necessarily identify with this garment . While the Sinhalese comprise Sri Lanka’s major ethnic group, they are not its only constituency. Also, naturally, only a small number of Sri Lankans actually hail from Kandy.

I am also interested in what we call a “made-up” Kandyan, in which the sari (which is time-consuming to drape) is literally deconstructed – it is cut up into several smaller pieces that are worn somewhat like a wrap-around skirt with a frill. It then becomes particularly easy for working women, or for young Sri Lankan women going to college in other parts of the world to quickly dress themselves in their “national dress” for cultural events and other occasions, while it would usually require considerable deftness and practice to wear a sari without assistance.

[1] Nira Wickramasinghe, Sri Lanka in the modern age: a history of contested identities (Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006), 93

[2] Ananda Guruge (ed.), Dharmapala Lipi, (Colombo, 1963), 37, qtd. in Wickramasinghe, 93

[3] An attire for Athletes representing Sri Lanka, http://www.srilankaolympic.org/2009/07/an-attire-for-athletes-representing-sri-lanka/, accessed September 5, 2014

The Czech kroj is the traditional costume worn in Bohemian nations.  There were/are many variations on the kroje based on region, county, village, economy, and societal factors.  I focused on the traditional women's dress and it's variations.

Every kroj is comprised of the same parts, but it is these parts that can vary and have different meanings based on the factors above.  However, all of these parts have the same basic foundation.  For example, embroidery is always lavish and traditionally done by hand, sleeves are large and tied above the elbow, but can vary in length.

Skirt - variations in length and color due to region of origin and marital status.  Sometimes petticoats are worn underneath (up 24 in some villages!) and are generally very stiff from starching.

Apron - variations on size of embroidered flower motifs designates region of origin.  Aprons will always be the same length as the skirst undernearth.

Blouse - will always have large sleeves, tied above the elbow.  These can vary in length and intricacy of embroidery due to region/village of origin.

Headpiece - these range from wreaths of flowers to huge hats.  Married women generally cover all of their hair and single women are denoted by the wreath of flowers.  Tall hats are worn by brides on their wedding day.

Collar/Shawl - these range in height, width, and coverage of shoulders.  Czech collars tend to be bigger and more extravagant than Slovak collars.  Shawls that cover the shoulders and the chest are Czech, and Slovak shawls are shorter with less shoulder coverage.  Special shawls are worn by brides on their wedding day.

The traditional kroj has become Americanized and this version is seen at many heritage festivals throughout the country.  While this version is still composed of the pieces described above, there is far less differentiation between them.  The Americanized version has adopted a red skirt (in varying lengths), white blouse and shawl (with far less extravagance and volume in the shoulders), black vest, white apron, and head covering (usually a small white cap for married women and a wreath of flowers for single women).  These elements are generally worn with red socks or tights.