Project | M1-N0¶
- Address Textile Industry Waste
- Reuse traditional fabrication technique
- Reinterpret traditional garment
- Enhance utility
- Encode culture
De-Form¶
- Japanese fashion...Subsume the Body
- Abstraction...not body fitting
- Miegakure...hide and reveal
Recycling Tradition¶
Address the Textile Industry Waste Issue
Textile waste > Landfill > Methane Gas > Greenhouse Gases
"Motainai" in Japanese...translates into something like "waste not, want not". Material is repurposed and made beautiful again...extending its useful life and generating less aggregate waste (from purchasing a replacement).
Seek earth-friendly, sustainable, frugal garment fabrication solutions...by revisiting traditional techniques. Seek inspiration from a time when these concepts were just mundane facts of life...when it was just something everyone did...every day. Find relevance and reinterpret the mindset, techniques and methods of the past...in the context of today.
Looking back to look forward: Mino > M1N0
My final project will aim to reinvent the traditional Japanese straw raincoat called 'Mino'. Earth friendly, modular, repairable, utilitarian.
The Japanese sculptor Chiku'unsai IV Tanabe says..."traditions must be adapted to the current time" to remain relevant. He applies his family's bamboo weaving craftsmanship heritage to make modern sculpture. His works express the traditional weaving methods that have been handed down over generations...applied at a new scale and forms appropriate to current sensibilities.
Future Fiction & Utility¶
"There is...an intellectual Jihad against functionalism in Art. I have always been interested in Utility...because it has meaning in our lives that we can understand...and teasing the edges of that has been interesting" Tom Sachs, Sculptor
Tom Sachs both fascinates and irritates me. And to me, this visceral reaction validates the legitimacy of his art. He is challenging my expectations and bringing a new perspective to the equation of Art. Tom Sachs' work is a significant inspiration for my final project.
I have always loved Science Fiction...how it critically assesses the present by reimaging reality to a thought provoking alternative. Especially when it paints a future that is not reactive...but inventive. A future that is not conceptual or metaphysical, but one where we could live and take action. A fictional but very possible...future.
I have also always liked "Ugly" art because it does not rely on less-than-subtle visual appeal. "Ugly Art" forces contemplation and assessment...challenges our sensibilities.
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Design for what could be
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Design for a Future Fiction
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Design for survival
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Celebrate the Aesthetic of Brutally Functional Technology
I hope to achieve 'Enhanced Utility' by applying computational design (algorithmic straw patterning), digital fabrication techniques (modular 3D printed sub-structure)...and hopefully, electronics (darkness and rain triggered illumination)...to imbue the M1N0 with digital intelligence.
Persistance of Vision¶
While embracing technology, I feel strongly that coding of the a culture's traditional Mythology into the project is critical to imbuing it with substantive legitimacy. Shapes, form, textures and patterns that resonately deeply and viscerally because it captures the meaning of a people...beyond the superficial and temporary appeal of style. Mythology transcends time.
5 Ws who, what, when, where, why¶
M1N0 will benefit from past wisdom but be Future Forward, will aim to be a garment that celebrates Utility and the Aesthetic of Technology.
who¶
Me. Outdoor clothing companies
what¶
Raincoat.
when¶
Present and near future.
where¶
Japan.
why¶
Sustainability. Utility. Accesibility. Affordability.