Nadia Buick Thesis
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FRAMING FASHION CURATION: A theoretical, historical and practical perspective Nadia Buick Bachelor of Creative Industries (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2012 Creative Industries Faculty QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 1 Keywords fashion curation exhibition display adjunct site women narrative practice 2 Abstract This research project frames an emerging field – fashion curation – through a theoretical, historical, and practical enquiry. Recent decades have seen fashion curation grow rapidly as a form of praxis and an area of academic attention, predominantly in museums and universities. Within this context, two major models for conceptualising the role of the fashion curator have emerged: the institutional and the independent curator. This project proposes and applies a third model: the adjunct fashion curator. In developing this model my project seeks to move the growing dialogue around fashion curation away from exclusively focusing on the museum. By proposing a third curatorial model for fashion, this research draws on the past of fashion display and exhibition for its context, while simultaneously exploring the adjunct model through my curatorial practice. The impact of sites of display, the role of gender, and the relationship between art and fashion are explored as pivotal themes in the development of fashion curation and thus provide contextual grounding for the proposal of the adjunct curatorial model. Alongside a theoretical and historical account of fashion curation, I conduct a practice-led inquiry that explores these themes through five exhibition projects and one photographic series. I argue that the introduction and application of the adjunct model enables curatorial practitioners to sensitively work around the dominant museum model, and circumvent the divide between institutional and independent curation. Introducing the adjunct model allows the curator to develop personalised narratives relating to the experience of fashion and clothing as an exhibited phenomenon in a variety of institutional and non-institutional sites. Hence this research project contributes to a developing field by proposing a valuable and nuanced model for fashion curation. 3 Table of Contents Keywords 2 Abstract 3 List of Figures 6 Statement of Original Authorship 11 Acknowledgements 12 Chapter One – Introduction……………………………………………...13 Topic and research contributions 13 Key terminology & project scope 16 Interpretive Paradigm 19 Methodology 22 Curatorial Practice 23 Scholarly Research & Writing 25 Aims & Objectives 25 Synopsis 27 Chapter Two – Reading Site: fashion and display……………………..29 The Museum 29 Fashion & Dress in the Museum 30 Art & Fashion 33 Fashion & Gender 35 The Mannequin 37 ‘Look but Don’t Touch’ 39 Exploring Exhibitions 40 The Concise Dictionary of Dress 45 The Department Store 50 Fashion in Miniature: the Theatre de la Mode 55 The Window Display 59 AngloMania 68 Conclusion 73 Chapter Three – The Curator’s Role: art, fashion & beyond…………75 Curatorial Types & Roles 75 The Independent Curator & an Expanded Field 76 4 Who or What is the Curator? 80 The Curator-as-Artist 80 The Curator-as-Auteur or Director 81 The Curator-as-Editor or Writer 83 The Curator-as-Mediator or Facilitator 84 Taking Sides 84 The Critical Curator 85 Complicity 87 The Fashion Curator 90 Fashion: An Anthology by Cecil Beaton 93 Diana Vreeland & The Costume Institute 97 Chapter Four – Creative Practice Review………………………………107 2009 111 Modern Times - Modern Handbags 111 wearer/maker/wearer: recent work by Paula Dunlop 118 Imeldific! 20th Century Shoe Design 124 2010 128 Material Memories: restaging the eCHO project 128 The Curated Spectacle 137 2011 190 Dreaming of Chanel 190 Creative Practice Review Conclusion 200 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..207 Bibliography………………………………………………………………...215 Appendix A………………………………………………………………….232 Appendix B…………………………………………………………………..238 Appendix C…………………………………………………………………..243 Appendix D………………………………………………………………….257 Appendix E…………………………………………………………………..262 5 List of Figures Figure 1. Installation view, “Comfortable”, The Concise Dictionary of Dress, 2010. .. 46 Figure 2. Installation view, “Essential,” The Concise Dictionary of Dress, 2010. ........ 48 Figure 3 Installation view, “Fashionable,” The Concise Dictionary of Dress, 2010. .. 49 Figure 4. Installation view, “Plain,” The Concise Dictionary of Dress, 2010. ................ 50 Figure 5. Théâtre de la Mode, 1945-46 (sets recreated and photographed late 1980s) ......................................................................................................................................... 58 Figure 6. Théâtre de la Mode, 1945-46 (sets recreated and photographed late 1980s) ......................................................................................................................................... 58 Figure 7. Théâtre de la Mode on display at the Philadelphia Art Museum, 2011 ... 59 Figure 8. Eugène Atget, Boulevard de Strasbourg, Corsets (Corset Shop), 1912 ... 62 Figure 9. Eugène Atget, Avenue des Gobelins, 1925 ..................................................... 62 Figure 10. Eugène Atget, Bon Marché, 1926 ................................................................... 63 Figure 11. Eugène Atget - Coiffeur, Avenue de l’Observatoire, 1926 ........................ 63 Figure 12. Eugène Atget, 1925 ........................................................................................... 64 Figure 13. Berenice Abbott, New York, 1934 .................................................................. 64 Figure 14. Otto Umbehr (Umbo), 1928 ............................................................................. 65 Figure 15. Otto Umbehr (Umbo), 1928 ............................................................................. 65 Figure 16. Otto Umbehr (Umbo), 1928 ............................................................................. 66 Figure 17. Otto Umbehr (Umbo), 1928 ............................................................................. 66 Figure 18. Germaine Krull, Mannequins, c. 1920s ......................................................... 67 Figure 19. Andy Warhol, 1986 ............................................................................................ 67 Figure 20. Barney’s window display, photograph by Rudy Pospisil. .......................... 71 Figure 21. AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006. ............................................................................................................. 71 Figure 22. Barney’s window display, photograph by Rudy Pospisil. .......................... 72 Figure 23. AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006. ............................................................................................................. 72 Figure 24. The ‘Schiaparelli and Surrealism’ section of Fashion: An Anthology by Cecil Beaton, 1971 ................................................................................................................... 97 Figure 25. Cecil Beaton at the entrance of his exhibition, V&A, 1971. ..................... 98 Figure 26. Fashion: an anthology by Cecil Beaton, 1971 .............................................. 98 Figure 27. Twenty-five Years of Yves Saint Laurent, catalogue photograph by Duane Michals, 1983 ............................................................................................................ 102 Figure 28. Installation photograph, Twenty-five Years of Yves Saint Laurent, 1983 ................................................................................................................................................... 103 Figure 29. Vreeland (with model Marisa Berenson) and the Schlaeppi mannequins ................................................................................................................................................... 105 Figure 30. Aviatrix Jean Batten, 1934, State Library of Queensland. ...................... 114 Figure 31. Woman on a boat, 1930s, State Library of Queensland ........................... 115 Figure 32. Installation view, Modern Times – Modern Handbags, SLQ, 2009. Photograph by Nadia Buick. ............................................................................................... 117 6 Figure 33. Installation view, Modern Times – Modern Handbags, SLQ, 2009. Photograph by Nadia Buick. ............................................................................................... 117 Figure 34. Installation view, Modern Times – Modern Handbags, SLQ, 2009. Photograph by Nadia Buick. ............................................................................................... 118 Figure 35. Installation view, Modern Times – Modern Handbags, SLQ, 2009. Photograph by Nadia Buick. ............................................................................................... 118 Figure 36. wearer/maker/wearer, QUT Art Museum, 2009. Photograph by Damian Dunlop. ..................................................................................................................................... 123 Figure 37. wearer/maker/wearer, QUT Art Museum, 2009. Photograph by Damian Dunlop ...................................................................................................................................... 124 Figure 38. wearer/maker/wearer, QUT Art Museum, 2009. Photograph by Damian Dunlop .....................................................................................................................................