Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram connected a lot of the elements we have studied so far in this class. I personally found it to be interesting in how he connected these two exhibits in a sort of dialogue between society, image, and modern technology through Gagawaka and connected this to ideas of mortality in Postmortem. I found Gagawaka both more intriguing on a personal level as well it terms of this class. By looking at fashion as sculpture he brings industry into art and comments on how important image is in today's society. Additionally, through the use of discarded industrial and manufactured items he furthers this commentary by combining many different sectors of production into these works.
Through our class we have looked at the role medicine as well as biotech have played in shaping the art world and these themes are looked at in many of Sundaram's peices. In Postmortem he looks at the relationships of the inanimate with biological human characteristics which plays into how inanimate objects like mannequins have a sort of life of their own in the design and display of these significant fashion pieces.
Gagawaka focuses more on the pieces themselves and relates this to other ideas about the medical community and the influence of pharmaceuticals on individuals lives. We can see this in his recycled clear plastic jumpsuit adorned with various pills and to me this represents the idea that many people are medicated to the point that their personality is not only shaped by but also dependent on these pills. There is a similar message in his Silverfoil Suit yet all the pill casings are empty and simply discarded shells which brings about a different message overall feel to the design.
Works Cited
"Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram | Fowler Museum at UCLA." Fowler at UCLA. UCLA Fowler, n.d. Web. 06 June 2015. <http://fowler.ucla.edu/exhibitions/making-strange-gagawaka-postmortem-vivan-sundaram#>.
Phillips, Kristy. "Vivan Sundaram’s Re-take of ‘Amrita’." The Newsletter (n.d.): n. pag. International Institute for Asian Studies, Autumn 2002. Web. June 2015. <http://www.iias.nl/sites/default/files/IIAS_NL29_41.pdf>.
"The Skoda Prize 2012." The Skoda Prize 2012. N.p., n.d. Web. June 2015. <http://www.theskodaprize.com/2012/jury.php?id=1>.
"Vivan Sundaram." Contemporary Indian Art. Contemporary Indian Art, n.d. Web. June 2015. <http://www.contemporaryindianart.com/vivan_sundaram.htm>.
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