Oct 30, 2012

African art as inspiration (Part 1)


Some say that African art doesn’t exist. So I started documenting this subject and I found some really inspirational patterns, forms and color combinations.

Contemporary art of Africa

“To hell with African art. I have boon forced- me, an artist from Africa! - to consider African art as a hindrance to my artistic projects rather than a favorable framework for fulfillment.”  ~ by Hassan Musa, an artist, born in Sudan but now living and working in France. These words of frustration felt by many contemporary “African artists”, who are angry at the labels imposed on them and their work by Western aesthetics. 

Worship Object made by Hassan Musa, Sudan/ France.


This painted textile is covered with repeating images of everyday objects. “It’s form is reminiscent of the various types of ‘charm gown’ worn by peoples of Sudanic Africa, garments which are covered with objects and/or patterns and colors calculated to protect their owners from harm.”












Appliquéd cotton wall-hanging  Made by Chant Avedissian, Cairo, Egypt 1989-90.

 This wall hanging was created in the late ’80s. Avedissian was inspired from the art of tent making, who created large elaborately pattern masques for centuries, which provide the backdrop to many important events in urban Egypt.











My favorite was the ‘Big Masquerade with boat and household on his head` Made by Sokari Douglas Camp, in ’95.
 
It’s made from wood, pigments, steel, glass and synthetic material.  This sculpture relates to a contemporary Kalabari masquerade.  The story is about a water spirit, who joins their worshipers among the world of men. “As a Kalabari woman, she could not perform in the predominantly male preserve of masquerade, still less make art out of it, particularly using a medium-metal- the working of which remains an almost exclusively male domain throughout Africa. However, as an artist her androgynous persona allows her to transcend gender division and to move between worlds, a little like a spirit she is portraying in this sculpture.”
This sculpture is really inspiring. The color combination is well thought out. She used red spotted paint for expressing blood on apron. The personality of this sculpture is really dramatic and evil but in the same time protective. The dramatic personality is expressed by the unpainted still. The head and apron is painted like a camouflage expressing a two faced person.  This work of art reminds me of fashion today and ordinary people, who want to be more, than what they are.  





 The other favorite piece is the “Drum” made by Nja Mahdaoui, La Marsa, Tunisia, ’97. This drum is made of woos, skin, pigment, gold and fiber.


Looking at these hieroglyphs, which I can’t figure it out, but makes my mind to think of them as a pattern. Looking at the writing I can see the contrast between colors and texture. This drum is really inspiring, all I can think of is a dress covered with these hieroglyphs in different ways.








 The next work of art is the “Knowledge is Sweeter than Honey” made by Susan Hefuna in 2007. This particular piece was made out of wood. She used this motto  written in Arabic script and incorporate in this dual heritage. Makes me think about OP art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The art of Masquerade

Masquerades in Africa are an art of transformation. They are the most important elements of African art. The actual headpiece is often obscured by a secondary decoration and paint. Masquerades include wild beasts, spirits even the death. Mostly this ritual includes only man, but there is a rear ritual performed by woman of Sierra Leone, for the water spirit Abbi Alagba.

“European artists saw what they wanted to see in the art of Africa and in so doing created the notion of ‘Primitive Art’ with all its racist connotation which continue to the present day. ”

There are Otobo masks: Click here! made by Kalabari people in Nigeria.

The African mask history is really wide and interesting, I can’t write about it within the limited boundaries of this short article.

African textile

African clothing started with masks and body painting, today is a repeated pattern and color full textiles. Clothing in Africa is a means of displaying power and prestige. Clothing's may also carry a combination of visual images or written inscriptions which provide ways to communicating public and personal messages about health, politics, etc. The techniques and materials used to produce cloth vary greatly within Africa. Cotton and synthetic yarn are widely used. Today machine-printed cloth is extremely popular in Africa.


This pattern is used for skirts. (‘Cut-pile’ skirt Raffina palm fiber and natural) African forms and color combination are rich.
Sometimes a person's true wealth and status in the community will only be fully realized after his death, trough the cloths displayed at his funeral.
The cloths are woven by men, and then painstakingly embroidered by women using the ‘cut-pile’ technique, in which a special knife is employed to cut individual strands of raffia to create a soft, velvety texture to the cloth. The women's have, by implication, neglected other domestic chores to complete these prestigious cloths which are then left unused until funerary ceremony.


 Another  typical cloth accessories are the woman’s warp-around outer garment (ride’ahmar)













These are some modern prints.














Tunic: is the most common cloth of Africa. They call it jibba.













 










“The most common type of tunic was particularly associated with the Baqqara Arabs, who rapidly became the ruling elite in the military autocracy which developed when their leader, the Khalifa, succeeded the Mahdu in 1885. The spear-kike motifs which appear on the patch pockets of the jibba may have been designed to pierce the evil eye and thus negate its harmful effect. The breast pockets may also have contained amulets.”


The other African traditional clothing is theCeremonial skull cap”





























Woman’s tailored blouse (quimau)
 















 






















Bibliography:

Suggested article:Here!

 The part 2 of this article comes next week. Stay tuned.

Oct 20, 2012

The Impressionism preview

Hy everyone! Long time no writing :P Tomorrow is a big day :) I will present my new collection "The Impressionism". I'm collaborating with Mircea Braescu bag designer, Alina Zahan and Amalia Iftime makeup artists. Today was the photo shooting and it was speechless, I really liked it.

 I'm exited about the show. :) This is my preview poster for my collection.


Pictures soon so stay tuned :D !

Oct 16, 2012

The show

Hi everyone! On this Saturday I gonna have a big fashion show :) I'm so exited :D !



Sep 15, 2012

SacRED by Loredana Novotni


Hi everyone! I was searching for some fashion photos and I find this young Romanian designer which made a nice collection for this fall. Really inspired me. I`m shocked. The concept of the collection is about expressing blood red by playing with the texture and the tailoring. Her inspiration for this collection was the 40`s 50`s architect, form, folklore and fashion. 

I would like to share my opinion about this collection. Choosing red it was a smart thing to do because sens woman existed, red was the color of passion, femininity and sometimes sexuality. If your not choosing the right pallet color then ruins all the garment. Working with the same color only different material it makes the garment really chic and sophisticated. I like her designs because she made it all wearable. Most young designers clothes are more carrying useless with a nice idea. The collection looks a little bit avangard but you can wear it, if you want, and make it look occasional.


This picture is my favorite because it got a good expression about the whole collection. Reflects all that three characteristics passion, femininity and sexuality.






The whole collection got a good structure and a hot vibe. Every detail on each dress its really good made, it doesn't see that the material is to heavy on each other. Using leather and soft /hard material  is`t a big risk but they fit well together. 

On this too detailed pictures you can see the contrast between the texture by adding mate / shiny materials. I love her way of work.


I hope you enjoyed it :D...


Sep 11, 2012

Is it?

"A woman must have a thorough  knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved... and to all this she must yet add something more substantial in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading."

Written by Jane Austin in her famous book "Pride and Prejudice".

Do you think this is true? That's how the world should be?

September`s here :(

Hi everyone! September is here :| which means the holiday season is over and everybody is back to work/school. I prepared some office looks for you. I thought that you might need some advice :).

When you wake up each day and you start digging in your closet, then you should remember this: ~each woman has a beauty and don’t let that one dress spoil it~  . A dress reflects the feelings you currently hold. The color which you choose for the day is decided by inconstant reactions. Respect your body by giving it good underwear and the best makeover. You feel good if your body does. A woman's body should be respected by her personality and reflection of her era!

At first let's take a look on some easy and simple line black dresses, they are good especially if you are late from work. You don't have to think, just dress and take the right bag and shoes. The black dresses curse is that it can make your body look bored, pail and in the same time typical. If you are choosing a black dress, you should watch the cutting or the tailoring on it. If you have cuts on the back or draping on the front, the dress won’t look that boring on you. Use some belt if you want to make your body more slender. This season belt color is gold (but if you don't have any I recommend red).








The second type of office look is the colorized one. It's much more feminine than the black ones. I personally adore dresses with an interesting back.









































The other typical office look is the skirt and the shirt. I love this pinky skirt with that white shirt. But the other one is an example of how you shouldn't wear it! All black and gray, it makes you look sad and without personality. Don't think in over-accessorizing because it won’t change a thing, you just over-agglomerate the whole look. When you dress up for work or school, you should think about what do you want to wear for 8 hours, because it’s going to reflect the whole personality for all day.














For my last one the lovely, gentle and worm assistant look which is sometimes my favorite because when you work with a lot of people you should look confident and make them feel good. They might react totally worm toward you. People are like a mirror, act, how you react with them, that’s what they going to give you back. Try to smile all the time, even if your morning wasn’t going too well and you might go to sleep with a real smile on your face :).







I hope you enjoyed it ;) I will be writing again soon, so stay tuned…