Why Don't Men Wear Skirts?

Of course some men do wear skirts. Before trousers were invented, all men wore skirts and some parts of the world have still not adopted trousers.

But I don't think you could say that skirts are commonly found in the wardrobes of your average western man.

Designers have tried to introduce them. Look at this video.

In 2002 the Victoria and Albert Museum hosted an exhibition called Men in Skirts. It was complimented by a catwalk event and featured skirts designed for men by the following designers: Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Bartlett, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ozwald Boateng, Dries Van Noten, Kenzo, Maharishi, Midas Clothing, Jean Charles De Castelbajac, Philippe Dubuc, Burberry, Dolce and Gabana, Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Vohji Yamamoto, Daniel Moloney, Michiko Koshino, Anna Sui. The following year in 2003, The Metropolitan Museum hosted an exhibition called Bravehearts: Men in Skirts, which again explored the taboo of modern men wearing skirts. A march entitled Million Skirted Men was organised to support the event. Men were invited to gather, wearing skirts of course, at the Guggenheim and march to the Metropolitan. Apparently only about a hundred men took part, but it illustrates the efforts that have been made to promote the wearing of skirts by men.

So, why have skirts for men consistently failed to take off? Even Marc Jacobs, a designer who personally favours wearing skirts recognises the limitations of their appeal to the mainstream. Here is a quote from Androgyny An Abomination or Aphrodisiac for Not Just a Label, Darren Fernandes (2011) Whether there is greater acceptance of androgynous outfits shown on the catwalk, because they are protected and perceived as works of art that are disconnected from the ‘real’ world, there are definite socio-cultural limitations within which designers must work within to sell their pieces. For instance, when asked if he will introduce the skirt into his next men’s collection, even skirt-clad Marc Jacobs frankly answered “No.”

In terms of the history of clothes, trousers are a modern invention. Breeches, which were knee length with stockings worn on the lower legs, became established in the 1700's. Pantaloons were tight full leg length garments fastened down by foot straps, that were made fashionable by Beau Brummell in the early 1800's. Trousers originally referred to a garment worn over breeches to protect them from getting dirty when riding. Apparently sailors were early adopters of trousers for practical reasons. In general it seems that trousers are the practical choice compared to skirts, but I don't think this is the sole reason that men choose trousers. After all, women have just as much need for practicality. There are reasons for skirts being more practical for men than trousers. Anatomically a skirt should be more comfortable and less restricting than trousers. From a medical point of view, fertility is lessened if the temperature of the scrotum is raised (why else are the male testicles placed in such a vulnerable position-outside of the body). You could say skirts are the choice for virility.

They are also cooler in summer, and a wrap around skirt can be a lot easier in terms of fit and ease of putting on.

Nevertheless, I would concede that some men would baulk at the vulnerability that a skirt can confer. Take a look at this article by Neil Robinson for "Helium" and his own personal experiment.

I don't think that a skirt is intrinsically feminine. I would challenge anyone to call a Highland kilt or the Greek fustanella feminine.

It is the cut of a garment, along with the choice of fabric, colour and pattern that give it its gender.

These trousers are a lot more feminine than these skirts.

So what is it about skirts that put men off?

Judging from the articles above and just asking around, some men are afraid of ridicule. Is this because of an association with homosexuality, or cross dressing? How much of this is associated with gender stereotypes, and do women have a role in suppressing mens appetite for skirts because they feel threatened in some way. Is there an innate power associated with the skirt in terms of its shape and form that could be responsible for these strong feelings. Or is the skirt destined to be a niche garment, and instead of wondering why men don't wear it more, should we assume that women are lagging behind men in largely abandoning skirts as everyday wear?

These are the questions I will tackle in future postings.

Bibliography:

http://www.poloindia.com/historyoftrousers/right_frame.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trousers

http://www.france24.com/en/20091214-skirt-men-democratize

http://trendland.net/2010/06/30/men-in-skirts-from-the-runway-to-the-street/men-in-skirts_runway/

http://www.helium.com/items/1667621-why-men-dont-wear-skirts?page=3

Google Images

Blythe House visit with Kay

I loved this trip, not only because I adore looking at vintage fabrics. Love big old dusty books. It was a beautiful building, but mainly it brought back memories of my grandad.

I did not know what to expect to see on the tour. I knew Blythe House held the archives for the V and A, and also the science museum. What awaited me was a wonderful collection of fabric and wallpaper samples. I was like a child in a sweetie shop, not knowing where to look first. My grandad as a profession used to design wallpaper for stately homes. I suppose to be more accurate, he was an artist who hand painted and restored wallpapers in stately homes. His house was always filled with samples of his designs, colour wheels, and the smell of paint. As a child I completely took them for granted. Even got told off for scribbling with felt tip pens over some of them. I had wondered why the adults were making such a fuss, "I had enhanced them had I not?" were my thoughts.


Here at Blythe House were samples just like his. Beautiful, delicate designs, and I felt emotional seeing them. It never had hit me until then that I was doing a degree in a field in which my grandad had worked. I knew he had gone to Art College where he studied to become a painter, something his father had done before him. I wanted now to ask him all the questions about his artistic life. All those questions as a child you never consider. Why ?.... he was just grandad. He whistled, and gave me fruity polo's.

Blythe House had a wonderful collection of fabric sample books out for us to look through. Heals fabric sample book for example, an invaluable guide to a company renowned for promoting modern design in Britain. My firm favourite on display was the collection of Presage Paris Fashion Forecast books. Amazing they were, all like pieces of art in themselves the way they had been compiled. I could have scooped them all up and taken them home with me.

It was a wonderful morning, and certainly a source of inspiration, which I would use to research into any future designs I may do. Thank you Kate for introducing me to it, and reminding me what a clever grandad I did have.

V and A visit - Textile Collection

The V and A does house a marvellous collection of textiles. In fact, as far as collections go, it is amazing how many collections the V and A does have. A rambling beautiful old building, filled with an Aladin's Cave of collectables.

On Making my way up to the textile collections I have to confess to getting side tracked into other galleries which intrigued me. I especially liked The Modern 20th Century Collection, with it's unusual chairs of all various shapes and styles, one even made from paper!! The collection of radio's throughout the years. The paper dresses. The quirky 1950's and 1960's ceramics, all very patterned and shape related. Lots of item's in this section I found I could easily draw idea's from to produce new designs, either through drawing or photographing the objects.

The Theatre and BBC Archives Collections with the elaborate costumes, and posters from years gone by. The Fashion Collection showing styles and fabrics throughout the years, all again proved interesting and a useful tool to draw information from both visually and also to tell a story about that time in history.

The textile collection was very informative if not a tad conservative for my tastes. Set up in darkened rooms, which I appreciate is required to protect theses precious fabrics, but also gave an oppressive feel. The cabinets which housed the Japanese and Chinese fabrics, were beautiful cabinets, but to view the fabrics you had to pull out slides within the cabinet. A novelty at first, but actually made the process of viewing the samples difficult, and I have to confess to not viewing them all because of this.

What did strike me was how much information can be gained from the textile collections about the various cultures that made them. The techniques they used. How different countries produced their own style, basically how they lived their lives at that time in history. How the textile had become a useful tool to depict life at that time, like a photograph today for example.

I particularly liked the peasant art shown here in embroidery, which was the easiest technique for amateurs at the time. The pieces were worked by the women of the household, mainly for domestic use, but sometimes for sale or exchange at a local market. The peasant art from the nineteenth century seemed to strike a cord in me as to how I research for my art today. Careful examination of the peasant art motifs and designs usually showed that the original sources of inspiration were early seventeenth century patterns. Over the decades these patterns percolated down the ages creating new designs with a renewed vitality. The peasant artist obviously looked at older collections for their inspiration, as I do today.

I also became aware as I wandered around the textile collection, that although a valuable source of information, it is ONLY collections of things. Further research on a subject/culture/design would need to be obtained to gain a truer picture of the subject/collection being looked at. This dawned on as I was looking through the Japanese kimono designs. I researched this topic for The Alternative Fashion Show earlier this year, and found the information given on this subject in the textile collection very limited, and rather poor if I am honest. Regardless of this I kept reminding myself that it is only a collection, a slice of history, and we are lucky to have such information to help us to learn. I also felt lucky I was able to fill in the gaps with the knowledge I had researched myself on kimono's. On saying this, The Japanese Collection within the V and A has a very impressive collection of kimono's.


The priests vestments (The Chasuble Collection) were very beautiful. Each one elaborately embroidered on silk and velvets with gold threads. Each chasuble told a story, depicting mainly a bible story or the cross, in some cases both. This "Opus Anglicanum" (English Work) or "Acu Pictoria" (Painting with a needle) was valued highly as metalwork and jewellery at the time. It was traded and bought mainly by rich nobles and the church (to make these chasuble). This style of embroidery was truly England's finest, but soon competition from Embroidery workshops in Italy, Netherlands and Spain meant the quality of craftsmanship declined although the range of patterns, silks and velvets increased. Hence we moved into a new period in textile history.


I enjoyed very much the tapestries, they were grand, large and overwhelming. All depicting life at the time. What fashions were worn, and what pass times were implored (hunting for game and deer). I was interested to learn that at his death in 1547, Henry VIII owned 27,000 tapestries.

After the textile collections I took myself off to the Islam Collection, namely to look at The Ardabil Carpet. One of the finest and largest Islamic carpets in existance. It also has great historical importance. It was commissioned as one of a pair by the ruler of Iran, Shan Tahmasp for the shrine of his ancestor, Shaykh Safi-al-Din in the town of Ardabil in the province of Azerba jan in North -West Iran.

It was completed in 946 on the Muslim calendar, 1539-1540. It seemed amazing to be stood close to such a rare item, and I felt it was lucky to be preserved in such a rare way by the V and A , and hopefully preserved so future generations can enjoy it too, when it becomes much older and rarer.

The V and A was a fantastic Aladins cave of collectables. I certainly would use it as a place to go and source research for my work, and gain knowledge. A great place to also sketch and photograph objects too. I am aware also though, that collections alone do not tell the whole story about a culture and a time in history, and that further reading and research must be obtained to gain a more true understanding of what the whole story is. A collection is just a small momentum, like a keepsake from a holiday. But, without such collections we are not able to appreciate the true craftsmanship of articles (textiles in this case) over time, and see them for real, not just view them in a book or on the internet. So I applaud the V and A, and certainly shall be visiting it and it's collections time and time and time again.

Tartan-cool or naff? You decide.

The Power of Haymarket Tartan

An artist's house!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA5aMipyI_o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WDnukuUc84>

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229181/Checking-Artists-tacky-tribute-fashio-house-Burberry.html">

TARTAN: How far is the power and visual impact of tartan bound up in a constructed national identity

Tartan is just a type of patterned fabric. However it is undeniably linked to Scotland and has a unique identity. On the one hand it can have a staid, traditional image, reminiscent of; middle class, middle aged women in ankle length tartan skirts; the illustration on a tin of shortbread; or the carpets in a dated, stuffy hotel. But on the other hand modern designers use the power of tartan to make an impact. Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, John Gallianno and Jean Paul Gautier have all been associated with tartan. McQueen's "Rape of the Highlands" in particular caused quite a stir. Was this due to the power of the fabric itself or because tartan is a national emblem. And if it was because tartan is a national emblem, how can a fabric have such an identity?

What is tartan?

Tartan is a cloth woven from strands of wool. However there is a theory that the word tartan is derived from the French word tiretain, which today refers to a cloth woven from wool and linen. Wikipedia gives a very good description of how tartan is made, but the best way of getting a feel for the patterns of tartan is to play around with one of several do-it-yourself tartan designers to be found on the web. I found

http://www.tartandesigner.com/designer.php ">

the best. The extraordinary thing is that if it looks like tartan; it looks scottish.

The visual impact of tartan

Because tartan can be produced easily on a loom, it would have provided ancient civilisations with a quick and easy way of producing coloured patterned cloth.Producing intricate hand stitched patterns is skill and labour intensive, and associated with civilisations with large class differences. In other words, peasants making fabrics for the rich and powerful. The Celts however were a less hierarchical race, and tartan may have provided a way for everyone in their community to be decked in colour. This is a translation of Diodoorus Siculus a Greek historian from around 100BC quoted by the Scottish Tartan Authority; " The way they (the Celts) dress is astonishing; they wear brightly coloured and embroidered shirts with trousers called bracae and cloaks fastened at the shoulder with a broach, heavy in winter, light in summer. These cloaks are striped or checkered in design, with the separate checks close together and in various colours."
There are more modern examples of tartan making an impact independant from its Scottish association. Burberry used the Haymarket check to line their gabardine trenchcoats back in 1924. By 1967 the patented Burberry check started to be used on its own for umbrellas and accessories. It is now an iconic English symbol. Follow this link to a youtube video for an illustration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA5aMipyI_o

Check or tartan shirts are more associated the the USA than Scotland, but they are extremely popular. This a quote from Alice Fisher writing for guardian.co.uk in April 2010; "Topman reports tartan shirt sales are up 49% from last year and up 540% from tow years ago. Currently the store sells the equivalent of four every minute. "They are the simplest way of injecting a stab of colour and pattern to any wardrobe with the minimum of 'fashion' thought," explains Topman design director Gordon Richardson. "
In the same article she writes;"The male love of tartan seems universal. "Men who don't wear patterns or colour wear tartan," says Jeffrey Banks, co-author of Tartan: Romancing the Plaid and executive board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. "And that's international. The Japanese are crazy about it, all architects have a plaid shirt, and every chic Milanese doctor has a tartan scarf."

"The Dress Act"

The single most important event in the history of tartan must be The Dress Act of 1746. After defeating the Jaccobites loyal to Bonny Prince Charlie at the battle of Culloden in 1745, the Government wanted to destroy the clan system of the Scottish Highlands and hence remove their threat. One action taken was to ban the wearing of tartan by Highland men. The ban did not apply to women, lowland Scots or the military. This must represent a huge endorsement to the power of tartan. At that point in history tartan was not a national symbol.
Judging from this painting of the Jaccobite army at Culloden, the Highlanders were proud to wear tartan, but it was not their uniform. Each man is wearing more than one tartan and from soldier to soldier they are all different. Soldiers were identified by different coloured ribbons worn in their bonnets.
The ban lasted for 36 years and I would identify three significant consequences following from it.
Firstly the ban achieved its primary aim; the wearing of tartan in the Highlands largely disappeared, and with it the tradition of local artisan weavers.
The second consequence is the inevitable when something is banned; tartan would have become more intriguing, laying the foundations for the developement its romantic image.
The third consequence was the use of tartan for the uniforms of newly established Highland regiments. With the combined aim of policing Scotland and providing an occupation for the young Highland men who were now refugees following the Highland clearances, the government formed Highland regiments.To this day the Highland Regiments have a worldwide reputation for bravery in battle.They are identified by their kilts and tartan trews and so give tartan a strong military association. This is seen in the use of tartan skirts for school uniforms especially in old fashioned independant schools.

Tartan as a National Identity

Eric Hobsbawm describes much of the folklore surrounding the wearing of tartan as an "invented tradition". His definition is as follows;" 'Invented tradition' is taken to mean a set of practices, normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inculcate certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past. In fact, where possible, they normally attempt to establish continuity with a suitable historic past.... However, insofar as there is such reference to a historic past, the peculiarity of 'invented' traditions is that the continuity with it is largely fictitious. In short, they are responses to novel situations which take the form of reference to old situations, or which establish their own past by quasi-obligatory repetition."
Commentators of the history of tartan often list a series of events that shape tartan's reputation; The setting up of the Highland Society, two years after the "Dress Act" was repealed, which promoted the wearing of tartan; the visit of King George IV to Scotland and its associated tartan pageantry; the influence of the writings of Sir Walter Scott, who romanticised Highland life and tartan dress; the publication in 1842 of Vesticarium Scoticum, a catalogue ancient "clan" tartans which was largely undisputed at the time but later discredited as a hoax; and the pratonage of Queen Victoria who fell in love with Scotland and tartan in particular.
Hence the modern kilt is a representation of the more ancient feileadh-mhor.
The Scottish Tartans Authority even suggests it was invented by an Englishman. Clan tartans and the rules and rituals surrounding them are also a relatively modern invention but based on the theory that ancient local weavers would have had favourite patterns and the colours they used would have been restricted by the locally available natural dyes; the result being that a clansman's tartan may have indicated which district he was from.
The growth of tartan also mirrors the growth of Scotland as a nation. In the late 1700's woollen mills were set up to supply tartan to the millitary. The tartan revival of the nineteenth century enabled these mills to flourish and the subsequent growth of tartan exports brought wealth to the nation. The "branding" of scotland with tartan has subsequently been very important to the tourist industry. Clan tartans in particular have proved very popular in giving identity to displaced families of "Scottish" origin in the New World. A good example of this is when astronaut Alan Bean smuggled a swatch of McBean tartan aboard Apollo 12 to take to the moon.

Modern designers' use of tartan:

Modern designers can make use of both the visual impact of tartan and the power of its national identity to varying degrees.
This example of a tartan designed to promote whisky found on "Fine Expresions" a drinks magazine website is all about identifying with Scotland.


" ART STUDENT PUSHES BOUNDARIES IN TARTAN DESIGN FOR BALLANTINE’S WHISKY"

"Ballantine’s has unveiled a new signature brand tartan created by undergraduate textile design student Leisl Despy. The third biggest Scotch whisky in the world joined forces with Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design in London, to run a competition to design a modern tartan that epitomises the brand’s heritage and charisma."

This advertisemnt for a new collection is perhaps an example of using the Scottishness of tartan and its individual power in roughly equal measures;
"New York Gets a Taste of Tartan Spirit
Modern Scottish Fashion Meets Scottish Heritage"

"A Scottish designer is set to showcase her contemporary tartan collections at an illustrious National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA fundraising event in New York tomorrow (Wednesday 14 April)."
http://www.dexigner.com/design_news/a-celebration-of-scotland-s-treasures-2010.html

The use of tartan in Alexander McQueen's "Highland Rape" is all about its National imagery rather than the look of the fabric itself.
Punk tartan trousers were also born out of wanting to be anti-establishment.The image of tartan as "traditional" and millitary, perhaps more than Scottish, is defaced by its use in ripped trousers worn by punks; a powerful image independant of the actual pattern of the fabric.
Vivienne Westwood, however seems to love the fabric itself. She has gone on to use tartan to produce beautiful designs that are not especially Scottish.






So tartan is a simple classical way of producing coloured pattern. It has broad appeal in its own right. It has, through "invented tradition", become a symbol for Scotland which is also a powerful tool for designers. During this process tartan also became linked with the military, and with royalty. This association can also be used in a positive or negative (anti-establishment) way.
Another opportunity for modern designers however is in its organic roots.Using natural fibres and organic dyes, tartan can still look beautiful, colourful and revive the feel of its celtic origins.

Bibliography:
Bell, Robert (2010) Vivienne Westwood 34 years in fashion [Internet] 29.4.2010,available at nga.gov.au/WESTWOOD/article.cfm [accessed May 2010]
Bolton, Andrew (2010) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art [Internet],29.4.2010,available at www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kilt/hd_kilt.htm [accessed May 2010]
Cheape, Hugh (1991) Tartan: The Highland Habit. Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland 1991
Daily Mail Reporter (2009) Chav-tastic coat of paint for wacky artist's house turned into Burberry shrine [Internet] 19.11.09. available at www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229181/Checking-Artists-tacky-tribute-fashion-house-Burberry.html [Accessed Feb 2010]
Dalriada Celtic Heritage Society[Internet], available at www.iblio.org/gaelic/celts.html [accessed April 2010]
Fisher,Alice(2010). Why the world has gone mad for plaid: Guardian.co.uk. [Internet] 11.4.10, available at www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/apr/11/tartan-sales-figures-alice-fisher [accessed April 2010]
Hobsbawm,Eric(1983). The Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland, Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger.pp 1-14.
Hill,Simon(2002) National Identity in Scotland and Ireland (part three)Aug 30 2002, available at www.suite101.com/article.cfm/modern_scottish/94681 [accessed March 2010]
Ozler,Levent (2010) New York Gets a Taste of Tartan Spirit [Internet] 13.4.2010, available at www.dexigner.com/design_news/a-celebration-of-scotland-s-treasures-2010.html [Accessed May 2010]
About us,Scottish Tartans Authority,available at www.tartansauthority.com [Accessed March 2010]
Tartan Timeline,Scottish Tartans Authority available at www.tartansauthority.com [Accessed March 2010
The Growth of tartan,Scottish Tartans Authority available at www.tartansauthority.com [Accessed March 2010]
The Scottish Clans and Their Tartans. Kessinger Publishing. 2005. ISBN 141796815X. (originally published by: W. & A. K. Johnston Ltd., Edinburgh and London, 1944).
Whisky Tastings (2010) Ballantine's [Internet] 29.4.2010, available at www.fineexpressions.co.uk/ballantines_tartan.htm
Wikipedia, Burberry (2010) available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burberry [Accessed March 2010]
Wikipedia, Tartan (2008) available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan [accessed March 2010]

RETROSPECTIVE-Chris Ofili- Tate Britain

Chris Ofili's work has always excited me. Large canvases which, from afar, look strikingly bright and full of colour, but on a more careful inspection you see multicoloured dots, glitter, resin, cut outs from pornographic magazines and of course his famous elephant dung.

The exhibition at Tate Britain brought together a collection of paintings from the 1990's along with his recent works created in Trinidad where he now lives. There were also drawings and watercolours, in fact a celebration of his career so far.

On entering the gallery I was drawn to his sculpture "shit head", which was a ball of elephant dung with human teeth and hair attached to it. I read, later, that the hair was his own. This amused me slightly, as maybe the sculpture was a self portrait.

I was touched by his work "No woman, no cry"- a portrait of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen, which included small photographs of her son in the teardrops that fall down her face.

The titles of some of his paintings; for example, "seven bitches tossing their pussies before the divine dung" looked oddly placed on the pristine white walls of Tate Britain- probably more at home in Tate Modern, I thought, along with the elephant dung.

His depiction of women in some of his early works is ambiguous. Pornographic imagery next to beautiful images of women such as Blossom.

He says his use of pornography came from his days living in Kings Cross, where he was amongst the street life of prostitutes and pimps. His depiction of the Virgin Mary as a black African surrounded by pornographic imagery caused a stir when it was exhibited as part of the Sensation exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, New York. Mayor Guiliani complained about the painting and threatened to withdraw funding from the museum for exhibiting it. Ofili said, when talking about this conflicting imagery in Parkett Magazine in 2000, "It's about the way the black woman is talked about in hip hop music. It's about my religious upbringing and confusion about the situation. The contradiction of a virgin mother. It's about stereotyping of the black female. It's about beauty. It's about caricature, and it's about just being confused."

The second half of the exhibition showed his watercolours, which, for a spell, I learned he was making daily.

Ten years worth of watercolours were exhibited at the museum Harlem Studio in 2005. The show signalled the end of this process; something he missed but has been replaced now by sketchbooks and photography.

One of the rooms in the exhibition was a specially constructed vault designed by architect David Adjaye. The works in this space were named "The upper room".

It consisted of thirteen paintings lifted from the ground by elephant dung. Based on an Andy Warhol collage of a monkey clutching a chalice, these works repeat the same image in various colours along the colour wheel. The wooden walls and benches in this space enhance the spiritual and grotesque ambience these paintings conjured up for me.

His move to Trinidad in 2005 had a huge influence on his work as evidenced in the final two rooms of the exhibition. Nature and especially light have taken over from the urban sprawl. Gone are the hip hop references that played such a strong part in his early works. I particularly liked the blue paintings, where Ofili has experimented with a limited palate of blue, dark blue and silver. It struck a chord with me, as recently I have tried to limit my colour palate, having previously been very colourful in my work. The ambiguous quality of the blue paintings (especially the Blue Riders), and their simplistic depiction of figures are raw, minimalist and add impact. The subject matter is hard to see amidst the blocks of colour, but the lines and sheen of these paintings I found wonderful.

The paintings in the final room, while some retained the bright colours seen throughout his career, seemed more parred back and subtle. The clutter of his earlier work and the elephant dung had gone. I wondered if that, like the watercolours at the Museum Harlem Studio, this exhibition signalled the end for Ofili of that period of his painting life. Leaving them behind, and moving into what seemed a more confident, mature approach to his work. His interest in mythology, island and spiritual ideas all shining through in his new works. I will leave you with a quote by Ofili which for me sums up his work today. I am sure we have so much more to see from him in the future.

"When you live somewhere like this you become aware of different types of energies. The place itself has an undeniable energy. The force of nature is overwhelming."

Bibliography:

Glover,M (2010) Shock and Awe, The Art of Chris Ofili. The Independant. [Internet] 22.1.2010, available at www.independant.co.uk/shock-and-awe-the-art-of-chris-ofili-1874739 [accessed April 2010]

Searle, A ( 2010) Chris Ofili heads into the shadows. Guardian.co.uk.[Internet] 25.1.2010, available at www.guardian.co.uk/guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jan/25/chris-ofili-tate

Vogel,C (2005) An artist's gallery of ideas; Chris Ofili's watercolours. The New York Times.[Internet] 5.5.2005, available at www.nytimes.com/2005/05/05/arts/05ofil.html [accessed April 2010]

Williams,E (2010) Creative Review [Internet] 26.11.2010, available at www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/january/chris-ofili-at-tate-britain [accessed April 2010]

The History of Tartan

The History of Tartan

I have read several texts about the history of tartan and they all say largely the same thing and use the same few key references as evidence. The overall impression I have is as follows:

I imagine a race of ancient scots living in the Highlands at least as far back as Roman times, and up to the 18th century. They were celtic and lived within a clan system. A clan is basically a tribe or community made of theoretically one extended family led by the clan chief-the head of the family; it also included a large number of loosely related families who also looked to the clan chief as their leader or protector. This race of people used to have a reputation for being barbaric, but have increasingly been associated with quite a rich culture typified by their clothes. The brightly coloured checked cloth that they wore all over was called braecan in gaelic but of course we now know it as tartan. A traditional item of clothing was the plaid, which was a long piece of cloth draped around the body. In some respects it would have had similarities with a toga or sahri, but the plaid was often hitched at the waist with a belt before being draped around the shoulders. The bottom half therefore looked like a skirt and the modern day kilt is a smarter representation of this form of dress. Socks, tunics, coats and troose (skin tight trousers) made from tartan cloth were also worn.

Each clan would have had a weaver who may well have had his own favourite patterns and used dyes derived from his own geographical area. It may therefore have been possible to recognise certain patterns and colours as being associated with a particular clan, but only in a very informal way. The idea of specific clan tartans seems to be a more modern thing. There is a famous painting depicting Highlanders fighting the English army at the battle of Culloden. Each one wears more than one tartan, none of which are recognisable today as clan tartans. It is the tartan in general that is the most striking feature, and the wearing of tartan seems to have given the Highlanders their identity. The English authorities must certainly have thought so, because following the battle, and in an effort to destroy the Highland clan system they banned all Highland men from wearing tartan. How powerful can a cloth be that a law is made against it being worn?

The ban lasted for over 30 years, during which time the art of making tartan was largely lost in the Highlands. The ban only applied to the Highlanders and not to women or to men who joined the British army. Indeed, to divide and weaken any armed resistance, Highlanders were actively recruited to the British army to form new Highland regiments who wore tartan as their uniform. This was the start of a proud tradition of Highland regiments who have been famous for their bravery in fighting for the British army ever since.

Lowland woollen mills started to flourish, initially in supplying the British army and then as a resurgence in the wearing of tartan took place as it became fashionable under the influence of Sir Walter Scott in the early 19th century. It was around this time that the idea of clan tartans came about, and it seems almost to be as much as a marketing ploy as anything else. A famous woollen mill, Wilson's of Stirling did particularly well in the mass production of named tartans.

When Queen Victoria took a liking to tartan and all things Scottish, the cloth was given a further fillip. Victoria and Albert decked out Balmoral in a tartan of Albert's own design, and I suspect this was what led to many years of seemingly every Scottish hotel and function room being decorated with tartan carpets, curtains and chair upholstery. Many old fashioned places still are.

With the industrial revolution, Scotland made a lot of money from the mass production of tartan cloth. It then became very important as part of the tourist industry. The clan tartans were able to give a symbol of national pride to exiled and scottish descendants all over the world.

Perhaps the most famous example of this was when the Astronaut Alan Bean smuggled a swatch of McBean tartan aboard Apollo 12 and took it to the moon.

The original tartan of the Highlanders was an eclectic mixture of patterns and colours, that typified the colourful, organic, rich heritage of the celtic people who loved to wear it.

What is Tartan?

What is Tartan?

Tartan refers to woven cloth, usually wool or wool and linen.

The distinctive pattern comes from using different coloured threads. Bands of colour varying in width form a "sett" which defines that particular pattern. The sett is a repeating pattern that is the same in the horizontal and vertical threads. The combination of colours from weaving the horizontal and vertical threads gives rise to yet more colours, and hence a very colour pattern is produced that looks like intersecting squares and lines.

The easiest way to discover tartan is to try making your own-use the website below to experiment.

Make you own tartan

http://www.tartandesigner.com/designer.php

TARTAN

Textile design portfolio project unit 1c: Josie Lennox

TARTAN

On our wedding day my husband wore a kilt made from his families Lennox tartan. It still hangs in the wardrobe. Its rarely seen out, but somehow symbolises a link with Scottish heritage. My knowledge of tartan is no better or worse than most people. I believe it originates from the dress of ancient Scottish highlanders, and different tartans represent different areas or clans although I am aware that its history has been romanticised along the way. Somehow kilts have become a national dress and tartan synonymous with Scotland. Think of tartan and you think of shortbread, bagpipes, and the carpet and curtains of almost every Scottish hotel. But it is also strongly associated with the English royal family. The image of Prince Charles in a skirt of brightly coloured checked material seems a long way from marauding, rugged Scotsman who would have viewed the English monarchy as the most hated enemy.

Tartan is establishment, but also anti-establishment. Think of punk trousers and Jean Paul Gautier's mini kilts. If tartan is a design classic; who designed it? How can it be so recognisable and yet there are so many different variations? It has been around for hundreds of years so can knowledge of how its made inform us in making organic sustainable products today?

TELLING TALES

1.What is your immediate feeling on entering the gallery and seeing the works?

The exhibition was split into three sections. The first section was called FOREST GLADE and in it were displayed objects inspired by fantasy and nature that evoked the spirit of fairytales.

My first impression was one of refreshment. I had come from the hubbub and commotion of London and then the busy imposing V and A and walked into a space that felt calming.

There was a background of printed gauze screens for each section in this area and the dappled lighting was very dramatic. There were gauze screens with patterns that looked like ink blown with straws but nevertheless were distinctive as branches and were very striking.

There was a light and airy feel to the space like outside inside.

The sound effects of twittering birds, and the crackling twigs of someone walking in the undergrowth were familiar sounds of being in the forest.

Faced with objects out of context to their environment and function, they seem eccentric and impractical. Only the rich and eccentric would have them in their home.

There was also a clean IKEA like feeling; no clutter; uncosy.

The second section was called ENCHANTED CASTLE. "This was a palatial pile where grandfather clocks chime. Rococo scroll wallpaper provide the perfect backdrop to a muddle of extravagant objects; the trappings of high social status, which subvert the lavishness of late victorian design." (Telling Tales, Gareth Williams 2009, page 61.)

This was a visual excess; not relaxed and again not cosy. The big mirrors that warped the items in the room as if they were tarnished were eerie. There was an insincerity about the splendour, as if the items were there for show rather than to be enjoyed. There were familiar objects but made cold and uncomfortable.

The last section was HEAVEN AND HELL. It was dark and gloomy. It felt awkward. It felt like staring into a psychopaths dungeon. There was the feel of a horror movie. All feelings of splendour had gone, even though the objects displayed could still be described as lavish such as the taxidermical lion oozing gold, the mole slippers and the fox leaking gold maggots from its ears.

There was disorientation from moving shadows and menacing music. A burst of red colour that flooded the ceilings at intervals suggested blood.

2.Choose a piece from each section and list the feelings and response that the works generate in you and why.

a. Bathboat by Wieki Somers.

This was a small wooden boat whose function had been turned inside out in that it was designed to keep water in not out. It had taps and was instantly recognisable as a bath as well as a boat. In this respect it looked less surreal and more humorous. It was beautifully crafted and its natural wood finish connected with the trees in the forest, giving it a feel of fantasy and fiction. It was set on the sort of blocks used to stabilise boats and this reminded me of victorian bath legs. It was a beautiful piece.

b. Robber Baron table,2006

The table base is in the form of a black factory building; glowering, industrial, nineteenth century northern England. From each of the four corners arise large chimneys that billow golden clouds that form the table surface. This represents pollution. The golden globular form reminds me of fat globules; more specifically like cholesterol deposits in an artery. To me, this is quite a fitting representation of the damage caused by Western industrialisation.

c. Moulded Mole slippers, 2004. Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe

These are slippers made from discarded moleskins. At first they look both elegant and comfortable, a cross between a pair of winklepickers and something you would find worn by a pixie in a forest. Close up however you are more aware of the feet and the snout. They start to look ugly and not something I would like to wear.

3. Notice the display of the objects, their relationship to each other and their lighting. How these evoke feelings of drama, interest and tension.

Forest Glade:

The panels create drama and act as a good divider between the objects in this area. As the panels are made of gauze, they are floaty in appearance and still give the area a feeling of being light and airy; a vast open space. Had these panels been made of solid material they would have become enclosing.

The objects were placed between these panels with plenty of space between them so they could be viewed clearly. There was no clutter to distract the mind. There was a minimal feel; calming and relaxed. It was enjoyable. The lighting was dappled and evoked the feeling of a forest of myths and fairytales.

The objects all appeared minimalist. Even Boontje's Fig Leaf wardrobe with its intricate hand painted copper leaves had enough space around it to appear minimalist. They were beautifully crafted. Although the objects were all different in design, and all had their own individual meaning, this alone connected them, and their surreal ecleptic element unified them.

The enchanted castle:

This was more cluttered. There was more dark furniture. There was black red and gold and a lavish feel. It was not relaxed or cosy, more cold and uncomfortable; there for show, not to be enjoyed. Mirrored walls gave the impression of a glittering world full of insecurity. The rococo wallpaper was a fitting backdrop to extravagant objects.

Heaven and Hell:

This was disorientating. The music was menacing. The lighting created moving shadows, and bursts of red colour flooding the ceilings at intervals suggested blood. This gave a dark dungeon like feel. Objects were displayed within rooms which were viewed through slits in the wall. It was like staring into a psychopath's workshop. It was cold and eerie. It summoned up feelings of death judgement and anxiety.

4.How might the exhibits inspire your table theatre?

Obviously the objects in the exhibition were much bigger than those I will be collecting to bring to college, and the exhibit space also much bigger, so to equate the two collections is difficult.

I liked that the objects all related to each other in some eclectic way without being the same. Each had their own independent story; something I may like to bring foward into my collection.

I shall not use lighting or sound. I found the objects cold and not loved. My objects will be the opposite. I want to draw and develop them, so I want to like what I choose to collect.

There was no happiness in the exhibition for me. There was beautiful crafting in the exhibition but this is not important or relevant to my collection. It felt staged or set up. I want my objects to come about in a more random, natural way, as often, ideas develop from mistakes; things happening away from control.

5.Take notice of the titles of the exhibits and choose two to analyse and discuss in under 300 words.

Sensory Deprivation Skull, 2007, Joep Van Lieshout. This is a large model of a skull. Entry can be gained into the skull via doors at the back. There is enough space inside for two people to sit on a sheepskin rug. I assumed that this was a parody of a floatation tank; a space where you can relax free from stimuli. Both Gareth Williams (Brochure for Telling Tales,2009. page 106) and Helen Brown (Review: V and A's Telling Tales show gives furniture a fairy tale twist. Guardian.co.uk) talk of the skull inviting you to get inside your own head; a pun about psychoanalysis which leads to mention of Freud who is also famous for his interest in eroticism and associating this with a private space for two and a sheepskin rug. I was thinking in more simple terms that a lack of senses is akin to an empty skull.

Storm Chair, 2000. Stephen Richards. By comparison this is a beautifully simple title. The chair puts you in mind of a storm both from the flimsy sticks its made from that could have been washed up on a beach after a storm and the way they are put together as if destroyed in a storm. The title is integral to this exhibit.

6. Wich designers or pieces particularly caught your imagination and/or inspire you?

I think I have already covered this as I have only chosen to write about the works that particularly interested me. My favourite was the Bathboat.

Bibliography:

Brown, Helen.(2009) Review: V and A's Telling Tales show gives furniture a fairytale twist. [Internet] Available from

Dorment, Richard.(2009) Art Review: Telling Tales: Fantasy and Fear in Contemporary Design, review.[Internet] Available from

Wiles, William.(2009) iconeye: icon magazine online: Review: Telling Tales. [Internet] Available from

Williams, Gareth.(2009) Brochure: Telling Tales: Fantasy and fear in contemporary design. London: V and A.

TELLING TALES

People Tree Vs Boden