Event 2: Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram

The second event I went to was the Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem Exhibition at Fowler Museum. The Gagawaka part of the exhibition refers to using trash to make clothing out of it. I found it very interesting that Sundaram says in a video that there is a sort of violence in this part of the exhibition because making a dress from trash has an "anti-aesthetic to it" (Youtube). Just because one is using recycled or odd materials, it is not considered beauty anymore, or there is another essence to it that keeps it from truly being beautiful. I thought so otherwise because when I first looked at the mannequins, I didn't even notice what they were made of. For example, Diva R-E-D is a red dress is made of bras. At first glance, it just seemed like an upscale dress to me. I think this has a lot to do with media and how society is perceived too. Once something is tainted, it brings the image down making it hard for someone to have a fresh start. But overall, most people judge items as a whole, so the past and background of the item should not influence the first impression of the item. When I found out that the dress was made of bras, it did change my thoughts on the piece; I thought it was kind of weird, but still very interesting.

Diva R-E-D

Wedding Outfit

Immunity Cover

Snake Shell

The Postmortem part of the exhibition was strange when I first saw the pieces. It consisted of deconstructed body parts and it was all very abstract .When I first looked at it, I felt a bit uneasy because I was not used to seeing objects in that form. I did not and could not really see a connection between the two at first besides the fact that they both had to do with the body. The pieces seemed so difference because the dresses and outfits were so put together while the other sculptures were deconstructed and different. In the video introducing the exhibition, Sundaram talks about how the garment pieces are meant to be worn on top of the body, so it can cover the body underneath it, only showing the beauty of the garment. I thought that was so smart and that the connection was flawless on how he contrasted something beautiful and something not so beautiful or "normal" to the eye.

Sundaram's usage of medical items in the hollow mannequins was quite genius to me. I think it really connects the two difference sides of the exhibition. Underneath the mannequin, the skin, lies the truth. This is a part of a person that no one sees and it can hold a lot of secrets and the truth. Something or someone might not really reflect what they look like on the outside. I think this was a clever way to mash together medical technology with art.

I would recommend this exhibit because it was an interesting exhibition to view. I think that anyone who has not been to Fowler yet should visit because there are a lot of other interesting exhibitions there too. I loved looking at all the dresses and other clothing that were made and seeing what kind of materials they were made out of. 

Butalia, Pankaj. "Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram." YouTube. Fowler Museum at UCLA, 16 Mar. 2015. Web.

 "Making Strange: Gagawaka Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram." Fowler. Web. 

 "Making Strange" by Vivan Sundaram at The Fowler Museum." Theartminion. 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 

"Press Release: Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram." Fowler. Web.