Friday, 20 December 2024

This blog begins with a little stitch-work of mine, as it leads to the theme.

PASSION.
A strong and barely controllable emotion.

In 2023, Sarah Mower interviewed Rei Kawakubo for a 10 magazine article, and she asked,
"Your collections always stir powerful emotions in your audience - does it matter to you how your intentions are interpreted?"
RK replied, "I am happy that the collections stir powerful emotions in the audience, but it is very important whether or not I myself am excited and stimulated by them."

The latest CdG Spring Summer 2025 collection, 'Uncertain Future', which one fashion reporter wrote that you could interpret geopolitically, climatically, or economically. 
As per usual, it's a fascinating collection of garments, but I was, first of all, taken with these three,


as I thought, 'Haven't I seen that fabric or similar before'. Like, the 'Roses and blood' Spring 2015 collection of  red, passionate and amorous red, voluminous hoods and a bit of black. But these ones, with that "blood-splattered" pattern, there is a connection, no?



Someone described Roses and blood as, "A passionate collection that rages with red." and lots of "trailing ribbons" or just trailings. Rei Kawakubo was reported as saying, "Blood and roses is just the true expression of my feelings right now."



Like I have mentioned many times, RK/CdG is very good at delivering the essence of the collections in garments that are more "everyday wearable", like this lovely knitted top made of different panels sewn together, with some panels having long trailing strips. Very nice.

A cool photo of Bjork wearing one of the hooded creations, and I love the footwear.

That marvelous hood inspired my Red Riding Hood piece from my 'In the Hood' project. References Vexed Generation, Comme des Garcons, 21st Century Society Surveillance and Ingmar Bergman.


The socks I am wearing are that same sort-of-blood-stained like the CdG fabrics. They needed to be slouched down to show that.

Here's a link to 'In the Hood'

Regard the 2025 Spring/Summer 'Uncertain Future'. Rei Kawakubo suggested that confronting an uncertain world with "air and transparency could signify a kind of hope." Air and transparency is an apt description for my 'Strawberry Pavlova Dress'. It's very lightweight, and I wouldn't trust the fabric anywhere near a naked flame!


The word passion is derived from the Latin passio, "suffering" "enduring". 

The Passion of Christ is the period of Jesus Christ's suffering, arrest, trial and crucifixion, as described in the Gospels.
The main purpose of religious Christian art was to serve as a reminder of the ways God has acted in the lives of people. Artists from all over the world, not just the western world, have explored the biblical story through their work. Many of them have imagined Christ's Passion.

The Last Supper
The Last Supper, 1997

Joseph Mulamba-Mandangi repesents Christ as a Congolese sharing a few jugs of palm wine with his disciples in a bamboo hut. 

The Agony in the Garden
Garden of Gethsemane, 1962
Japanese artist, Sadao Watanabe's multi-tiered stencil print, shows Jesus kneeling on the ground hunched over in distress. The cool muted blue-grey tones imply darkness setting in.

The Betrayal
Portrait of Judas, 2004
Julia Stankova, a Bulgarian artist, portrays this moment as one of double woe, leading to the death of both Jesus and Judas.

Peter's Denial
Man with Rooster, 1963
Vincente Manansala, Filipino artist, has the rooster bathed in light, while the man is coloured black with shame and remorseful eyes. It is also thought that the artist intended for the man to be a sabungero(cockfighter), yet bears allusion to Peter's denial.

Christ Before Pilate
Pilate Washing His Hands, 2007
Chinese artist, He Qi, painted Christ in wooden stocks, standing before Pilate. Three assistants stand by. There is a mask painted on Pilate's chest.

The Mocking of Jesus
Ecce Homo, 2014
Hrvoje Marko Peruzovic of Croatia, painted Jesus's face elongated with grief, cheeks sallow and sunken in. One eye is swollen shut, while the other looks out pleading for sympathy.

Jesus Carries His Cross
Way of the Cross, 2009
Indian artist Jyoti Saho, shows Christ traversing the Deccan Plateau of Southern India, past the Tungabhadra River. Two of Jesus's followers bow down in love and contrition. The Holy Spirit presides over the scene in the form of a hamsa, a swan-like bird from Indian mythology.

The Crucifixion
Crucifixion, 1977
South African artist, Lindiwe Mvemve's linocut depicts an enlarged cup containing the crucifixion scene. God the Father holds the cup, looking in with sadness.

Good Friday, 1994
Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Aboriginal Australian artist, empasizes divine wrath and punishment. A long view is presented of Golgotha, with a lightning bolt piercing through the roiling sky colouring it red with blood. To the left, the 'seven sisters' star cluster bear witness to the event. A crown of thorns and 3 big nails allude to Christ's presence.

The Lamentation
Execution by Firing Squad, 1943
Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamin, depicts a dead young man lying naked on a sheet. Three hooded women care for and support him.

The Dead Christ in the Tomb
Tomb of the Lord, 2011
Inspired by the visual language of icons, Ukrainian Sergii Radkevych adapts that language to contemporary street art formats. He seeks out spaces that have an undefined meaning and transforms them into spiritual spaces.

The Women at the Tomb
Who Will Roll Away the Stone?, 1999
Malaysian artist, Hanna Cheriyan Varghese produced a batik work, which emphasized the suspense and excitement of this discovery.

The Resurrection
Resurrection of Christ, 2006
Slovenian, Marko Ivan Rupnik reveals this pivotal event as a glory-streamed mosaic bursting up out of the belly of the earth, with Christ walking atop it. The vibrant green and other colours behind this glorious scene signify a garden, a new Eden.

If you would like to know more about the various artists mentioned above, take this link https://www.imb.org/2017/04/07/journey-cross-artists-visualize-christs-passion-part-1/

In 2000, Robert Wilson, the American experimental theatre artist, in conjunction with the Oberammergau Passion Play, presented a space and sound installation that reimagined the 14 stations of the cross. I got to know about it through the publication 'Robert Wilson 14 Stations', which I purchased somewhere along on my travels.


Wilson's installation explores the Passion of Christ through a humanistic interpretation of traditional Christian iconography. It aimed to appeal to people of all faiths and levels of belief, with installations such as these fascinating arrangements.

His stations go something like this,
Station 1: Jesus sentenced to death. 
                 RW's: Entry a building, deep shaft with the gurgling sound of liquid.

Station 2: Jesus takes the cross on his shoulders.
                RW's: Chunk of rock dangling from the ceiling, on the floor a red opened hand.

Station 3: Jesus falls under the cross for the first time.
                RW's: Falling lamb in the rocks.

Station 4: Jesus meets his mother.
                RW's: A rock hanging from the ceiling pierced with a pipe, beneath it two figures.

Station 5: Simon the Cyrenean helps Jesus bear the cross.
                RW's: Robe and yellow hand under a hanging chest.

Station 6: Veronica gives Jesus a cloth to wipe his brow.
                  RW's: Woman ironing.

Station 7: Jesus falls under the cross the second time.
                RW's: Hanging iron stove, monitor showing a man crawling across the floor.

Station 8: Jesus meets the weeping women.
                RW's: Older women doing their needlework/knitting.

Station 9: Jesus falls under the cross the third time.
                RW's: A naked man crouches on all fours under a falling table.

Station 10: Jesus is robbed of his garments.
                   RW's: Suspended rock and a cloak beneath it, dice placed on the floor.

Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the cross.
                   RW's: Bed pierced by a glass tube with pulsating liquid.

Station 12: Jesus dies on the cross.
                   RW's: Pack of wolves before a mountain landscape.

Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed on his Mother's knees.
                   RW's: Waving cloth showing Madonna, with birds.

Station 14: Resurrection.
                   RW's: Tent-like hut built from bent tree limbs, figure hanging upside down above a bed.

This link is a videoed visit to the display, it takes you right into each station. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWoZMabezaA

I became inspired and created stations within my workroom studio.






Adam's Passion, the suffering of the first man cast out from Paradise,
is another wonderful Wilson theatre production, in which he collaborated with the Estonian composer, Arvo Part. Music, song, movement and lights were beautifully blended to tell the story of Adam immediately after his expulsion from Eden. Part's compositions involve, Adam's Lament, Tabula rasa, Miserere and Sequentia, which was written specifically for the performance and dedicated to Wilson.

After Adam has taken the fruit, he is cast out and left to fend for himself in a desolate land. Adam experiences visions of the future horrors committed and suffered by men, a result of his fall. Finally Adam has no choice but to beg God's love and forgiveness.

Hopefully this link will work to take you the performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-SlspCBMZ8


Another passion, that of Joan of Arc,
and Danish director Carl Dreyer's 1927 silent film is full of it, delivered through the wonderful face of Renee Falconetti. Dreyer chose the 35 year old Falconetti, because, "For behind the make-up, behind the pose and that ravishing modern appearance, there was something. There was a soul behind that facade...a country girl, very sincere, but also a woman of suffering." In many respects, the film is a film about faces.


I have always loved this fashion photo shoot, as it has been beautifully inspired by Dreyer's film. Photographer Reed and Rader.




Hopefully this link will take you to a viewing of  The Passion of Joan of Arc film. It's worth it.


I had a go at making a crown like the one Joan is seen working on and wearing. I used a twine rope that I had lying around, as is my way, and would call it prototype number 1. I used it in my 'Stations' installation.

Also reworked my soft crown of thorns and set it against a more permanent explanation background.



And who else is one of my persons of passion....

Someone in agreement with me.

View it via this link, it gets Vincent's story across in a general way.
https://slideplayer.com/slide/12787050/

Is this a way to express passion for someone?

The moon has often been used as a symbol of passion and emotion in literature and in astrology, especially when it comes to women.

When it comes to women, the question has been, "Is the full moon a time of increased emotional release, weeping, accidents and passion?" 
And we know what that's about, don't we. The menses. The menstrual period, the first phase of the menstruation cycle, the monthly series of hormonal and structural changes in the female reproductive system that prepares the body for pregnancy. And the effect that can have.

What does Royal Museums Greenwich think?

In 2016, David Kohn Architects was invited to design a series of uniforms for project The Hotel Wallpaper, that year's Milan Furniture Fair entry. Inspiration came from 17th century calendar houses, buildings that were composed of elements that reflect how time is measured, e.g. 365 windows, 52 rooms and 12 fireplaces. Kohn worked with fashion designer Coloma Leddi to create the uniform collection, consisting of 12 overalls, cut from 52m of Swedish textile company Kinnasand fabric. Each uniform item, which presents a phase of the moon on the chest is tailored with 365 stitches and closed with 7 buttons.
Such a fascinating concept.





If that whole thing about 17th century calendar houses interests you, this link is worth viewing    https://www.almosthistorypodcast.com/calendar-houses/

Last, but not least (who first coined that phrase?) 'Passion Projects'.
Apparently, Passion Projects are modeled after Google's practice of allowing their employees to work on ideas they truly love, 20% of the time, which encourages them to be more creative, innovative and productive.

A passion project is a personal project that someone takes on because of their interest in a particular topic, idea, or skill. Passion projects can be creative, involve research, or be community initiatives. They are usually self-directed and not tied to a specific academic or professional requirement.
How to go about figuring out the passions.....Look back at what you loved to work on during childhood, because during this time you would voluntarily do things because you genuinely liked doing them. During the teenage years the hormones can confuse things and get in the way.

This is a great example of a Passion Project delivered in the classroom. (Could go by another name, Inquiry Learning.) I love the dinosaur in the last slide.

I realise Passion Projects are very much my thing....
I write a blog.
I create fabric art.
I've started clubs, a Book Club, A Patterners Group, a Film Club Group, and I love contributing and responding to contributions within each club.
I try to create/express something beautiful and share it with my world.

I started this blog with a stitch-work of mine, and so I shall finish with one. I have been in a Tolstoy period, watching some old, but very fine BBC television productions of War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Hence, got inspired to create this. Red threads stitched on raw linen fabric, and utilised various bits and pieces that come with Bernina sewing machine purchases, to add to the effect, especially trailing ribbons. (Probably make a bit more sense if you can see the side-bar of the blog site.)



SLTSLTBsigning off the last blog of 2024.

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