1 Simon Schama, Citizen of the French Revolution. New York:Alfred A. Knopf, 1989. p. 125. 2 Marc Dessauce, The Inflatable Moment, Pneumatics and Protest in ’68 . New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999. p. 13. “Pneumatics and revolution agree well. Both are fueled by wind and the myth of transcendence; as the balloon enraptures the child, they animate and transport us on the promise of an imminent passage into a perfected future.“ 3 Sean Topham, Blowup. Munich: Prestel-Verlag, 2000. p. 38. “Inflatable dummy apparatus later proved its worth in Fortitude South, one of the largest deception campaigns in the history of the war.The aim of Fortitude South was to dupe Hitler’s armed forces into believing that any plans the Allies had to invade occupied France would be focused on Calais, rather than Normandy where the D-Day invasion would actually take place.” 4 The innovations in inflatable technologies pioneered by F.W.Lanchester air- supported dome 1917),Walter Bird ( Radome 1947, swimming pool cover in Buffalo in NY 1957, Peace pavilion for the US Atomic Energy Commission 1962), Frei Otto (pavilion at Rotterdam expo in 1958). 5 Dyodon by Jean-Paul Jungmann,Traveling exhibition hall for everyday objects by Antoine Stinco,Traveling theatre for 5000 spectators by Jean Aubert, Cushicle by Michael Webb, Balloon fur Zwei by Haus-Rucker-Co. 6 Joan Ockman, ‘Pneumotopian Visions’, Metropolis Magazine (New York: June 1998. Online: http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0698/ ju98neu.htm) 7 Jade Chang, ‘Monitoring the historical ups and downs of inflatable architecture’, The Metropolis Observed (New York: October 2001. Online: http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_1001/ob/ob05.html) You never know WEAR The Dressware project that I have been developing follows the legacy of Michael Webb’s 1966-7 Suitaloon and Cushicle 12 . The main goal of this work is to create multipurpose inflatable dresses that, through inflation and incorporation of wearable technology, will change and adapt to different situations and environments. In this project I draw attention to the uncertainty in globalised culture where individuals have less and less control over their lives and are increasingly controlled by big institu- tions, corporations and governments. Dressware brings our individual needs to the basic, everyday experience of survival. Considering how our lives have become multi-dimensional and multi-demanding, this work attempts to find practical solutions to ‘you never know WEAR?’ situa - tions of local and global emergencies. While there is always room for individual inventions and approaches, many questions remain: how will these developments help a society controlled by profit and the interests of a few rather than the many? How can we increase an awareness of humanity when, on the one hand, individualized images of society circulate widely, yet, on the other hand, individual souls dissolve in the miasma of the general individual? Will technological advancements bring us to a new inflatable moment, and if so, where will we end up? And although the questions and answers continue to be open, it is important to nourish the belief in a better future and support all efforts that go along with it.
Ana Rewakawicz. Sleeping Bag Dress Prototype 2002
8 Courtenay Smith and Sean Topham, Xtreme Houses. Munich: Prestel-Verlag, 2002. p. 152.
9 http://www.bfi.org/introduction_to_bmf.htm# 10 Quote from the artist. 11 Quote from the artist
12 In 1966 and 1967 Michael Webb, a member of Archigram group (London UK), developed the concept of ‘clothing for living in’ — single space and portable units.
Ana Rewakowicz is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Montreal, Canada. She received a BFA at Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto and MFA at Concordia University in Montreal. She works with inflatables and explores relations between temporal, por - table architecture, the body and the environment. Her artwork has been exhibited in Canada and abroad. Cur- rently she teaches at Queen’s University in Kingston and Concordia University in Montreal.
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