ANDREA
BILGRIEN
Clothed
Space
The prompt of this project was to use fabric in an innovative way to somehow create a three dimensional artwork.
I started brainstorming this project by looking at the work of one of my favorite sculpture artists, Andy Goldsworthy. Goldsworthy creates natural installations; he works outdoors, collecting materials from the environment around him and then rearranges them in captivating ways. He has a regular theme in the forms he creates that I found particularly interesting. Many of his works have a hole in the center that draws the viewer in.
I was particularly intrigued by pieces like the photographs below where people rearrange branches to create a form. To me it parallels the way a bird might pick things up from the ground to make its nest; the small pieces come together to create a larger texture.
From these land installations I feel a sense of shelter, protection and space, ideas that directly relate to the clothing put on a body. I wanted my end design to be a statement on clothing as a form of shelter. I liked the idea of small part creating a whole and this sense of a pattern or texture radiating from a common center point. I experimented with a few different fabric manipulation techniques.
I chose an olive green canvas as my fabric because I thought the weight and the hand followed the train of thought from my inspiration. Even though this project was a conceptual piece, I spent a lot of time thinking about the wearer of this garment since I find it relevant to the narrative. I wanted my design to create a space around the body and cover the wearer, but still allow for movement and comfort.
.jpg)
.jpg)