Over the course of the spring semester, Fashion Studies, History of Curatorial Studies and Design, and Art, Media, and Technology graduate students planned a graduate symposium to showcase students’ research. The symposium, titled Dis/Orienting Identity, included two keynote speakers as well as two panels, composed of three students each. It was held on April 20th at Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs, in the museum’s auditorium.

The first keynote speaker, paired with the first panel of student researchers, was Diane Drubay, of Buzzeum and We are Museums. Self-defined as a museum strategist, event curator, and museum futurist, Drubay’s mission is to connect museums, curators, and students around the world in order to increase accessibility and knowledge exchange. In a sentence, Drubay’s approach is, “I don’t believe museums are white cubes that you can just insert a concept in.”

Following Drubay’s presentation, was Art, Media, and Technology graduate student, Erica Kermani. Kermani presented her thesis research, “Burying Well No 1. And Burying You Along With It: Mythologies and Counter Mythologies on the First Oil Well in Iran” Her research’s genesis falls somewhere between Persian poet Ferdowsi’s epic Shahnameh and Iran’s first oil well. She explores the cultural significance of Iran’s first oil well mediated by Orientalism, tradition, and ritual. Kermani concluded on a powerful point, saying, “When we write our own stories, they are powerful and resilient.”

Next, first year Fashion Studies student Philippa Nesbitt presented her research titled “Designing Liminality: The Careful Identity of Yohji Yamamoto.” Within her framework she explored Yamamoto’s identity; which defined as “liminal.” Nesbitt did this by structuring three different frames. Geographic liminality (Parisian vs. Tokyoite), artistic liminality (designer vs. creator), and temporal liminality (past vs. present). In short Nesbitt concluded, “Like many esteemed designers and artists, Yohji Yamamoto has devoted his life to the careful construction of a complex and mysterious persona that is reflected in his clothing designs. Carefully walking the lines between two cultures, two worlds, and two timelines, Yamamoto has mediated an identity in liminality.”

Concluding the first panel, first-year Fashion Studies student Angelene Wong explored identity through Singapore’s status as a burgeoning fashion city. Her research questioned, “How is Singapore as a First World economy inserting itself within the global fashion dialogue? Is it doing so successfully?” The genesis of her research was a book titled Fashion Most Wanted: Singapore’s Top Insider Secrets From the Past Five Decades, a text that explored Singapore’s hunt for national identity via fashion and it’s vying for a seat at the global fashion conversation’s table. Wong found the answer to her research question in saying, “Efforts to express a fashion identity is intrinsically linked to capitalism yet there is a disjuncture between this identity and Singapore’s economy.”

The second keynote speaker wasfounder and editor-in-chief of Vestoj, Anja Aronowsky-Cronberg. Her publication is an annual journal on sartorial matters; addressing issues such as authenticity, masculinities, and power all mediated by fashion as both an industry and an academic discipline. Her publication begs its own research questions, such as, “If we start a new publication, how can make a publication that just by its existence would bring up or point to my frustrations? Not pointing fingers, just showing another way.” In short, “Vestoj started out of frustration.”

Aronowsky-Cronberg was followed by Ariel Stark, another first-year Fashion Studies student. Her presentation was titled “The Rebellion of the Démodé: Age & Representation in the Fashion Industry.” Her research started with a simple question: What does it mean to speak about age or to be aged? After exploring this notion of age, specifically within “stage eight” of a woman’s life, defined as the retirement years, or age 65+, Stark came to mediate this state as an age of rebellion. She explored this by asking,“How is age associated with our perceptions of time within the fashion industry?” Her conclusion was that age is hugely related to how time itself is constructed within the fashion industry.

Next, second-year Fashion Studies Tala Alghamdi took on the idea of fashioning the self via Instagram with her research “Realizing Our Self on Instagram.” Using Jacques Lacan’s mirror-stage theory, Alghamdi begged “big” questions such as: Is social media the culprit of narcissism? and Are we too self-obsessed? She presented the ideas that within the application you must exist in order to interact, how many likes and comments are received immediately become a part of the image itself, and the linguistic aspect of “creating an account” is double sided in meaning–reflecting both the creation of a profile, but also proliferating your own narrative. Alghamdi concluded on this point, “After we accept this idea that the Instagram self is a construct/brand how do we monetize our self-image as a commodity? Instead of seeing it as a tragedy of capitalism, how can this level the playing field, and empower certain people?”

Finally, first-year History of Curatorial Design Studies student Jorge Torrens presented his exhibition proposal, “Digital Dysmorphia.” His exhibition would aim to create an interactive exploration of exhibitionism and documentation of the self within the digital age. He proposed Parisian Gaîté Lyrique as the space and used exhibitions such as Molly Soda’s Inbox Full and Ryder Ripp’s Ho as points of both inspiration and critique of his own idea. Additionally, his proposal opened a conversation regarding the manner in which male artists appropriate women’s online presences. In conclusion, Torrens stated, “There is a constant duplication and multiplication of the persona, perpetuating a multiple-personal disorder of sorts.”

The event concluded with short remarks from moderators Katherine Wilkes and Forrest Pelsue. The next student-led graduate symposium is set for the Fall 2018 semester.

 

Words: Katie Wilkes

Photos: Katie Wilkes

SaveSave