第一眼看到Richard Sweeney创作的纸雕塑作品就被吸引,他自己布光自己摄影,把光线和阴影处理得极其细腻。层层叠叠的纸在光影下显得既细腻又壮观,仿佛被Richard的一双神奇手赋予了生命,安静的空间形成了一种极有张力的拉锯。

Richard Sweeney今年才22岁,是曼彻斯特城市大学三年级的学生,但是他对结构的痴迷和细腻的把握却让他在这再普通不过的媒介——纸上创作出纯美的作品,并不断得到赞誉(06年7月他获得了DKNY新设计师大奖)。用同样的小单元,不断重复组成庞大的设计,是Richard的一种创作方式,而小的单元灵感来源于自然的形状,比如花朵。
Richard Sweeney说他并不想重复任何一个造型,在做一件作品的时候,一开始往往并不清楚最后会出现怎样的一个结果。他开始把玩弯曲的形状并不是有意去跟折纸联系起来,但是却着实受到David Huffman的弯曲折纸的影响。他的折纸造型是抽象的,这样更方便于使用技术重复地创造类似的造型。
把平面的材料变成三维的造型,是Richard最早的动机。从小时候,他就很喜欢观察身边所有细微的东西,并把他们画到自己的画里。原本打算成为平面设计师,后来却发现了自己在空间创作上的天分,而且对细节的热情和在二维和三维转换上的能力让他开始不断尝试纸张和厚纸板的创作。对三维的着迷开始于2002年到2003年期间,那时的Richard就读于Batley艺术与设计学校,从手工实践中开始发现自己在三维造型上的天分,并一发不可收拾。
正如他自己说的:“我崇拜折纸手工,把一张平纸变成漂亮的三维作品的方法让我觉得非常受启发。在学3D设计的时候用纸来制作模型,看到纸张被用来作为雕塑的材料,我被深深震撼了。用手来操作,在制作和实验的过程中我培养了自己的手艺,发挥材质最大的可能性,从而寻找方法来发现新造型。”电脑在平面上画图,加上手的帮助,基本上是Richard创作的方式。如果没有一种深深的热爱,我觉得很难想象每天对着枯燥的材质,如何能像他那般做出精致的一个个作品。从这点上来看,Richard Sweeney是个理想主义者,完美主义者。
他现阶段正在做一系列的纸雕塑,做更大规模的作品,并且准备在塑料和金属材质上做更多的实验。而他设计出的一款“折纸手工”合金碗将于今年年底由Wentworths of Sheffield公司投入生产。能把纯粹的东西变得商业一些,让更多人能分享这其中的快乐和美感,是一件很令人高兴的事。


上图是为英国服装品牌BOUDICCA设计的装饰花
Yan: How did you first find interests in paper forms and orgami?
Richard Sweeney: I have always loved paper modeling since I was a child, be it creating a paper airplane or an origami swan. Something I remember very well is creating a paper dodecahedron at school when I was about ten years old- I was fascinated by the way this wonderful geometric form could be folded from a flat sheet of A4 paper.
Yan: How does your creating process start?
Richard Sweeney: My creative process is driven by hands-on material manipulation, primarily using sheet materials. It’s important for me to get a feel for the medium, whether it be paper, sheet plastic or metal as so I can understand what forms it lends itself to, and more importantly those that it does not! It is often a process of trial and error, but this experimental approach allows me to discover new methods of manipulation, which can be used to shape the material in an unexpected way. This is an approach I developed through my study in Three Dimensional Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University, which finally led me to create a series of modular, paper sculptures.
Yan: Tell me about the “origami” bowl.
Richard Sweeney: I generally work with paper as the final material for my work, but I realised there was potential to translate these folded forms into other materials, especially sheet metal.
I got in touch with Wentworths of Sheffield, a long standing manufacturer of pewter-ware, who offered to produce prototypes of bowl forms. CNC routing is used to create a pattern of “scored” lines on the surface of the pewter sheet, which is then hand-folded to create the desired form. I knew pewter was very malleable, and I aimed to take full advantage of this to create something that really pushed the material purely through the use of folding.
Yan: from the “origami” bowl, are you planning to do more product design with pewter?
Richard Sweeney: I have some new pewter pieces in development, which I hope will be in production in the near future. This includes a series of bowls and vessels in different that explore different folding techniques; one of which produces curved surfaces, the other uses multiple flat surfaces to suggest curvature.
Yan: What are you working on now?
Richard Sweeney: As well as a new range of pewter-ware I’m working on my sculptural and photographic work. The forms I am currently developing have taken on a much more organic quality, influenced by Radiolarians (single celled sea organisms). I’m working on creating branching structures as well as increasing the scale of the work yet further (upwards of one metre across).
Yan: What’s the most challenging thing at the moment according to you?
Richard Sweeney: My work always challenges me, as I see every project as an opportunity to discover something new. If there was no challenge in what I did, it would cease to have meaning for me- I need to engage my mind when I work. I rarely work with a pre-determined outcome in mind, for me the emphasis is on process, the challenge is discovering how best to utilise the process.
Yan: What is the most interesting project by others that you have noticed in the last year?
Richard Sweeney: Projects by Thomas Heatherwick (of the Heatherwick Studio, London) always catch my interest. The sheer scale and ambition of the work, combined with an innovative use of materials is truly inspiring. The “Rolling Bridge” at Paddington Basin, a footbridge over a canal that curls in on itself much like a scorpion’s tail to let boats pass is one of my recent favourites.
Yan: Are you a perfectionist?
Richard Sweeney: I am something of a perfectionist, but I do realise that perfection can never truly be achieved. In everything I make I always see the potential for more; new materials, different methods of manipulation, larger scale- I’m always searching to better my work and make new discoveries along the way.
Yan: Could you tell me your daily life?
Richard Sweeney: I like to keep my days varied, I usually have a few different design projects on the go at any one time, and I also strive to push my sculptural work forward. I find that my projects are not distinct; they flow into and complement each other. Photography is a major part of my practice too, not just for creating photographic compositions but also as a means to appreciate the beauty in the world around me. Besides my art, also like to express myself through music; I play my guitar when I have a spare moment and I’m also teaching myself to play the piano.
Yan: What are your plans for 2007?
Richard Sweeney: I’m curious to explore new media and different ways of working. The use of computer modelling to create objects for rapid prototyping is something I would like to take further, and I’m also keen to work in sheet steel on a large scale. I don’t have any solid plans for projects as such; I just intend to let my art grow and see where it leads me.
法国女摄影师Camille Vivier属于70后,但是却在少年时期就已成名。18时岁的她得到人生的第一台相机,尼康FM2。
那是10年前,杂志对于她来说,是她觉得最容易接受、接触最多的媒介。i-D杂志,The Face和Purple Prose正在改变人们对杂志的固有印象。Camille Vivier在Purple Prose的经验打开了一个让她兴奋不已的世界,这个世界正好贴近她所处的年代和她的感性认知。最重要的是,她开始在杂志上面刊登出自己的摄影作品。高中年代的她还发现了Wolfgang Tillmans的摄影集。Tillmans完全颠覆了她心目中对摄影的看法,尽管她已经看过很多颠覆时代的摄影师作品,比如Irving Penn,Newton,Blemenfeldt,但是那些太过于刻意和世故。Camille Vivier想要看到一个她自己参与到其中的世界,Tillmans作品中的世界正好是一种可触摸的自发状态。所以她觉得自己也可以拍摄,或者至少已经找到一个标准,而不是从那些笨拙的作品中揣摩。这一标准可以用到杂志、CD封面、展览甚至是广告创作上。有趣的是,到现在人们仍然延续着一种对舞台感、非现实和神秘主义的喜好。Camille很聪明地找到了出色的学习对象——那些占据各种封面、不装腔作势的摄影师:Guy Bourdin,Bruce Davidson,Outerbridge,Man Ray等。即使她自己很喜欢杂志和展览,但是觉得它们太过于短暂。现在对于Camille来说,最大的兴趣是做书,拍电影。
Camille Vivier用她自己的方式构思每一幅图片,把物件、人和动物融入到她所精心设计的情境中。“即使我想的是自己被拍摄的对象所吸引,但实际上最重要的是,我被某一瞬间的感性或者某个女孩或动物的美丽所吸引,还有这一切可能讲述的故事。”Camille选择每一个拍摄对象时心里已经清楚,它将使她的世界变得丰富,它可能描绘出一个故事来,就好像小说中的人物。而灯光在拍摄的过程中充当了“服装”的作用。
奇妙的氛围来自于不同的组合、表演,以及可能的情境和不合理的关联中。通过某种方式,Camille Vivier让拍摄对象扮演一个谜一样的角色,有的变成神秘角色,有点类似于魔幻文学中古玩橱柜扮演的虚构元素。她常常会用电影和绘画的方式来思考,但是她布置拍摄对象的方式更接近于戏剧。正是这种舞台的表演方式和想象力吸引了她——Erte的装饰和服装,Veronesi的悬丝人偶,Walter Boje的裸体小丑,还有默片时期影片《Laugh,Clown,Laugh》中的Lon Chaney。也许是因为这些形象,在Camille Vivier的镜头下,所有女孩都非常安静,仿佛被凝结住了。
而关于动物,它们仿佛是动物寓言的主角,因为Camille Vivier把动物眼中的肌理拍摄出来,瞬间就激发出人和动物之间某种奇妙的关联。而由动物所激发得到灵感和内心的冲动成就了每一张图片,在Camille内心,她们扮演不同的角色:危险、欲望、诱惑、焦虑等。在这些不同的身份中,你会发现不同的来源——Jean Ray的哥特童话,Mervyn Peake笔下那些魔幻故事比如Gormenghast Trilogy(《哥门鬼城》),还有Werner Rohde的自拍像,以及Anne Clark高贵的声音和电子合成的音乐等。
现实世界的视觉影像却组合出奇幻的语言,Camille Vivier的拍摄过滤掉繁杂的成分,留给人们不受束缚的想象空间。世界演变成一个无形的体系,尽管现实并没有被改变。而实现这个过程并不需要任何设备,只是通过表演,通过对一种风格的关注,以及光影的变幻。Camille Vivier说,她的拍摄想法借鉴于潜意识和梦境中的意象、神秘的vanitas艺术、魔法、神话,以及个人在灵异、恐惧、感性、爱情中的体验,于是形成了具有个人色彩的美感。在这样一种并置的虚幻世界,她找到了自己看事物的独特方式,留住了现实中最美好的部分。尽管我们看到她的世界中充满了黑暗和忧郁,但实际上它包含了青春和希望带给我们的浪漫情怀。

Yan: Could you tell me about your first editorial work?
Camille Vivier: My first editorial wasn’t a proper editorial shooting, I think it was for Purple Fashion, a story about Eric Halley’s jewellery, we were only 3 on the set: the girl I photographed, my boyfriend and me, each person playing a different part on each picture (including me). It was really free.
Yan: It seems that dreams are playing an important role in your shooting. Could you tell me how dreams and unreal things affect you?
Camille Vivier: Dreams and unreal things feed my works, they provide an imagery that I feel close to, a wide range of colors, shapes, subjects and moods. I won’t say that they’re more interesting than reality but they have this visionary aspect that I like and a certain freedom that I find easier to deal with.
I’ve always been attracted to magic, fantasy, psychoanalysm and even voodoo, they’re the power of mind and they can give a great material for visual art.
Yan: What’s the most difficult part in your work?
Camille Vivier: Compromises and the future of a picture.
Yan: What do you want to express through the animals (cat, bird and horse) in your shoots?
Camille Vivier: Animals can embody many feelings and even some values in a very poetic and irrationnal way, they are the keys of a wild, silent and primitive world.
Yan: What’s the most cherished thing in your life?
Camille Vivier: My daughter.
Yan: Do you like living in Paris? Is there any other city that you would like to move to?
Camille Vivier: I like living in Paris because that’s where I have all my habits, friends and most of my family, I know some good spots there but it’s not the best place for creative people and it can be very boring.
I could live in Berlin or New-York.
Yan: What does interest you now?
Camille Vivier: I’d like to make a book, I’m also interested in film-making.


不知道你有没有像我一样乱买衣服,然后偶尔觉得心怀愧疚。有时候看着不喜欢的衣服,想拿起剪刀变废为宝,但是因为要把缝纫机搬出来,又觉得太辛苦费劲而作罢。生活在一个个念想和一个个作罢中度过,在批量生产的花花世界中承受生命不可承受的诱惑。
直到看了Andrea Crews的举动,总算开眼了。
Andrea Crews是一个艺术和时尚的集体。说实话,我还没搞清楚这个名字的意思。创办人是一个女艺术家,名为Maroussia Rebecq,2002年,她在巴黎Le Palais de Tokyo当代艺术创作基地组织概念活动,把4吨废旧的衣服重新加工成可以穿着的艺术品,一排排的缝纫机,人台模特,当地艺术家、设计师和缝衣工,在临时的工作间(temporary workshop installation)中完成了创举。
在这之后的5年中,东京的club青年和纽约的环保时尚倡导者(eco-fashionista)在继续他们的举动。
创办于巴黎,Andrea Crews的出现,是高级定制的故乡给人的一个意外。但是有谁会因为这样一种特殊的方式来责备Andrea Crews?
stylewillsaveus 网站罗列出了不少关于Andrea Crews给我们带来的好处:
一是这些设计都是原创和限量版的——把肥大的“老爷裤”(grandpa trousers)改装成抹胸连身裤,或者是把松松垮垮的套头衫改造成晚装,一件件艺术而时尚的单品便新鲜出炉了。
二是这些设计对环境的好处——用的都是二手旧衣服,循环利用使得废旧的衣物成为让人眼前一亮的抢手货。每一个系列,加上他们的装置品和工作间提供了一种更民族化的消费方式,为新衣服的过度消费和时尚界的过度商业化敲响了警钟。他们也和学校、人道主义机构一起推动可持续的发展,在创意的过程中参与到社会活动中。
Andrea Crews因此成为了一种“后复古”(Post-Vintage)的典范。


过度消费造成了每一季成千上万吨的二手衣服。慈善者把旧衣服捐出来,而这些衣服会通过几种方式处理:一部分会交给寄物间和集市,一部分会被卖去造纸或者做抹布。剩下的就会被丢掉。Andrea Crews利用的正是这些本来会被丢掉的衣服。每一件衣服的潜在可能性和艺术家的想法融合在一起,使得衍生出来的新设计具有不可预见的美感。他们的创作灵感来源于亚文化的插画、神秘壁画、科幻杂志、色情文化、电子旋律、朋克广告传单等。因为这个集体中都是些艺术家、造型师、短片导演、DJ等,在艺术的氛围中独创出流行、古怪、实验性和好玩的文化。个人创造力、实验精神和独立精神是他们倡导的品质,把时尚、艺术、音乐通通玩到一块去。
除了服装和艺术之外,Andrea Crews还经常组织活动。More than a brand,是他们标榜的概念,为了成为现有消费体系之外的一个新选择。
有兴趣的话到他们的网上商店瞅瞅吧!
07年秋冬季的米兰男装发布会上,设计师们给出了一个严肃和克制的新章程。而新的风格,在传统和创新握手言和后悄然形成。也许因为我们很快就将前往太空旅游,在火星上生活也似乎不只是幻想,于是,宇宙太空逐渐成为一个“禅化”了的概念。这个概念在Dolce & Gabbana登场的时候也走到了极致,身穿巨大的外套,头戴圆形的头盔,白色、银色装扮的太空宇航员以太空漫游的阵营活跃在秀场的台前台后。不断渗透入人心的太空旅行带来了大量的金属质感和流线型。Dolce & Gabbana设计的修长亮丽的套装,闪亮的夹克衫,还有修长的缚带靴,可以说是那些刺眼的太空连体衣被带入现实世界中的最好选择。而Neil Barrett的亮银色牛仔裤和半统工作靴,还有Costume National的派克式外衣,以及Jil Sander的卢勒克斯织物套头衫,都给出了太空装扮的新选项。
Alexander McQueen和Miuccia Prada,这两位方向不同,但是自我意识都很强的设计师,都在挑战一种未来主义和复古风格的融合——把上等的自然材质(比如平纹皱丝织物)和挺阔的人造织物(比如氯丁橡胶)结合起来,缝制出颇具体积感的造型。英国神童Alexander McQueen把卡通的超级英雄形象用在了塔形肩线的40年代西装上,定型的头发和银色的眼睛,把Max Headroom(英国80年代电视连续剧中的人物)转变成一个恐怖的魔术师。Miuccia Prada的蛋形外套,别具风格的绒毛束腰外衣,还有马裤,把军官学员、60年代滑雪者和漫画中的洞穴人杂糅成一种离奇的身份。面料也同样出众,把不同面料用针缝的方式混合使用,更映衬出整个系列的多面性。
极简主义仍然在潜行。连Donatella Versace也将她的设计主旨大胆地削减,调色盘上主要是黑白二色,还有她为“超人”下的注。而Calvin Klein的男装艺术总监Italo Zucchelli也是抛开繁复的细节,转向了性感而硬朗的无领夹克和精“制”西装,以及加上涂层的羊皮夹克。极端的纯粹主义者Raf Simons则采用镶嵌细工和细致的网格让人不得不凑近细看,Marni的方形外套和羊绒紧身衣,都是对节制而现代的古典主义的一种赞颂。
时下对中性风格的追求让性别界限成了过时的词汇,在Burberry Prorsum的新系列中,设计师Chris Bailey精致地解构了军服,加入了一种神经质的冷漠情绪。而闷热的Jagger风格席卷了Haute;Jim Morrison重返人间穿着黑色压花皮衣出现在 Roberto Cavalli秀台上。Silvia Fendi把衰落的花花公子风格用在了正经的七分袖外套和夹克衫上,感觉就像从时髦的母亲衣橱里找来的60年代的Balenciaga。让人惊诧之余,对服装结构和体积感的新研究将带来一个新的趋势。
同时,刻板的正装卷土重来,在佛罗伦萨碧蒂展览会期间举行的黑领带舞会和Savile Row展览已经做好了铺垫。从Daks到Giorgio Armani,再到Emporio Armani,可以说,如果没有一两件正式晚礼服,这些系列都会显得不完整。在D&G,压轴的黑领带及西装甚至被引入日装和运动装中。Bottega Veneta发布会上窄肩的三片式西装,奢侈得恰到好处的设计,是设计师Tomas Maier对意大利那不勒斯裁缝的敬意,而时髦经典的Valentino系列拥有让绅士看起来既冷峻又快乐的秘诀。
末了,毕竟是为冬天准备的发布,先撇开全球变暖的担忧,关于雪天的幻想在男装周上此起彼伏。那些山巅爱好者肯定不会放过Luca Missoni设计的拼缝套头衫和针织面料的西服;而Gucci把阿尔卑斯的冷峻融入到60年代舞男的风格中;Dsquared2用快乐的长袜强化他们的深色系列。可以说,这也成了时髦的男性风格精髓所在。