How does the dress, which distinguishes itself with its form, craftsmanship, color, function, and pattern, become an instrument in art and design? The dress, which we will consider a form of expression in contemporary art, and an avant-garde design object of the Soviet revolution, turns from a piece of textile in its essence to a form of communication. Body, identity, social status, and culture appear as the concepts associated with clothing in every art period. In the same way, it is observed how the symbolic meaning of the design is intertwined with these concepts in Constructivist textiles. Comparing the same object as a subject of art and design leads the research to interpret the object's relationship with aesthetic, uniqueness, and subjective effect on the audience, which contradicts its relation with mass production, functionality, and desirable social impact. On the other hand, the intersection of art and design makes the object represent the collection of ideas, define the artist’s or designer’s role and change some gender norms. For this reason, contemporary performance artist Mehtap Baydu and Constructivist textile designers Popova and Stepanova are compared and discussed in terms of the ideas and related notions revealed by their work in this research.
The project "My Life My Rules" emerged utilizing this research as a performative knowledge production tool.
See the board below for research details.