Press Release.

Here is an image of the final layout of my press release as it would be printed:

This is the context of the press release:

Bankside
London

SE1 9TG

Press release

It’s not what you wear, but who you wear…

5^th May – 30^th July 2011

The Tate Modern invites you to an art exhibition with a fashionable difference. As you enter the famous Turbine Hall you will be greeted by the familiar catwalk setting with front row guests either side. However when you look closer you will find the items on the catwalk are static sculptures, caught in the moment as they walk down the industrial platform. The guests are stunning photos of those in or related to the fashion industry, peering onto the catwalk and admiring the artwork. If you explore far enough there’s even a backstage area. Here you will discover all of the items being prepared to go on stage, each separately hung on its own clothes rail in a 2D form, waiting to be transformed into the sculptures found on stage. Also backstage are some suggestions towards the fashion industry. Are the large scale cut away works suggesting destruction and a hate for the industry, or a fascination and creation? Is the painted portrait of a model with a walking stick beautiful,  or does it signify the hidden body issues not usually depicted in glossy magazines?

This exhibition questions the line between art and fashion. Both are creative processes and yet we often give one more worth than the over. Here you can see that some artists have dared to ‘lower’ themselves to fashion depths and by doing so they have created beautiful pieces of fashion worthy artwork. Some fashion designers and photographers have taken on the challenge of standing up to those who look down on their craft and have proven they too can produce something as creative and thought provoking as an artist.

Within the exhibition you will find work from the likes of Susie MacMurray, Annie Morris, Rankin and Richard Avedon to name a few. None of the works have been named or identify who they belong to. Can you guess which was created by an artist and which by a fashion designer? Should it matter? After studying the sculptural dresses on display, the striking photography and intriguing wall art the point should be made that all these works have something in common, the beautiful artwork that can come from the study of fashion and it’s contexts.

“Personality begins where comparison ends.” –Karl Lagerfeld 

For a full list of artists and more information you can visit the gallery’s website www.tate.org.uk/modern/, contact them about tickets via telephone: 020 7887 8888 or e-mail at: visiting.modern@tate.org.uk.

Alternatively you can view the blog where the idea was formed and the development of the exhibition itself katemariecarter.blogspot.com. This also includes a full list of artist with their works and the placement within the exhibition. It is suggested to view this after visiting the gallery.

Press Release Ideas.

As I want my exhibition to tie in together and due to the flow of the layout, I thought I could take inspiration from the press release for Dr Lakra at the Kate MacGarry Gallery. This press release tells a story about the work, which I would like to recreate in my exhibition. I feel this would bring all of the works together and have the narrative I found entices me when researching for my own practice.

Along with this style I will include the following to make sure the audience is fully informed. Like fashion exhibitions have to change so to keep mine fresh and exciting I won’t make the date too long. This will hopefully encourage people to come see it while they can.  I will also include the Location, this being the name of the place and the address to be able to find it, also contact details for more information.

 I will perhaps include a list of Artist names to inform the audience of who participated, but I’m not sure if I want to identify who did what or what the name of a piece is as I feel it could be interesting to take away the element of a ‘fashion design’, an ‘artist’ or a ‘piece of art’ and allow the audience to make their own conclusion. If I include the list of artists however they are then free to find out what each really means and see if they have changed their minds in anyway.  I could include a website address for my blog, this way they could get all the information about how the exhibition came together. Seeing as there are comment boxes throughout my blog it would be perfect for feedback to see if my goal was reached.

Most importantly I’d quite like too leave the audience with the question… when does art end and fashion begin? Hopefully by the time they’ve walked around this exhibition, they won’t know.

The Title.

As an idea for the title for my exhibition I have looked up some typical ‘fashion phrases’ to set the tone. Here are some of the ones I found:

• (trend) - The new black
• This seasons Key pieces
• Most wanted
• Fashion victim
• fashion waits for no1
• “Personality begins where comparison ends.” –Karl Lagerfeld 
• The show must go on
• It’s not what you wear but how you wear it (similar to it’s not what you know but who you know)

All are quite strong; I like the idea of identifying that that fashion and art have come together to create this show. The two that come closest to this is the last one and the Karl Lagerfeld quote.  I feel the quote would be better to use in the press release as a description, I could change the last idea to ‘It’s not what you wear, but who you wear’. This could be in reference to the idea that people are ask ‘who they are wearing’ when on the red carpet, but also it could suggest that the outfits and ‘fashion items’ are all about the people who made it… the artists.

THE MODEL.

Here are the screen shots of my model. from the website http://www.audialsense.com/tate.html I found the length, hieght and width of Turbine hall which is the location I chose for my exhibition. These measurements were approximately 152 metres (498.7 feet) long, 30 metres (98.4 feet) high and 24 metres (78.7 feet) wide.  

Above is a suggested route. I have planned it out so that there are two exits from the 'backstage area'. This allows the viewer to walk around the exhibition without having to go back on themselves.

The entrance to the turbine hall is to the right with a slope going down into the turbine hall. As you enter there is a catwalk. In the middle there are chairs either side of the catwalk. to the left is the 'backstage' area.

To the right of the catwalk there are six chairs with a portrait related to fashion on each. From left to right the Works of art are; the Untitled Photo which is part of Rankin's fashion portfolio (shows a fashion model with red markings on her face), an Untitled photo by Christophe Gilbert from ‘serie 1’ (shows a woman with a diamond encrusted necklace strangling her), Perou's portrait of 'Vivienne Westwood', Rankin's 'Heidilicious', Weegee's “Hopper's Topper” Hedda Hopper', and finally Perou's Portrait of 'Lilly Allen'. 

To the left of the catwalk is are another 6 chairs all with portrait photographers. From left to right these are; Rankin's 'Sienna Miller', Rankin's 'Pete Doherty', Helmo's Untitled photo which is part of the collection “Bêtes de mode” (shows a blue woman with a red cat over the top), Rankin's 'Lilly Allen', Michael Thompson's 'Ruffled Neck', and finally another of  Helmo's Untitled photos which is part of the collection “Bêtes de mode” (shows a blue woman with a red swan over the top).

Backstage area. These items are hanging on metal rails. Down either side are photos by Christophe Gilbert. All are Untitled but are from the collection 'Serie 1'. On the left the nearest is a woman pouring purple paint over herself, next is a woman with a champagne top as a dress and at the end is woman throwing a shawl made from pale green paint. On the right hand side the nearest photo is of a woman wearing a fish outfit and next to it is the portrait of a young child dressed like a teenage male. At the far end on the left is a photograph by Richard Avedon called 'Veruschka' and to the right of it is the painting 'The Cripple' by John Currin.

Backstage. The wall on the right of the Turbine hall has 3 works of art on it. These are all by Amie Dicke. From the left is 'Ashes', 'Gisele wants out' and then 'That's the look'.

Due to the layout of the exhibition you are encouraged to walk up and down either side of the catwalk, this allows the audience to see all around each 'sculptural' dress or outfit.

In the centre of the exhibition  is the catwalk, from the front to back is Susie MacMurry's 'Widow', Christopher Bailey's and Annie Morris' untitled peg dress, Susan Freda's 'Silver Flair', INSA's 'Anything goes when it comes to (s)hoes…', Maison Martin Margiela's and Gotscho's untitled silk dress with leather shoes and finally Riccardo-Tisci's and Paolo Canevari's untitled leather dress. 

As the turbine hall is an industrial space I wanted to recreate this in the stands for the pieces. I made the catwalk out of concrete bricks, the partition from the catwalk to the backstage area out of a steel metal texture. The chairs and hanging rails are made of metal as well. I feel the industrial style gives a modern take on the white-cube space. Some of the pieces are a splash of colour and life in this urban environment. Others are powerful images that are strengthened by the rough interior. 

My Artists.

Here are the artists and their works that I am going to include in my exhibition. I have included details on their media and measurements to try and get an accurate representation in my model. For some of the sculptures I haven't put a height as I can adjust them depending on the model I put them on. For the photos I haven't put measurements as they weren't specified by the photographers so I can only assume that I would be able to get them printed what ever size I wanted. However if they were to change to specific measurements I don't think it  would make a difference to what I had intended for them. I have already decided where each piece will go but I will represent this in my which I have made using the programme Google Sketch-up.

Artist(s)	Name of work	Media	Measurements
Susie MacMurry	Widow	black nappa leather and dress makers pins	Tailors dummy = 185cm(height), 150cm(diameter)
Christopher Bailey and Annie Morris	Untitled	Silk faille and 25,000 British clothes pegs	N/A (height of model when worn)
Susan Freda	Silver Flair	Steel wire with glass	127cm(height), 107cm(width), 12.7cm(depth)
INSA	Anything goes when it comes to (s)hoes…	beading, resin and painting, elephant dung	10” platform shoes
Maison Martin Margiela and Gotscho	Untitled	Stockman silk satin and leather shoes.	N/A (height of mannequin when displayed)
Riccardo-Tisci and Paolo Canevari	Untitled	Rubber from inner tubes.	N/A (height of model when worn)
Michael Thompson	Ruffled Neck	Photograph	N/A
Weegee	“Hopper's Topper” Hedda Hopper	Photograph	N/A
Helmo	Untitled (part of the collection “Bêtes de mode”)	Photograph	N/A
Rankin	Heidilicious	Photograph	N/A
Rankin	Lilly Allen	Photograph	N/A
Rankin	Sienner Miller	Photograph	N/A
Rankin	Pete Doherty	Photograph	N/A
Rankin	Untitled (part of his fashion portfolio)	Photograph	N/A
Perou	Lilly Allen	Photograph	N/A
Perou	Vivienne Westwood	Photograph	N/A
Christophe Gilbert	Untitled (from ‘serie 1’)	Photograph	N/A
Christophe Gilbert	Untitled (from ‘serie 1’)	Photograph	N/A
Christophe Gilbert	Untitled (from ‘serie 1’)	Photograph	N/A
Christophe Gilbert	Untitled (from ‘serie 1’)	Photograph	N/A
Christophe Gilbert	Untitled (from ‘serie 1’)	Photograph	N/A
Christophe Gilbert	Untitled (from ‘serie 1’)	Photograph	N/A
Amie Dicke	That’s the look	Prints of cut out fashion posters and ink	178.1cm(Hieght) x 249.9cm(width)
Amie Dicke	Ashes	Prints of cut out fashion posters and ink	255cm(height) x 350 cm(width)
Amie Dicke	Gisele wants out	Prints of cut out fashion posters and ink	41cm(hieght) x 29 cm(width)
John Currin	The Cripple	Oil on canvas	91cm(width) x 112cm(height)
Richard Avedon	Veruschka	Photograph	N/A