Fashioning the Object: Bless, Boudicca, Sandra Backlund

"Narrative" is an often (over)used word in writings about architecture, product design, fashion, and related fields. With good reason, too: it's satisfying to read the story — beginning, middle and end result — of objects and structures, into their processes of becoming, and their comings of age. Those events and plot twists are rarely obvious at face value, and when things get particularly avant-garde, "narrative" can feel like a life preserver to those searching for definition beyond function, particularly when baffled by the lack of one. In the worst-case scenarios, "narrative," dense and incomprehensible as it can be, is looked upon with suspicion for being a prop to hold up an otherwise weak project. At Fashioning the Object: Bless, Boudicca, Sandra Backlund, however, "prop" hardly seems a dirty word when theatrics so intelligently meet the quotidian (the daily routine of getting dressed, for example) and strength, both physical and conceptual, is startlingly present in otherwise "lightweight" materials (such as Sandra Backlund's knitwear), mediums (such as Boudicca's body of ethereal short films) and modes of presentation (the chainmail that threads together the work of Bless).

There are, of course, many narratives that can accompany this exhibition, on display at The Art Institute of Chicago through 16 September: there's the story of each couturier, the story of each individual item on display, and the story of how the exhibition gels these three different elements into a comprehensive show… all that is excellent news for those who've purchased a catalog. Money well spent! But the assumption is that many people who come by way of this exhibition may not have brushed up on the preface. Some might not know who Bless, Boudicca, and Sandra Backlund are. Formidable names in the fashion world, sure, but for the tourist wandering in from the nearby Roy Lichtenstein retrospective, these guys aren't your "household" Versace. All the better. The way I see it, this exhibition is meant to be a jolt of energy, and there's no poorer a conductor than preconceived expectations.

In all, this is a rather wordless exhibition, relying much more on presence than plot. Befitting of its subject matter, Fashioning the Object is incredibly tactile, even in those sections that implore the viewer not to touch. (Just saying, though: Getting yelled at by security seems not a bad trade off for touching Sandra Backlund's Ink Blot Test.) Textures aren't limited to the fabrics and fashions on display, but threaded throughout the various innovative display "cases," or, in the case of Bless, display "curtains." Film, photographs, and the tension of performance art (albeit, none of it takes place "live") make this show truly interdisciplinary, and not just on paper. All this to say that narrative seems too linear and longwinded a form to encapsulate this exhibition. Whether dissected or devoured as a whole, the show reads more like an absurdist paragraph: a skillfully broken arc, a burst, a blast, and a heightened sensation. It is composed entirely of rising action and climax, with little exposition and no fall. In line with the current dialog of fashion — and fashion exhibitions — the show also makes visible connections between cheap and chère, conceptual and entirely blatant, over the top and below the radar.

Even for the viewer without an obvious bias for architecture and design, Fashioning the Object will likely seem related to the Institute's collection of Design Objects and Furniture, in a nearby exhibition hall. Again, an intimate knowledge of the references or technologies employed by the designers is nice, but not entirely necessary to draw at least some connection between the materials, shapes and influences (both organic and artistic) that they share. But, okay, for a quick bit of background, I should say that Fashioning the Object is the project of Zoë Ryan, Chair and John H. Bryan Curator of Architecture and Design at the Art Institute since 2011. In a short video released for the show, Ryan explains that this is the first fashion exhibition she has curated, and that her interest for creating a show like this is, in fact, derived from a design perspective.

At one point, she refers to fashion as a "place" in which to discuss the very relevant topics of today (politics, pop culture, and remember when?). Rather than personifying designed objects, to give them the characteristics of space seems quite accurate. After all, architecture — space —does dictate how and where we move inside it, how we feel, the voices in which we speak, the topics we discuss, and the language we use to discuss them. Doesn't fashion do that, too? City Hall vs. Night Club. Sandra Backlund vs. Sweatpants. Within that metaphor, Fashioning the Object connects the equivalent of say, Versailles, a building by SANAA, and your best friend's bedroom circa your teenage years. There's a fluctuation between total comfort and abrupt stiffness within the space, a blurred difference between soft and sharp, and an exclamation mark after every question. Katya Tylevich

Through 16 September 2012
Fashioning the Object: Bless, Boudicca, Sandra Backlund
The Art Institute of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago