Fowler Museum: Making Strange Event Blog

For one of my event blogs this quarter, I attended the art exhibit at the UCLA Fowler Museum called Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram. Sundara is a contemporary artist from Delhi, and is among India’s leading modern artists. His two pieces Gagawaka and Postmortem, both showcased side-by-side in this exhibit, are a commentary on fashion and the human body. While the work is undoubtedly creative, and I particularly appreciate the use of recycled materials and medical supplies in the creation of the ‘brand’ fashion articles, this exhibit didn’t resonate with me the same way others have this quarter. Although, I felt the second of the two pieces related to our discussion of anatomy and its relationship to art. 

Me at the exhibit

Gagawaka was a piece entirely comprised of sculptural garments that were all created as part of Sundaram’s fictional ‘brand’ called “strange”. The garments are all made of recycled material and medical supplies, implementing a combination of bandages, foam cups, x-ray film, and other odds and ends. I personally felt that these garments as an art piece didn’t convey any sort of strong message or commentary. While the description I read at the exhibit described a ‘subversive’ relationship to the fashion industry, I saw the garments more as a creative use of non-conventional materials rather than a strong commentary on the fashion industry. I did however, find the second of the two art pieces, Postmortem, to be more interesting and relevant.

Some of the postmortem models

Postmortem actually builds on Gagawaka, and is presented along side the garments within the exhibit. The second piece is made up of a collection of unsettling sculptures that are a combination of mannequins, wooden dolls, and anatomical models. These models supposedly question the fashion display of Gagawaka with commentary about the social issues surrounding aging and illness in the human body. I think the use of anatomical models, and slightly haunting depictions of the human body provided a more powerful and relevant commentary. In this sense, I appreciated the second of the two pieces more. I also felt the second piece related more to our material this quarter, and served as a good example of how the human body, and anatomy are often closely intertwined with art to generate powerful social commentary that more closely relates to each and every one of us.