Exploring an Art Object - Essay Example

? Exploring an Art Object It has been observed since the 60’s era that anything and almost everything can be called as an art. Artists, in order to understand ‘what exactly is art’, have conducted different researches and studies on the topic to get an in-depth meaning of the phenomenon. It should be noted that every piece of art is conceptualized, designed, or created at some point in the process which is quite necessary. The consequences of the resulting object totally depend on the concept or the creativity of the artist. Dresses particularly tell a lot about that particular era and culture as art does. The contemporary art objects may include mass-produced things, transient materials, appropriate metaphors, and many other things. The object which I have selected for this assignment as a piece of art is ‘‘Kaftan’’. This paper aims to conduct an in-depth study and exploration of the object. Moreover, the paper will include different examples, sources, research work, interpretational perspectives etc. The visual design of this art piece which is selected for this assignment is a bit different as it is not a painting or a sculpture. ‘Kaftan’ is a cut of apparel; a long coat like garment or a loose dress with long wide sleeves which has been worn by humans for thousands of years. It usually reaches the ankles or floor at times (exceptions are there in different cultures). The cloth which is used in its making is usually and majorly silk and cashmere, however, sometimes cotton is also used (Torstrick and Faier). It has noticed some alterations, modifications with the period of time and is a part of almost every culture across the globe. However, it varies in style and proportion in different cultures and the way they carry it. Since, the acceptance of ‘Kaftan’ is very high among different cultures and it portrays them in a very unique manner, therefore, this object has been selected for the assignment as it is a piece of art with different forms and faces (Iman Designs). Clothing and apparel has been found as an effective element to portray culture or history as does paintings. With the material used and the accessories a person can differentiate between classes, and can appreciate the creativity, concept, or the design behind that particular dress. Similar is the case with ‘Kaftan’ as it has been doing it all. It is a single dress fulfilling all the requirements of an art object in different and unique manner. It has been telling different stories and cultures from the past to the present in a special way. Different artist portray their thoughts and creativity through fashion and clothing. It is now becoming as a medium for artists as significant as painting or any other (Chambers). Art has also been inspiring many lives for thousands of years. However, the portrayal of art back then was done in a different manner as compared to the present world. If we travel back in the history, then since the Ottoman Empire, the usage of ‘Kaftan’ has been of greater significance. It has been a part of many lives since then. Many people wear it as an identity (China); many wear it to hide themselves (Middle East), while many wear it as a fashion statement; the pop culture (West). It has different names as it travels from the west to the east (Faroqhi). In the West, the fashion started in the era of ‘Hippies’ in the 60’s; the Western ‘Kaftan’ has names like ‘bonjour’ and is a loose dress with wide sleeves it depicted the pop culture of that era. In the Middle East, the dress was worn and was famous since the Mughal and Ottoman Empire, and the Mughal Kings and Sultans used to wear it with a turban. At present, the Muslim women wear it as a piece of apparel which covers their body and hides it completely; it is normally called as ‘Abaya’. Moving on towards the Far East, then the Chinese wear it as a national dress and their national identity and the only difference is of a belt and the quality of the ‘Kaftan’ (difference in the material used). West Africa, Morocco, and Russia also have ‘Kaftan’ as a part of their apparel (Baker). The value of this art piece fluctuates with the design, cloth material, and if it has some painting (which the Chinese ‘Kaftan’ and some other ‘Kaftan’ have) then the worth is increased and can be easily recognized. The ‘Kaftan’ has however been able to grab the attention of many as it is something different to wear (Vay). Since it is part of many cultures, different books and articles has been presented on it so far. In the book, ‘Customs and cultures of the Arab Gulf States’, written by Rebecca L. Torstrick and Elizabeth Faier, the significance and the ways in which it is worn by the Arab and Middle Eastern women is told (Torstrick and Faier). In another book ‘From the Kumbaz to ‘Kaftan’: Jewish and Palestinian costumes’, the authors have again emphasized that how people in these two countries started wearing ‘Kaftan’ and how it has changed and has influenced their lifestyle (Bentsur and Drimer). Not only this, but ‘Kaftan’ portrays identity in a very unique manner, it is an art within cultures, this can be very easily understood through books such as ‘Voices of Resistance: Oral Histories of Moroccan Women’, in which it has been told that the brides in the country used to wear ‘Kaftan’ as it reflects the royalty of the event and the bride (Baker) . Figure 1 and 2: Middle Eastern ‘Kaftan’ Figure 3: Bridal ‘Kaftan’ Figure 4: Chinese ‘Kaftan’ Figure 5: Western ‘Kaftan’ Figure 6: Muslim ‘Kaftan’ or Abaya The popularity of this clothing art is so wide that almost every known designer has shown his or her creativity through ‘Kaftan’. As already discussed that the existence of this masterpiece dates back as early as the Ottoman period, and is still affecting cultures and lives even after thousands of years of its existence with some alterations (Rhodes and Rawsthorn). ‘Kaftan’ is a dress, which is worn by men and women both in different cultures and in different ways. The reason why I have selected this cut of apparel as a piece of art is because in my opinion art is what expresses the ideas or emotions through some creativity and decorations along with some emotions attached. This piece of art which is known as ‘Kaftan’ expresses them all. It is not just a dress; it is an identity for the Chinese, for the Muslims it is a technique to hide themselves according to their religion (Hughes and Hughes), a fashion statement for the west, and a method to show royalty and dignity for Middle Eastern cultures among both men and women (Chambers). It is creatively designed, beautifully embroidered or painted, elegantly stitched, and uniquely worn. It is not some ordinary dress. In my belief ‘Kaftan’ is a true expression of art in a very unique manner which covers all the elements of design as well as the creativity and the emotional attachment which is required for an art piece to exist. Talking about the elements of design in ‘Kaftan’, then we can observe that the proportions, lines are very strictly observed and followed. The color depicts the liveliness of this dress. Same ratios are followed for the long and edgy cuts of the sleeves (Rhodes and Rawsthorn). According to the categories of Visual art, this art piece can fall under different categories; it can be called as applied art or decorative art, whereas, Design, Art by Region, etc. are some other sectors in which it can be categorized. As it is aforementioned that art can be anything which expresses some idea, culture, expression, emotion, or covers the functional work according to the definition of art. The viewer upon a looking a ‘Kaftan’ can easily differentiate a Chinese among a group of people as they are culturally attached to it. The Muslim women are emotionally attached to ‘Kaftan’ as they find themselves secure in this piece of cloth (Ross). On the contrary ‘Kaftan’ is designed and created following all the basic principles of any art object, undergoes the overall process of any other piece of art(such as any painting), and is beautifully designed or decorated (Bentsur and Drimer). It is has a great influence on the society according to my perspective. If I will wear a ‘Kaftan’ made of some unique or expensive fabric which is hand crafted and hand stitched, it will depict my singularity and uniqueness in the society. Sadly in our society it is not more than a fashion statement, however, is only worn by the elites and the celebrities, since not every designer designs the dress. As it was a part of our pop culture and some pop artists and people still wear it as their identity, therefore it still has an influence in the Western world. It can be more than this and can make this a part of our culture too like others. Its uniqueness is what inspires many people and so it can do the same in our culture as well. If clothing was not considered as art then there would not have been museums for clothes which include collections of different civilizations and how they used to dress. For example The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is an effective example which balances my perspective to a greater extent. Similarly, the Costume Gallery, at the Pitti Palace, Florence also has a series of collection of garments as old as 16th and 17th century (Faroqhi). The alignment of my perspective with that of the philosophical system can be so justified that wearing of the ‘Kaftan’ is found authoritative in many cultures as it depicts their cultures. Moreover, the selected art object fulfills different purposes both of designed image and clothing. It is worn as an identity plus the process of its creation and designing involves every step which is needed to create any other art object or matter. When someone views the ‘Kaftan’ he or she is amazed by its uniqueness, its elegant stitching and the vibrant prints and the embroidery bedazzles them. According to Ossie Clark, ‘Fashion was art’, and that his collection of dresses was showcased in the museum at that time (Clark). On the contrary in my opinion it opposes the definition of fine arts. Painting is supposed to be hanged on the wall, whereas ‘Kaftan’ is a practical art object which cannot be hanged, however, it is about a concept which adds beauty to any person or culture. It is noticed that many ‘Kaftan’s are however influenced from some kind of fine art designs (Iman Designs). From a historical perspective as well, the selection of ‘Kaftan’ as an object of art can be placed into the system aesthetics of arts. ‘Kaftan’ shares a deep history with different cultures and civilizations thus exhibiting the ancient and present cultures on its own (Vay). From an interpretational perspective, ‘Kaftan’ can be seen as an object of art. This can be further explained with the help of four different interpretational perspectives which include socio-cultural perspective, symbolic perspective, functional perspective, and gender perspective. According to the socio-cultural perspective, ‘Kaftan’ is all about indulging and portraying the culture except for the west. From the Middle East to China, it is worn as a basic element to portray their cultural identity (Vay). ‘Kaftan’ shares deep history which comes from different civilizations [Example: (Faroqhi 143)], and from the very beginning to present, it has been reflecting the beauty and creativity of many societies and cultures. It is what art is, however, the method of portraying is different (Torstrick and Faier). ‘Kaftan’ can be interpreted by different people in a variety of ways. In the West it is just a fashion statement which is followed by the elites whereas the story is totally different if we travel back in history and notice that the Mughals used to wear it as a part of their culture and so does the Chinese, whereas the Muslims have a different perspective regarding its function. However, in every case it has been expressing some sort of idea or message which is according to me an element of art (Chambers). From a functional perspective, ‘Kaftan’ is not just a dress; it is quite functional when it comes to religion. If we observe the relationship between Muslims and ‘Kaftan’ then we can have a clear understanding of its functionality that they wear it so that they can fulfill their religious needs and norms. Women in Islam are not supposed to expose themselves or portray any part of their body to other men. In this regard the ‘Kaftan’ abaya acts in a very effective manner as it covers their entire body (Bentsur and Drimer). At present, ‘Kaftan’ is more of a symbol which has been differentiating the genders, as it is now designed for women only except for the Chinese culture where Chinese men also wear it. On the contrary if we go back to the Ottoman Empire or the Mughals in the 14th Century we can see that both men and women used to wear it. The object initially was not gender bias, however, with the passage of time, and the alterations made in it is sadly left for women only (Rhodes and Rawsthorn). Just like a piece of pottery or painting, ‘Kaftan’ can express similar quantity of artistic expressions. If we try to study history through arts; i.e. their handicrafts and pottery we can tell how the culture’s tea party used to be, in the same manner, by looking upon this specific dress, one can easily recognize and differentiate a person and his or her culture. I totally agree with what the designers and many artists have to say regarding dresses as art (Chambers). While doing the research for this assignment I was shocked to notice that ‘Kaftan’ shares such a long deep history and is clouded over almost every culture of the world (except a few). I started from scratch with the idea to justify ‘Kaftan’ as an object of art, I was not sure if I will be able to get evidences which will support my idea, but luckily I have successfully found many evidences on the topic which justifies and balances my perspective. Working on paintings or sculptures is something very common, discussing a building is what everyone does, I wanted to think of an object which should be out of the box. At first I decided to pick ‘apparel’ on a whole but then I decided to be more specific and chose ‘Kaftan’ for my study. Therefore, in my opinion it is totally different in a unique manner. People need to know regarding such things which exist in our society but are neglected on every day basis. If observed keenly from an artistic view, my opinion is that a ‘Kaftan’ fits on the exact definition of art and therefore can be claimed as an art object. It has been portraying different cultures from very old times. Thus, it can be concluded that a ‘Kaftan’ does not only fulfils the definition of art and therefore should not only be seen as some ordinary dress or a coat which is worn because of fashion. It is very necessary to understand the cultural and religious perspective lying beneath it which also differentiates the different classes of a society or a specific culture within a culture. Works Cited Baker, Alison. Voices of Resistance: Oral Histories of Moroccan Women. Albany: SUNY Press, 1998. Print. Bentsur, Ninah and Bat-Sheva Drimer. From the kumbaz to the ‘Kaftan’: Jewish and Palestinian costumes. Hefah: ha-Muze?on le-musik?ah ule-etnologyah, 1995. Print. Chambers, Iain. Culture After Humanism: History, Culture, Subjectivity. London: Routledge, 2001. Print. Clark, Ossie. Ossie Clark Diaries Pbk. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2002. Print. Faroqhi, Suraiya. The Ottoman Empire and the World Around It. London: I.B.Tauris, 2006. Print. Hughes, Patrick and Thomas Patrick Hughes. Dictionary of Islam. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1995. Print. Iman Designs. "A Brief Introduction to ‘Kaftan’s." 16 August 2013. imandesigns.ca. Online. 31 October 2013. Rhodes, Zandra and Alice Rawsthorn. "Is fashion a true art form?" 13 July 2013. theguardian.com. Online. 31 October 2013. Ross, Heather Colyer. The Art of Arabian Costume: A Saudi Arabian Profile. Frizbourg: Arabesque, 1981. Print. Torstrick, Rebecca L. and Elizabeth Faier. Culture and Customs of the Arab Gulf States. Westport: Greenwood, 2007. Print. Vay, Peter. Empires and Emperors of Russia, China, Korea, and Japan. Alexandria: Library of Alexandria, 1906. Print. Read More