Doug Aitken: Installation Art

Doug Aitken is an artist in every sense of the word. He has experimented in almost every medium from photography, sculpture and print to multi-media, sound installation and video. His work has spanned over 3 decades and continues to build and inspire. Aitken is known for his abstract interpretations of art imitating life and inviting us as observers to feel the human experience through provocative environments. His success is most often linked to his work on outdoor large scale installations. One of my favorite projects was created in 2011, through his combining of photography, text and light in the Neon Lit Lightbox Series. Aitken's most recent exhibit, Altered Earth, cross stitches the paths of architecture, landscape and sound into a retrospective of moving images, fiction and non-fiction, spanned across 12 screens. The project took 4 years to create and is one of his most inspiring collaborations to date. Check out the link to Dazed Digital's interview and photos for Altered Earth, and additional photos for the Lighbox Series.

Dazed Digital:Q&A Doug Aitken

Neon Lit Lightbox Series

Alexander McQueen... Bee

McQueen spearhead, Sarah Burton, continues to awe us with her highly compelling and beautifully effeminate collections. S/S13 was no exception. Initiated by the inspirations of mother nature and her inhabitants, Burton looked to the working of Bees and their intertwined connection to the female form. The result was a collection dominated by wide expanses, exaggerated silhouettes, bold and rich colors, opulent jewels, delicacy where necessary, and soft curves. 

Interview from Dazed Digital and photos from Style.com give us a glimpse into the inspiration of Burton's execution. 

Dazed Digital: What was the starting point?Sarah Burton: Everything was exploding last season so I really wanted to really bring it back to what the silhouettes of the house were, by embracing femininity and all female forms and looking at the hips, the waist and the bust. Then we began to peel it away as I wanted it to feel erotic but not overtly sexual.

DD: How did you connect bees with the sexual undertones of the collection?

Sarah Burton: It was about nature and femininity. There's always a sense of nature in what we do like referencing pollination in bees. It was meant to be quite celebratory.

DD: Tell us a little about the historical shapes – the panniers, the corsets and the bustles?

Sarah Burton: It's not meant to be historical. It's all the underpinnings of different periods. We did look at Alberto Vargas but we also looked at everything used to accentuate the female form.

DD: The moulded corsets were quite brilliant…

Sarah Burton: Yes, we wanted to use corsets but we didn't want them to be heavy, because when you think corsetry, you always feel it might be restrictive. I wanted them to feel light. They're all moulded tortoiseshell, moulded onto the body with jewelled bees in them.

DD: So it's a celebration of the female form and ultimately women?

Sarah Burton: Yes, us lot!