Andreas Zittel & Train Dreams

Andrea Zittel & Focault

          In the sense that Andrea Zittel's work has its constraints, yet frees itself in the very same gesture, "A-Z Six Month Personal Uniform," Focault had mentioned in, "Docile Bodies," that to form a productive society, one has to conform to the society's constraints. This allows for the creation of masses. In such concoction, there is always one that breaks free of society's constraints and becomes the "outsider." In Zittel's creations, she distinctly clashes against the everyday norms of what the general society would expect. This is shown through"A-Z Six Month Personal Uniform," as well as her other works. There is a recurring theme in that each work takes the "what it seems" and turns it into something different, yet somewhat from the same origins. Another example of such work would be in, "A-Z Carpet Furniture: Cabin." In this "Cabin," Zittel uses the forms of furniture prints and places it on top of carpets. The different colors would represent a different object. Just as a normal house would have different objects like a couch, a bed, the dresser, a rug, etc. Zittel invents this method to represent objects even though they do not exist in that space. The creation of this piece further supports the  idea that of the individual created from the masses. Although objects in rooms are using dictated by the actual volume of space that they take up, ZIttel does not conform to this idea. Her process in this piece reminds one that not all that exist has to exist within the boundary of another. By creating forms that hint at the existence instead of actually depicting the existence, she shows us the potential space the objects would have taken up versus how free a space is with constraints, but without.

          Things like this draw the question in whether constraints are actually created from the mind. That society may not be the culprit to the actual creation of the masses, but the mind. We each follow the discourse of society because we are born into it. As we grow up, our actions are set "autonomous" and we automatically follow these rules. One space is navigated by the actual program because what is there is there. These rules are set and because space itself is not interchangeable, we do not have the ability to do otherwise. In Zittel's work we learn about this otherwise. That although space is set, one does not need to follow these constraints. We have the ability to navigate however we want. Drawing back to "A-Z Six Month Personal Uniform," Zittel uses this same concept to create a non conforming uniform. Creating her own set of rules, she became an individual. Although, we all follow certain constraints in society, we all have an ability to change certain things. I find Zittel interesting in that there is ironic humor in her work. Although each piece abides by societal rules, it also has its own rebellious nature. They conform in a non conforming way. Individuals are created from the mass and this is exemplified by Zittel as a person and through her work.

Train Dreams

Dennis Johnson's train dream has a relationship to space in that the character Robert has different experiences with each place he visits in the course of his journey. In which, some, have a dream like quality to it. The difference between spatial dreams and spatial reality. Overall the story deals with a lot of the reality living in the early 20th century. Even in the beginning of the novella where Granier is seen dangling a Chinese man off of a bridge, after his guilty conscience sets in, he begins to imagine this man everywhere. It sets the "feel" of the novella throughout the rest of the story. As we follow Granier's journey, we sit in his mind and see all that he sees. Even the dreams that he has of his wife and child. In these surreal dreams, there's an interesting dynamic in how space is explored. An example would be the dream in which his wife is padding into the depths of the water with a box of chocolate, a bible, and their child. She runs into the river as the fire devours their home. As she runs away from the fire, she ties the child to her hip and throws away the bible. Seemingly so, throwing away the bible resulted in her death as she fell into rocks, resulting in a broken back.  This surreal scene draws a distinction in between reality and dream in that it could have very well happened. As she died, Johnson describes how the house slowly burned starting from the magazine. As the fire became overwhelming the glass shattered. The consequences of the fire seem very real. The effect of this experience is overwhelming because it takes on such realistic characteristics, even though he was not there to see it. Yet compared to the China man that he swore, had put a curse on him, the reality of the situation borderlines fantastical when he swore he saw him in the distance when he was walking home.

Note:

               Interesting relationship between Train Dreams the title and literal train dreams. Dream dictionary says that dreams associated with trains usually relate to the feeling that someone else is controlling your life. This can be related to Robert's life in that he lives a full life, with each even taking him to another event.

Andrea Zittel's "A-Z Six Month Personal" in Comparison to Focault's Docile Bodies

Andrea Zittel’s A-Z Six-Month Personal Uniform is a conceptual gimmick that challenges society’s expectation. While working in the Pat Hearn Gallery, she was faced with the constant expectation of having to dress chic and fashionable. Although the expectations were high, her salary was not as high. She began to knit her own uniforms to wear to work. This became known as the A-Z Six Month Personal Uniform. The styles were mostly practical and accommodated the cold and the warmer weathers. Eventually she began to step out of her comfort zone and began to design clothes with certain ideas in mind. Her phase with wearing rectangular clothing formed the next project “A-Z Rough Uniforms.”

 

“Sometimes if you can’t change the situation, you just have to change the way you think about the solution.”

Her project, “A-Z Six Month Personal Uniform” fits perfectly under the definition of this aphorism. When one cannot change his situation, he can, instead, think positively about the solution and the situation itself will also change, too. In A-Z Six Month Personal Uniform, Andrea Zittel changed her solution, which placed the entire situation in a brighter light. Instead of doing what most people would have done, which is to shop for nice clothing, Zittel designed her own attire. This solution in fact made the entire situation whimsical. Zittel created her own uniforms, which allowed her to save money on her part, as well as design whatever she wanted. I believe in the very moment she decided to rebel against society, she in a sense, won the rights to this aphorism

 

I feel as if there is a direct proportional correlation between Andrea Zittel’s action in creating the uniforms and Docile Bodies. In the sense that Zittel is the prime example of an individual. She created her own designs for clothing because she did not want to spend money on new clothing all the time to look chic and fashionable just like all the other Gallery employees. Instead of fixing the situation at hand with the ideal solution, Zittel decides to make her own clothing. Focault speaks about how the mass creates individuals in Docile Bodies, Zittel becomes this example through her work. She breaks out of society’s norms and creates a gimmick that makes her an individual, thus proving Focault that the only individuals are created from the masses. Society has existed beforehand and have set the standards, but to be an individual, one must break this set of discourse. Zittel breaks the discourse by thinking differently. Instead of an ideal solution, she chooses her own solution. Her solution sheds light on her individualism, which challenges society and the fashion industries.  

Docile Bodies - In Relation to “Spatial Stories”

Questions:

Through the reinvention of one space, there is a distinct social dynamic that it recreates, in the sense that each “place” now manipulates the “space.” If such dynamics can be recreated numerous of times in different institutions (in the military, in school, etc.) how can this be manipulated in relation to different environments? (Especially in an environment where distinct rules have been previously set.)

In the process of the manipulation of society, how is order defined? In the way that society has social levels, what makes one person greater than the other and how does his status guarantee his ability to change the order of “space” to a more definitive “place"?

Source: Fancy Restaurant, Casual Starbucks, Obedient Class, Crazy Classroom, Casual Cary Grant, Cary Grant in Suit