You thought we wouldn't notice?
THE T-SHIRT ISSUE is a project by Mashallah Design and Linda Kostowski. A series of three digital portraits in the form of clothing. Their about reads:
Three people are portrayed digitally by scanning their bodies. The output of this scan is a 3d file, which resolution is defined by the amount of polygons, similar to pixels in a bitmap graphic. Linked with their biographical memories a digital twin of the body is thus created, which expands and personifies the garment in a formal-poetic way. The 3d data is turned into 2d sewing patterns by the use of the unfolding function which is a common tool in industrial design process to make paper models with, the single fabric pieces and the inner interface which defines the edges are cut out by the help of a laser cutter.
Making a clothes pattern in this way changes the aesthetics of the garment fundamentally , because in contrary to ordinary pattern construction methods unfolding does not matter about orientations like center front or the shape of a armhole, which frees the designers imagination in a way that feels fresh and liberate. As fabric we used sweatshirt jersey as a reference to the common cliche that Berlin is the city which fashionable output lies in making and painting on t-shirts.
This undoubtedly impressive project has been circling both digital and real world since 2008, has been featured in numerous design blogs - including Yatzer, Dezeen, byAMTand their creator's Mashalla Design own - and has beenexhibited in many countries.
So you'd think someone would think twice before they use that quite distinct image of the wolf tee for their advertising campaign, right?
Think again.
What you see above is a print ad for greek fashion collegePANSIK Scuola di Moda.
I feel very strongly about cases like that. However before I got really mad, I tried to cross off all potential explanations that would justify such a choice. Maybe PANSIK actually paid to use that image? Could be the case, but I personally doubt it. It could be poor judgment and lack of professionalism from the graphic designer's side. The quick and easy solution. However, in this particular case, this explanation still doesn't take away the blame from the client.
You see, I believe it is still wrong for a fashion school to promote themselves by using projects of designers irrelevant to that school, even if the images used were actually paid for. Why not use the creations of your own students? Anyone would think you would be eager to show the work they do as part of your classes. Not to mention, it's free! Using a cool image found online is insulting to all your previous and current students, as it's implying they haven't produced anything worthwhile.
Not to mention it's totally misleading to all potential students, who will probably assume this project was made in that particular school.
I've already sent an email to the original artists, informing them of the existence of this ad. Maybe they can clarify things for us. In the meanwhile, whenever you see a case like that, don't let it go unnoticed. It's unfair for both the artist and the public. And you could find yourselves in the place of both.
(the title of this post is inspired by the same-name blogyouthoughtwewouldntnotice.com where similar cases of get outed royally by anyone who notices them)
UPDATE: The original artists of THE T-SHIRT ISSUE project answered my e-mail, saying they are totally shocked as they didn´t know anything about this.
*special thanks to lopi for her permission to repost this amazing post right from her great blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment