Nick Knight - SHOWstudio (Part of task 1)

When you hear someone talking about fashion, photography and internet in the same sentence, it is very likely that the subject is Nick Knight. For over twenty years the photographer has been capturing amazing photos in the fashion world. His photos can be both beautiful and aggressive, loud and musical, but one thing is for sure he is always trying to push boundaries and trying to create something new and exciting.

The reason why I choose him to be the first artist to be talked about on my blog is because he has one of the best blogs/websites (www.showstudio.com), because it's purpose is to get the most out of today's new language, the internet. We are now living in a period of time where technology allows us to do anything we want in matters of communication, and for Nick Knight to create a website that allows one of the most exclusive things in the world - high end fashion, to be both accessible and interactive is a delightful paradox in the untouchable world of fashion.

Nick Knight doesn't like or really know how to explain what SHOWstudio is, but he has no problem in explaining why he did it. He and a friend started planning a website of their own. The idea that they could have a place to show any work that wasn't created to sell a product, fuelled them with excitement.
Almost 10 years ago, SHOWstudio was launched, and it's first piece was Kate Moss singing with Primal Scream lead singer Bobby Gillspie. In a nutshell the name of the website came from the notion that every photo shoot is a 'show, a performance, an unrehearsed, energy...' and 'studio' is for artists, image-makers, musicians and designers alike, a common link.
Personally I always thought the website was fascinating, it's layout, sometimes very casual and free with many things to be discovered. It is very often that certain events happen live on the website, or that you can send questions to models like Kate Moss, so for me it seems very real and loyal to it's proposition. It wont' come as a surprise that when I heard that was an exhibition on SHOWstudio at the Sommerset House, I couldn't wait to get myself and my camera there.

Like the website, the exhibit is also very surprising, those who go expecting to see thousands of amazing outfits will perhaps feel a little bit frustrated, as this is not the main focus of the exhibition. The main point seems to be to explore fashion, photography and video in various ways.

Arguably one the most striking pieces is one of the first you will see, NAOMI, Nick Knight's latest project is a sculptural portray of the model's body. With a three way pose, reminiscent to some of Warhol's repetition work with celebrities (Elvis, Monroe), the sculpture is there to cause controversy. When walking around it you'll notice some microphones that are there for you to give your own audio response which will be broadcast back to the website, creating a portal of global communication.

On the second floor you quickly find the answer to what the website and the exhibition is all about - the creative process designers go through. Instead of offering the final product as the acme of creative production, as most do, here the production part is put into evidence. 'By showing the process itself, it advocates that the collaborative effort is as important as any premeditated ideas on the path to creativity.' With a video of Alexander McQueen working on a model and completely transforming his outfit from bridegroom into a bride with a bucket of white paint, two pieces of wood, some rope and tape. Amazing.



Another High points of the exhibition is Garth Pugh's 'Flash-off', the young designer used the website to stage a series of performances which focuses on themes of boredom, repetition, artifice and easily dealt-acclaim. There were many representations, one of them was a guy made into a mirror ball, another one was hairstylist Eugene Souleiman who transformed himself into a big black show poodle - hilarious and very weird. These were shown on a screen that was attached to a round cage filled with balloons, on it was a very colourful band with different prints.

Brad Pitt is also in there reciting the poem Freedom of Love, which is a beautiful poem, but the whole thing seemed a bit boring for me and not even Pitt grabbed my attention. However, in the same room there are the most famous models standing in front of the camera for 120 seconds without any direction from the photographer. It really is amusing to see how their faces start changing. Also the video is a homage to Andy Warhol's 'Thirteen most Beautiful Women' screen tests.

There are some beautiful moments, probably one of my favourite parts of the exhibition is 'The Sound of Clothes: Synaesthesia'. There is a scroll ball and the image is being displayed on a screen, and when you scroll the arrow around the clothes different sounds are made and colourful rays of light start to burst from the image. The project began as a photo shoot for POP magazine for Balenciaga. Nick Ryan, a composer who is a synaesthete, was invited to interpret one of Knight's image, as a sound-scope. After working with an orchestra to capture the exact sound for each part of the garment, Ryan passed the tracks to digital creating the final product.

There is no question that this exhibition is a real experience, and I strongly advise anyone who enjoys fashion, performance and video art to visit. Sometimes There are also live photo shoots happening in one of the rooms so make sure you visit the website to find out the specific times, it would sure be an interesting event for photography lovers, like me!