You might have come across photos of an artist who paints himself and “vanishes” into background. That artist is none other than Liu Bolin from China or commonly known as “The Invisible Man”.
Liu aims to draw attention to social and political issues through his works. I came across this video in my YouTube feed and I must admit, the thing that attracted me was the shirt he was wearing. It’s best that you view the video to learn the secret behind this shirt. There’s a surprise at the end of this video.
This video triggered a question in me: does being invisible deliver the message? I believe it does when one takes a closer look to find Liu in the photo that, unknowingly we tend to explore the background further in terms of the visual and the issues involved.
As Liu said, “If an artwork is to touch someone, it must be the result of not only the technique, but also the artist’s thinking and struggle in life”. Well, Liu has certainly touched us by camouflaging into the surroundings.
From early silent era to today’s digitally enhanced productions, have you wonder what role do costume designers play in bringing characters to life – from script to screen?
While in Melbourne couple of weeks ago, I visited the Hollywood Costume exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). The exhibition celebrated 100 years of cinema and documented the process of developing costumes. From Scarlett of Gone with the Wind (1939) to the characters of the epic Ben Hur (1959) and Gladiator (2000), majestic Elizabeth (2008), and The Last Emperor (1987), the quirky Addams Family (1999), Dracula (1992) and Frankenstein (1994), and the super heroes, Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, costume designers played an integral role.
Unlike fashion, which is designed for our 3D world, works from costumer designers are designed for on-screen inside a 2D frame that is a flat moving image. Costume designers translate the characters from the script, transform the actors and actresses, and realise the director’s vision. Below are some examples:
Titanic
Designed by Deborah Lynn Scott, the iconic white and aubergine striped suit truly introduced the character of Rose in the boarding scene of Titanic. Not only the dress showed us how the upper class will dress in the 1920s, but also the lifestyle she lived. The striped suit shows that she have been living a very structured and systematic lifestyle, and have little say for her life.
Superman
More than 20 suits have been designed for the character of Superman. As the cape is the iconic element of the suit, a lot of emphasis is placed on it. Although it is of the same colour, the material used for the Superman’s cape is of different weight. This is to reflect how the cape would fly or wave in breeze.
Avatar
Avatar is filmed using extensive motion-capture and CGI (computer-generated imagery) techniques to produce ground-breaking visual effects. As mentioned by costume designer Deborah Lynn Scott, “CGI doesn’t reduce the role of the costume designer. To the contrary, it increases the design possibilities through variables including movement, scale and details”. in order to ensure that the visual effects are realistic enough, Scott and his co-designer, Mayes C. Rubeo, had to painstakingly select the fabrics for each garment and to design each accessory worn by the characters. This is required for the animators to effectively assemble [the] computerized image that corresponded to the vision of the character”, shared by Scott and the director, James Cameron.
Overall, costume designers works for different genres and for low- or high-budgeted films, but the ultimate goal is always the same, i.e. to realize the authentic people in the story.
Check out the the available books on costume design here.
Most people start their search for information via Google or other Web services.
If you’re looking at a book or DVD, you can easily get to the NTU Library Catalogue in just 3 simple steps!
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WorldCat.org is partnering with Google and other Web services, allowing users to be linked from one source of information to another. More than 10,000 libraries, including NTU Libraries, have come together to cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, “the world’s most comprehensive database of library materials”.
Melbourne is known as one of the world’s prominent cities for street art. Colourful works of expressions, which include stencils, paste-ups and murals, can be seen on approved outdoor locations throughout the city.
Below are some of the photographs I have taken while in Melbourne over the last weekend.
Check out the books on Street Art that are on display from now till 15 May 2013.