Welcome to the 79th insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode we revisit Allen Jones’ provoking and highly controversial work, while exploring Rick Owens’ modernist approach to eroticism.
A pioneer in the British pop art movement, Allen Jones has retained a status of extreme radicalism among gender roles. His art often references tropes of fornication and BDSM, a style in which he developed during the 1960’s. Jones’ most notable exhibit, titled “Hatstand, Table and Chair” would allude to many power-centric works that followed, evoking rage in the general public as a result.
Despite a rather innocent namesake, the work featured three fiberglass female mannequins, each fitted in gimpy attire and positioned in rather degrading stances. The work stripped “models” of humility and objectified each lifeless individual, disregarding the growing rally of Women’s Liberation during the 1970’s era.
Upon release, the project ignited a slew of hate from feminists and activists alike, but Jones rebutted mysogynistic claims, citing inspiration as a rebellion against minimalism. From his perspective, the artistic world was becoming stagnant and lowering expectations for mutiny. He had grown tired of framed blank squares and their defiant connotations, thus embracing a topic of blazing dispute, demanding reaction from all involved.
On display, the figureheads were doused in paint thinner and crop dusted with stink bombs, but his message remained intact. Now revitalized by American designer Rick Owens, his contemporary take on the age-old medium assumes the coupled identity in which “Hatstand, Table and Chair” causes. None other than the eccentric avant-gardist would pursue such a contentious subject, but this is in fact the same designer who walked naked models down the runway.
This time, Owens’ swaps the fiberglass textile for one of wax composite. The sleek black haired self-structure is seen on all fours in an ode to the traditional coffee table, as well as a conditioned seat, which is ironically placed on his underside.
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