One can perceive folds as veils, layers, strata or skins, with varying degrees of transparency and porosity, linked to each other, superimposed onto or beneath one another. Each fold informs or is informed by others in this continuum; each evokes or invokes others and is associated with other folds that dynamically influence its form, texture and colour. Our own skin is also made up of layers and folds, some less visible. Our body can be seen as possessing an inside and an outside, separated by a layer of skin that mitigates between them. Within and without, it shows a variety of folds and interconnected organs and tissue.
Knowledge can be perceived as skins and folds, where various disciplines have a definite resonance or connectedness with one another and can, when interconnected, better inform our understanding of the world. This view can form the basis of an inclusive, interdisciplinary approach to research. It is my view that no single theory or discipline provides the answers to our existence or experience, and that, in order to better understand a given research area and to achieve greater clarity and relevance, we should envisage all knowledge and theory as porous, organic, dynamic and interconnected folds that cannot be confined to a single discipline. These folds need to be porous and pliable, caressing a multitude of realities and inviting us to consider hidden, less visible areas of knowledge.
6 comments:
The landscapes formed by skins and folds are all around us, all constantly shifting, changing...from the very skin of the earth in constant upheaval, to our ever-changing facial expressions, to the folds of our brains and organs. Some of this change is growth, some the weathering of long wear.
I remember in my thesis mentioning the fact that we see countless representations of organic and non-organic folds and pleats in nature: in trees, lettuce leaves, cabbage, fiddleheads, sand dunes, waves, rocks, trees, wind or the many folds of a fried egg; in the folds, pleats and wrinkles of our own skin and body parts; as well, they are present in materials and objects fabricated or transformed by humans, such as our everyday clothing and art objects. Folding and pleating seem as well to embody memory, in many cases showing evidence of the physical process of change or transformation of a material over time.
And folding is a way of storing large amounts of information in a small space. A way of concealing, a way of showing two sides.
This reminds me of the Japanese kimono that Issey Miyake considers to be the most ingenious garment, since its design incorporates a standardized shell that facilitates its construction and storage through folding. The inside and outside surface of the kimono can hide, or reveal, as needed. mediating between the inner depths of the wearer's interior and the outer reaches of the world... and everything in between.
The Roman toga was similar, draped simply to conceal but also accent the body, folds pointing to head, heart and thorax, and a pouch on the inside to carry necessities or secrets. I have always given my characters flowing garments with many folds and patterns, to draw attention to the face and hands. But as you suggest, these garments lend mystery and even anonymity to the characters' intent, as body language is almost eliminated. Only the choice of material, drape and perhaps stance are descriptive. Everything else must be revealed through face and hands.
Vassilis Zidianakis has done quite a bit of research on Greek dress. I met him in 2005 at the International Shibori Symposium in Tokyo. He was was artistic director of the "Ptychoseis = Folds + Pleats" exhibition held concurrently with the "Pleats and Folds, Multiple Meanings" conference in Athens in 2004.
According to him, there is a metaphorical relationship between folds and eroticism is alluded to in the Greek word 'ptychoseis' that refers to both free-falling folds and drapes, or to organized pleats. The folds occur on particular surfaces, especially on textiles, on the ground (valleys, gorges or narrow valleys), on the skin and on other parts of the human body, or on animal parts and on metal surfaces. When used metaphorically, the ptychoseis are “hidden, secret parts”.
Others also also allude to the sensual and erotic nature of the fold. Issey Miyake (the “outside of clothing should be perceived visually and the inside sensually”), and Gen Doy (where the drapery itself becomes a focus for sensual explorations, taking the place of the absent body and often functioning as “a ‘surface’ for the play of modes of representation and illusion”).
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