The following excerpt is taken from the-final-frontier.tumblr.com
Contemporary Jewellery Explorations of the Cinematic Future
As makers, designers and artists what we see informs and moulds our creative output. Ideas do not often just spring from the imagination without an impetus. For the makers in this exhibition science fiction cinema ignites that spark.
Science fiction can be seen as a way of expressing fear of a changing society and as an attempt to demystify the unknown; to scare the living daylights out of us and to entertain us. Our aesthetics have been influenced by these films. They are not simply light entertainment; 2001: A Space Odyssey, for example, highlights the connection between the evolution of man and the evolution of the tool. Some, such as Star Ship Troopers, provide deep and thoughtful commentary on society and the complicity of the media in the war propaganda machine. While others, such asSoylent Green have solved the problems of aging populations and world hunger with simple retirement plans.
What began as a literature of ideas in the 19th century, was transformed in the 20th Century to the visual via moving picture technology. Science fiction cinema makes it possible to see larger than life what had previously only been a visualisation in the mind’s eye. Cinema blurs the boundaries between imagination, dream and reality. The experience of viewing films is one of suspending disbelief; one has to believe, if only for 90 minutes or the enjoyment is diminished. This technology allows us to witness as though they were real, not only the stories, ideas, gadgets, vehicles, and worlds, that these future characters inhabit, but also and perhaps more pertinently, their costuming and adornment. How will the future impact on what we wear and how we might look, especially in societies with none of the restrictions imposed by religion, race, culture, tradition or morality of our world?
The word technology comes from Greek τεχνολογία (technología); from τέχνη (téchnē), meaning “art, skill, craft”, and -λογία (-logía), meaning “study of-“.[1]
We all have a favourite science fiction film, and at some stage have been enthralled by the visions and interpretations of the fanciful future worlds they portray. These films often engage viewers by including social and political commentary, or are analogies for current events. In addition to this, it is the sheer visual seduction of these hypothetical realms that captivate us as makers.
Science fiction has long been used as a tool for innovative design. For us it provides the opportunity to bring into existence today objects that are prompted by imagining the possibilities of tomorrow. Making ideas into reality, and not just costume props, but pieces that could endure longer than the period of a movie set and accompany humans into their daily life in the here and now.
By Danae Natsis & Felix Gill
The Final Frontier will be on at Gaffa Gallery, 281 Clarence Street, Sydney from 3 - 13 November 2011.
