Bart Hess’ work has been influential to me for quite some time, the multi -disciplinary aspect of combining technology with fashion, art, textiles and adding a commercial spin is something I love and want to achieve through my work. Additionally it was interesting to hear that he doesn’t want to be restricted by a medium and is interested in audience reaction and creating tension which is the same as me. I love the idea of exploring a ‘second skin’ with materials that are foamy, sweaty, bulbous, fleshy and molecular. These surfaces that Hess concocts make the viewer feel uncomfortable as he flirts with a touch of the grotesque, he explains that he tries “to find a balance between beauty, disgust and horror”. This is something I am trying to achieve! Below are videos I discovered upon conducting further research into Hess’ work after the talk, I also have noted some keywords to revisit.
Lucy and Bart – field between digital and analogue, low-fi materials.
Movements in space, created with materials on the body, liquid body, silhouette, organic.
3D printing in hot wax performance. Sculptures, ghost of performance.
VR – medium in between video and performance.
Fascination with the body using an in-between material.
Movement, skin, materiality, senses, tactility, touch.