Art Of The Mundane Part II: Ironing A Shirt
A sequel, see of sorts, recipe to a video previously posted in these pages. Here we abandon the shining of shoes for the act of ironing shirts, and while this may not have quite the same, fantastic soundtrack found in the first video, the precision is still here. This is a man who has ironed a shirt or thousand in his time. I can only presume that, at some point, there was a series of clips meant to instruct men on the proper upkeep of their clothing, but I might be entirely wrong. Regardless of the original intent, they remain utterly captivating.
Thanks, Ian!
November 10th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
What I find really interesting about this series, is the underlying idea that “everything is art” which, at least in academic circles, generally requires the caveat of “if it is conceived and perceived as such”. And I tend to agree with the more academic side of the definition, lest incident be perceived as artistry, with intention being the key.
I don’t think that idea diminishes the beauty of things like this however, nor should it undermine the craft behind certain acts, because one could easily argue that craft is intrinsic to art, if not inherent (though as a staunch post-modernist in art thinking, I would disagree) to art.
You do tend to get into odd realms of process and technique, I suppose. And its hard to argue that exploring technique and craft hasn’t led to better/more interesting art, but does that mean that technique and craft themselves are art? I can’t really say seeing as I’m actually quite hypocritical about it (artistically I avoid technique and craft, but musically I labor over it) so I can’t really reach any conclusions to it. But I think its a very interesting topic to bring up, considering that many artists featured on Coilhouse tend to be very technically oriented.
November 11th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
An enormous amount can be learned from that video. Wowzers.
Stylze: I dunno. There is art in craft. Even mundane, infinitely practiced, thoughtless craft. Because art isn’t only in intention, it’s also in the eyeballs of those watching, and in mastery.
November 12th, 2011 at 2:47 am
Did you see that left-hand action?!
November 16th, 2011 at 10:07 am
I think the lack of a soundtrack with just the rustling of the shirt, along with the bare bones lighting/environment, is just mesmerizing. I love the final shot of him just scratching his head, perfect ending.