Rotterdam
Martin Margiela: 9 Years/4 Days/1615 Hours
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Museumpark 18-20
June 11–August 3, 1997
Martin Margiela has always been known as one of fashion’s more severe deconstructionists, but while he has literally turned the garment inside out, exposing the seams, stitching, and patterning, he’s done something disarmingly subtle and elegant at the same time: that is, refuse given distinctions between garment, undergarment, and skin to reveal more clearly the person beneath them. For this retrospective, eighteen stick figures—one for each season from the last nine years—will be on view outside the Boijmans sporting designs that have been dipped in agar and sprayed with bacteria and molds; the resulting growth will determine the color of the items. (Spore-free items will be on view inside the museum.) Like his ready-to-wear, it’s all strangely perfect. June 11-Aug. 3