Post-Vandalism Garment

In this course we search the streets of Berlin for dicarded garments, thrown on the sidewalks and becoming trash the second they hit the floor. We will pick up some pieces, clean and repurpose them in public space and make a video of it.

In this course we search the streets of berlin for dicarded garments, thrown on the sidewalks and becoming trash the second they hit the floor. We will pick up some pieces, clean and repurpose them, becoming installations, sculptures or acts of vandalism in public space. The aim is to make a video of any length of the process or the result.

As we move through the city, we tend to overlook the trampled heaps of worn-out clothing on the sidewalk, undergoing a sudden devaluation by the context of the street, having mostly traveled across the globe and having accompanied the body of the previous owner during many moments. The biographies of the textiles are long and unmistakable traces tell of their path.

In this seminar I would like to revive the ambiguity of clothing as performative culture, second skin, loved or unnoticed, cause of categorization, decoration and necessity, smelling and tactile objects without using worn-out stereotypes that always live in these everyday objects. The urban space is thought of here as a library, study, as a backdrop and studio, as a political place, a space for togetherness and the place where society shows itself. We create new images in textile sculptures/installation arrangements in urban spaces and fleeting rearrangements. The textile material and the street are being repurposed and upgraded through this act of post-vandalism.

Schedule

DAY 1

• Getting to know each other through your own work. Reflection on the use of found objects in your own work.
• Introduction to the concept of post-vandalism and the idea of artistic work with textiles. Exchange of locations where textiles were found in the city.
• Visit and document one of these sites in small groups. Remove items of clothing and clean them if necessary and also document these processes.

DAY 2

• Spontaneous installation of the textiles in our seminar rooms
• Exchange in large groups about the finds, the locations, the process of removal, associations with the installations
• Writing exercise on some of the objects found
• Time for research in public spaces and the formulation of a project, considerations for implementation
• Divided into two groups for filming

DAY 3

• Filming day: morning / afternoon Group members take turns with the filming projects
• Start post-production using apps on your own cell phone

DAY 4

• Further post-production until noon
• Presentation and reflection of the work in a large group
• Possible classification into your own work

Knowledge requirements

• being able to move through the city, by bike, scooter or public transportation
• basic skills for video/photo production

Equipment requirements

• a mobile phone with access to apps/internet and a camera.
• a laptop to work on with access to the internet

Johanna Schraut

Raised in the 90s in the south of Germany. Living and working in Berlin as costume and set designer, stylist and filmmaker since 2012. Completed her master's degree in costume design at the UdK Berlin 2020. Before that studies in theatre and media science, art history, philosophy and performances in Germany and Canada. Has taught at UdK 2023 costume design with focus on moving pictures for the master's program.
https://www.johannaschraut.de