Helmut Lang "sceance de travail #07"

"sceance de travail #07". Helmut Lang. Editor & Art Director Nr. 6. F/W 07-08. 

excerpted text: 

"The idea came up when we started to use images from the hl-art archives and I began to prepare them without particular reason to find another shape, form or context. Somehow I like to work in a way that I start with something unimportant, try to change it and then see where it will lead me, how far I want to go with it or if at the end I'm actually interested in it at all. This particular series is somehow comparable to preparing a material for an unspecified body of work, like one would prepare a piece of wood to transform it later or start to collect metal to have it melted into something else. During the procedure there are different stages that always look quite interesting and that sometimes are strong enough to then lead to an idea that is worth pursuing for a moment. They are studies for a more final artistic project, but somehow quite interesting as they are more particular but less ambitious at the same time. I do like that certain elements that are actually mostly from the accessoire-vetement series have a complete life of their own and changes the perception on how one looks at things, which is particular to a more two dimensional approach that resonates in a different dimension." 

" The form is always important, as is the content. I don't think that one is more important. They complement each other". 

"The archive pictures in themselves are really not important. The idea is really more what one is able to see by looking at the abstraction". 

"I kind of always revisit things to see if they still have any meaning going forward". 

"I think that I'm influenced by whatever happens around me realistically and my curiosity to imagine other dimensions or meanings around that. If I'm able to blur these different angles together one can find a different way to look at things."

"I always felt that being true to oneself is the only way to move forward in life as well as in one's work. I think otherwise  you loose your authenticity because you betray the idea of it. I think I could always translate it in my work but it's also not something that goes in or out of fashion." 

"When I decided to work beyond fashion, it felt more like an evolution and quite natural. I'm using other mediums and materials to express form and content in a way that I hope will be interesting enough. The professional terms are quite different and it's essentially a question of there being an audience who is interested and inspired by what one does."