I wasn’t sure if our examples had to be art, but I think you could argue this is art in a way. My example is Nathan Fielder’s chili suit (season 4 episode 2). In the episode, Nathan creates an inflatable suit which he fills with chili. The suit is fitted with a pump for dispensing the chili. He then wears the suit into a baseball stadium with clothes on top to disguise the suit, and sells chili discreetly out of it. While this is a pretty silly concept, I actually think it’s genius for a few reasons. First of all, I like the idea of inflating with unconventional material. I like that it is functional and wearable. I like that there is a mechanism for moving stuff out of the inflatable. I think these ideas can be taken further in other contexts. What if we thought of the inflatable as a system, with materials entering and exiting?
Okay I actually just remembered an artist who works with inflatables that I really do respect and is less silly than Nathan’s work. Lilah Rose is a soft sculpture artist from LA. Here’s what she has to say about her work: “I make soft sculpture, and I specifically make work that I hope will play well off the other elements of someone’s home. I want it to feel almost like a piece of furniture that lives on the wall. Something you could cuddle with. The home is such a precious place, and it’s very striking when you understand that the space you’re in is both functional and beautiful. The border between the art and its surroundings is there, but it starts to blur. I encourage people to approach me as an artist that will design something specifically for them and their house if they’ll let me. It flatters and serves us both, and it helps me associate with my work more as a form of portraiture.”
I got to see her work in a gallery in Berkeley last year. I love the materials she uses (often some sort of shiny fabric) and the colors (very dreamy and pearly). The pleating she does in some of her pieces is also so cool!!
