Storm Of the Century

It might come to a shock to you that not only a designer and photographer, but I am also a sound artist (well, if we split hairs, I am a mixed media artist in practically all forms of art). On my radio show After Dark with Mark on WMNJ, Drew University Radio, (drew.edu/wmnj) the second hour is completely dedicated to my sound art, which is really an auditory representation of an electrical frequency storm in outer space. I decided to take off with this tv/radio/Internet/etc frequency storm and bring it into my fashion design.



The dress is connected to a vintage radio by the multicolored threads that I have coming out of the speakers that finally become part of the dress. The dress is a representation of information that has been transmitted from televisions, radio broadcasts, and more (from all time periods, all at once). It is factual that all of this transmitted information floats around in space. So if you were in a rocket with a receiver, you could receive an episode of I Love Lucy that was aired in the 1950's. In short, the dress is a visual representation of all of this transmitted information in outer space.

It was easy to make. If I had to commercialize it, it would easily be converted into a baby doll dress. I used neon colored cotton fabric, electric blue chiffon, and recycled chain. This dress to me is an ultimate fusion of sculpture, design, noise, and finally photography. During the construction process, I felt that I had no rules, and I could free form action design, as if I were Jackson Pollock with a sewing machine and a lot of fabric.



The shoot was amazing. I used my friend Steffi, who has an Asian flare and amazing blond hair. She has a natural high energy that surrounds her, so she was perfect for the dress. I shot this in the basement of my building. It had a lot of industrial materials because it is the facilities work room. I had a lot of metal rods, wires, pipes, and storage equipment to work with. I was in heaven...well...heavens trash bin. Creating the set was a test of my innovation and compositional skills. I wanted to create tight environments that the dress + energy could take over, creating a very electrically charged and chaotic photo shoot.



What really put the cherry on the top of this Sunday was the make up! That is something as a designer/photographer I need to work on. I wanted to makeup to match the dress (which is a fashion NO NO, but I knew it was only right for this). I was inspired by the make up Bjork sported for her latest album Volta. It was colorful and sectional, what's not to like? I recycled my amazing friend/ model Tanya Salamanca, who really used her savvy make up artistry skills to help execute my vision. I can honestly say that this is one of my best photo shoots.

Dress and Photography: Mark Tauriello
Model: Steffi Schamberger
Make up: Tanya Salamanca

Project This!

If I had to describe the speed of time within the past three months, I would say FAST.
That being said, I only have limited time in my personal studio space as a senior art major, so I have to make the BEST of it and move full speed ahead.



Back in December I had created my "projection dress". The name says it all. It is a dress in which moving images are projected onto it. The piece is a blank canvas and can take on any print,color,image,and more, making the surface endlessly polymorphic.



My idea is derived from the fusion of fashion and technology in a less gimmicky way. The shape of the dress is very clean and inspired by many space age 60's mod designs. I wanted to create a dress that was not only interesting in shape, but wearable + easily changeable based on what is projected onto it. The idea is that you can take a shape, the dress, and turn it into something whimsical (perhaps by projecting a hip floral pattern) then within seconds create something more high fashion by changing the image(s) projected onto the outfit.



The dress is also more than just a blank canvas. It's also a projection screen for moving images. Three examples I created that vary in movement, color, and projected textures were static noise from television (medium paced movement), the opening credits of the film Psycho, which has strong linear design elements (fast paced movement), and finally color bars on a television (no movement). The dress is not only interactive with what is projected onto it from a projector, but, it also becomes part of the environment created with the projected image(s). It can easily be camoflaged with the space.



Using two things associated with television (static noise, and color bars) and horror film in my designs reflect my point of view as not only a designer, but as a photographer as well. I want to take the technological television + film concepts, and fuse them into high fashion. I feel that with my projection dress, there is a lot that can be said and left to one's own interpretation. Hopefully my ideas can push fashion into a more transformed interchangeable aesthetic giving people the ability to create new looks with the same piece. With the poor economy today, we might end up doing just that.

Dress and Photography by Mark Tauriello
Modeled by Tanya Salamanca