Tóth Laura

Fashion and Textile Design MA
supervisor
Kele Ildikó
masterwork opponent
Trapp Dominika
thesis consultant
Beck András
thesis opponent
Körösvölgyi Zoltán
masterwork

My degree work

My masterwork examines the blurring boundaries between creator and creation. The concept was inspired by a personal experience: I almost had an accident once while transporting my collection. My first thought was the safety of my pieces instead of my physical safety. My reaction to this emergency made me realize that excessive identification with one’s creation can easily become toxic. In my diploma I aim to examine this relationship and resolve my internal conflicts. I made every piece of my collection from the highest quality of raw materials, at the highest possible standard, in hundreds of working hours. I destroy the clothes tailored on me in simulated accidents that could happen even to me in my everyday life. The objects in their original, intact condition are lost forever. The viewer can only decode the events with the help of accident site photos and the illuminated remains of clothing. With this method of installation, I reflect on X-rays and inspection machines used for quality control in the textile industry. By destroying my diploma collection I step away from the harmful mechanisms of the fashion industry, and embrace my future as an aspiring artist. The critical "crying selfie" appearing in the exhibition space is the symbol of the system I am leaving behind. The ultimate goal of the project was to redefine my relationship to my work: leaving the creator intact instead of the creation seems to fail at the end of the work process.
thesis

“Destroyed by the artist”

In my thesis I explore works of fine art where artists do not create but destroy, either their own work or the work of another creator. I mostly discuss cases where the destruction of artwork is conceptual, but through the example of Bacon, I also describe when it is a personal act, part of a selection process. I describe John Baldessari’s Crematorium Project and analyse the relationship between the artwork and the artist. In the conclusion of my thesis I examine the relationship between creation and destruction.