Antonina Konopelska – Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art

THE COSTUME IS NOT A COVER
The Turtle Knows What’s Under The Shell aka The Search Of A Costume Designer

I was first introduced to Antonina Konopelska at her Photography Exhibit in Santa Monica, California. I was immediately drawn to the scale and persona of her portraits. I felt they were in silent conversations with me. They stepped out of frame as fully dressed individuals. As an Observer, I completed her Persons. As a Costume Designer, I saw Antonina’s understanding of character, both inside and out – which is the essence of our search. The connection between the System and a Costume Designer is simple and direct – the System is gathering facts, figures, and anecdotes from within their multifaceted psyche. In “All that we has”, under the direction of Antonina the Protagonist of the Project ultimately dresses her Subjects from her closets, her daily finds, and mounds of clothing provided for her choosing. Ultimately, and most importantly, she finds herself codesigning – she emerges as a Costume Designer in front of her crew. A true fete. As a Costume Designer – I am given a script, a Director’s concept, and a Cast list – under the umbrella of The Producer(s) – so many more participants – so many credits. WE CAN NOT WORK ALONE – We fail if We try to be single artists – We are a company – a troupe – of settled wanderers. We are storytellers watching the actor become the character they are playing. During a fitting, it is the golden moment for any Costumer Designer when the Actor looks in the mirror and breathes the character into the clothes, and the clothes become the Costume – the fitting ceases. As we walk down the street we see the Protagonist and her crew in real life. We see them as authentic individuals, so many that we are blinded by the rush – yet take time to be biased by diversity. We miss so many... so many past and future parts of our world, those living in the System...

• Curator

  • Julie Weiss