Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Sky-High Paper Wigs Topped With Modern Luxuries by Asya Kozina
Colossal: Paper artist Asya Kozina was inspired by the decadent wigs found in Baroque and Rococo still lifes, tall masses of hair adorned with objects that represent the ideals of luxury and beauty in the 17th and 18th centuries. Her series Skyscraper on the Head imagines how these outdated accessories might look if produced today, replacing the exotic fruits and birds of early centuries with airplanes, skyscrapers, and ferris wheels.
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The craftsmanship and attention to the most minute details in these wigs is utterly incredible. Having used paper and origami as materials for my shoe project for Basic Design class, I understand that it is extremely difficult to manipulate that kind of material into something as crisp and elegant as Asya Kozina's work. Her concept of replacing the antiquated decorations of fruits and birds on the wigs with modern adornments such as airplanes, ships and ferris wheels is also incredibly intriguing. To me, the use of paper as a flimsy and insubstantial medium is fascinating in juxtaposition with her subject of the decadent, materialistic Baroque wigs. In this context the use of paper lends itself well to represent the materialism and luxury of powder wigs, a fashion statement of the times that extends no more beyond simply serving as a decorative accessory.
I cannot imagine how many paper cuts this woman has gotten in her life. I love paper crafts. I learned origami when I was young, and made stuff out of paper and index cards because it was the most accessible material at the time. This artist’s ability to make such beautiful things out of such a mundane material is incredible. I really like the design choice of adding modern technology and structures to the tops of the wigs to counteract the fruit and natural things that lay on top in the past. This juxtaposition is really clever. I would like to know the process that goes into making these wigs. Is there a framework base that goes inside them all? Does she make patterns to add before hand, or does she add them as she goes? What is the joinery for the pieces of paper? I would be overjoyed to have these questions answered, and maybe some day I’ll try my hand at making one myself.
I've seen these wigs online before, and I adore the craftsmanship and minute details put into them. The white paper is so beautifully worked in such a way that it truly does mimic the shapes and curls of traditional powdered wigs and yet still can make the clean lines needed to create things like airplanes, ships masts, and skyscrapers. It has incredible versatility, especially the heavier paper she appears to have used. This would be such an interesting idea for a play, thematically fitting of course, to have costumes and wigs and even sets made of paper or all white, and the colors of lights projected with them. You could really play with the shapes and motifs used in the paper, and how the form and texture of paper - straight or curved, rigid or flexible, smooth or crumpled - can communicate a character's personality or role or the mood of a scene. The lighting and media would be a huge part of the show, giving color and projection to fill the empty canvas on the stage depending on the scene. I would love to explore doing something like that.
These truly are "Skyscrapers on the Head". Paper crafts are such an elegant form of art. I've dabbled in origami since I was a kid, and within the last few years have done a handful of paper flower making. The process can be very tedious having to cut out so many pieces out of paper and then trying to get them to stay in the right position as the glue sets. Similar to Peter, I have many questions about the process and structure of these beautiful wigs. Does Kozina use a laser cutter or a craft knife and scissors to cut all these precise parts? How does she create such perfect curls with the paper? How do these wigs stay on the models' heads?? They seem to defy gravity. Plus they look absolutely amazing on women of all ages. If you click through some of the slideshows linked in this article, they show the wigs on a variety of people, though I wish to have seen a more diverse group. I was baffled when I read that the wigs shown just on stands are actually just miniature wigs on little paper models. They still have just as much detail as the larger wigs. I ended up scrolling through her portfolio of paper projects and I am blown away by their detail and delicacy.
These skyscrapers on head are truly stunning especially when there are not only flowers and fringes but also planes, ferries, violins and other things that don’t go on a wig or aren’t usually considered as wig decoration. Artists are so good at turning whatever they have at hand into as much elegant intricate as wild and fierce art form, be it paper, straw, steel, or pastries. How do one render pieces of paper into smooth and complicated curves and curls? Are all of these décor pieces cut by hand? Did the artist use any special paper to make the wig look both light and sturdy? Are the wigs empty cylinders or is there anything to help support the much bigger top? The wigs are both beautiful to look at as a whole and extremely interesting to look into details. The leaves, grass, and wheat are so carefully shaped that they almost feel like they are moving to some sort of breeze.
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