References to books, projects and academic papers that inspire us

Literature

Exactitudes (Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek)

Topic:
How do we dress as an individual as well as an collective in a given cultural sphere? What external and voluntary forces can we identify in relation to the location, time, occasion, tradition, trend etc?

Main thesis:
Inspired by a shared interest in the striking dress codes of various social groups, they have systematically documented numerous identities over the last 14 years. Rotterdam’s heterogeneous, multicultural street scene remains a major source of inspiration for Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek, although since 1998 they have also worked in cities abroad.

They call their series Exactitudes: a contraction of exact and attitude. By registering their subjects in an identical framework, with similar poses and a strictly observed dress code, Versluis and Uyttenbroek provide an almost scientific, anthropological record of people’s attempts to distinguish themselves from others by assuming a group identity. (Excerpt from Exactitudes’ website.)

Methodology:
Ethnographic visual documentation of people in the various locations on the planet.
(12 people per one style)
Comes with title, year and location information, but nothing more than that.

Theoretical framework:
The book contains no written words, it is a striking visual demonstration of Georg Simmel’s notion of imitation and differentiation. In order to use this work as a reference, we need to back it up with a series of fashion theories on the politics of appearance.

Links:
www.exactitudes.com
www.jstor.org
Google books

Relevance:
Seems highly relevant for B&B project, because of the way it demonstrates the simplicity and sheer strength of documentary photography.

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