The Luxify Articles
“What is Luxury?” Asks The Victoria and Albert Museum
“What is Luxury?” Asks The Victoria and Albert Museum
To assume that a luxury item is just another object on a shelf is to undermine its true value.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is currently hosting an exhibition entitled ‘What is Luxury?’ to explore and appreciate the artistry of fine luxury. The exhibition, which spans over 6 months in the heart of London. And it looks into the history of iconic luxury pieces over time. It also investigates an artist’s typical process of creating a luxury item, from conception to completion.
An artist often goes through laborious efforts even to conceptualize something new. Depending on his background and state of mind, he may design objects or select materials and colors that are reflective of his thoughts and emotions at the time. V&A suggests that his innovation is a personification his interests, passions and his dreams. Further analysis could not only illustrate the artist’s personality but also reveal his personal values and cultural conditioning. When compared with other artists’ creations of different generations or cultures, one may notice significant similarities or differences. This also help to speculate and extrapolate future trends.
V&A gives further credit to the artists in this exhibition by focusing on their processes of crafting their design. The craftsmen often toil hard and invest a lot of their time and personal resources. Even with incomparable creativity, precision, and skills. They spend countless hours in their workshop, focused on fine-tuning and then beautifying their invention into an art. Their motivations are largely intrinsic, and beyond any market’s demand; they simply revel in challenging themselves to surpass the standards already set. Through a series of events and lectures at the exhibition, V&A sheds light on these – largely anonymous – artists, who sacrifice their own potentially luxurious lifestyles, simply to build a luxury for others.
For those who believe that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, V&A encourages and teaches enthusiasts to wholly appreciate and experience luxury. In addition, an astute imagination and the freedom to think and dream uninhibitedly is often what is needed to understand and empathize with an artist’s perspective. Beyond any borders of budget or business, one can still value a masterpiece for its embodiment of the artist’s exceptional expertise. V&A hosts exhibits of artists like Aram Mooradian, Giovanni Corvaja, and Chung Hae-Cho, to discover their professional finesse and personal fortitude.
The admission is free for all visitors at the exhibition. It is operating at The Porter Gallery, London, until 27 September 2015. While its regular operating hours are 10 am – 5:30 pm, it is usually open until 9.30pm on Fridays. For further inquiries and information on the range of services available for disabled visitors, please call +44 (0)20 7942 2766 or text phone +44 (0)20 7942 2002.
Resources Used:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/what-is-luxury/what-is-luxury-about-the-exhibition/
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/what-is-luxury/visitor-information/
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/what-is-luxury/