Iris Van Herpen, a world-renown designer, has made a name for herself by being one of the first designers to use 3-D printing to create many futuristic designs. Her ability to push past the traditional boundaries of design and use many innovative materials is what allows Van Herpen’s designs to be so sought after.
Being Comfortable with the Uncontrollable
Van Herpen has a deep interest in exploring the natural world. As a former ballet dancer, she is intrigued by movement and incorporates exploring movement in many of her pieces. She explained that one of her studios is by a body of water and she finds interest and motivation to explore mediums that are “uncatchable”: “I think water is one of the most beautiful materials there are. I mean, a real water dress, I will never—maybe? never say never—I will probably not be able to make [one], but those materials that are uncatchable are really inspiring. To me, the more impossible it seems, the better the challenge.” (Levaha, 2018). Being comfortable with the uncontrollable is something that drives Van Herpen’s creative process. Unlike many designers she does not sketch before she starts her work, she drapes. The creation of many of her designs starts with her looking at a material and placing it in certain ways until she reaches her insight moment where everything fits the way she wants it to. She explains: “I really look at the material, I start draping, I have no idea about the outcome. It’s completely uncontrollable. Sometimes it’s literally done in half an hour, and sometimes it can take up to two weeks, so it can be really frustrating.”(Levaha, 2018). Allowing the materials to form and move in a certain way, and embracing the fact that she will not really know the end piece when she starts designing, is something that she relies on nature to take control of.
Exploring What Nature Holds
Van Herpen looks to nature to answer the many questions that people have – a desire fueled by her interest in biomimicry. Biomimicry is the belief that nature holds the answers to many of the questions that humans have. Van Herpen states: “‘Matter is creation, it’s evolution, it’s nature, it’s us. It’s the source of all energy & the source of all our questions. I am fascinated by matter in all her shapes & all her mysteries’. Iris van Herpen”(Van Herpen, 2024). This interest is explored in her exhibition “Sculpting the Senses”. She explores the uncontrollable in nature through the lens of water, movement, and regeneration. This connects to Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race as it explains Watson’s drive to map the human genome. Watson wanted to help and understand the nature of his son, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. "But I soon realized that his troubles lay in his genes. That drove me to lead the Human Genome Project. The only way I could understand our son and help him live at a normal level was to decipher the genome.”(Isaacson, 2021). This drive to understand nature and the mystery of his son’s condition was what drove him to this obsession of wanting to map the human genome. He wanted to understand the nature of his son's disease, just as Van Herpen tries to understand and explore the natural and incorporates it in her work.
Her usage of biomimicry reminds of Rick Rubin stating that nature serves as a potent source of inspiration for creativity. He also describes the world as constantly changing and not static, and her allowing the materials to change as she works reminds of this.
ReplyDeleteI think it is fascinating how interested she is in nature and trying to reflect that in her work. I agree with Emilia's comment, this post really reminded me of Rick Rubin's book and how he uses nature as a way to draw inspiration for creativity. It is obvious Iris Van Herpen does the same, she is even using nature as her materials for her art.
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