Fashion at the Graveyard 1997

Editor: Arsen Savadov's "Fashion at the Graveyard," from 1997, is a photographic print that definitely grabs your attention. There's a stark contrast between the models in sleek, dark dresses and the somber, overgrown graveyard setting. What strikes me most is how deliberately provocative it feels. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Provocative is definitely a key word here. Savadov is playing with a lot of loaded symbols. What does "fashion" signify in a late 20th-century context? And what’s the symbolic weight of a graveyard? The juxtaposition creates tension; it's almost a dare to the viewer. I would say this work challenges our understanding of beauty and mortality through a lens of power dynamics. The erotic charge is a means to highlight taboo issues around societal and gender norms in post-Soviet spaces. Editor: So, the location and the style choices aren't just aesthetic decisions; they're meant to clash and make us question things? Curator: Exactly. Consider the socio-political climate in Ukraine during the late 90s. This was a period of dramatic transition, with old values crumbling and new identities being forged, particularly relating to consumerism and freedom of expression. Do you think the way the women are positioned contributes to that reading? Editor: I guess they appear to be performing or subverting power dynamics through their pose. One woman is literally supporting the other! Almost like commenting on the pressures women face or the roles they are forced to assume? Curator: Precisely! And it makes me wonder: is Savadov using these images to comment on the roles, constraints and performances within Ukrainian society, or even within art itself? Perhaps it is all of the above. Editor: This reframes the image for me entirely; I am no longer thinking of something frivolous, but rather something incisive. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure! I think it's important to continually challenge and re-evaluate the lens through which we examine art and its socio-political agency.