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Armor is commonly thought as being a defensive material, to be worn in a dangerous situation,
to be purely functional, but ultimately because it transforms the appearance of the person wearing it,
armorers took liberties and they devised forms and shapes that would make the
person a better person, a more important person. The body seen from this
outer shell is perfect. This is one of these armors that breaks away
from all of the established standards.
It is not an armor that is used
for
combat. It is an armor that is just meant
to be worn in a ceremonial context.
The inspiration for it is civilian fashion from the early sixteenth century.
The puffed sleeves were pierced, so you could see the shirt underneath,
and they only remained popular
for about
twenty to thirty years,
and so this armor is capturing that moment, in Augsburg, about 1525.
The gilded parts are etched beneath. There’s an illusion
that the bright pieces are sort of floating over a
background that is matted, possible moirĂŠ. When the light was
bouncing off the polished surface
you would really have the illusion
that this was an actual textile.
I look at armor as hollow, moving sculptures.
These sleeves were
meant to rotate and the
arm
could
move
freely
in them.
Each sleeve and
each section
of the
sleeve has its
own movement,
its own gravity.
We have to imagine these being animated,
and
not at all
as popular
culture would
like us
to believe,
like a robot,
but
actually
flowing
rather
freely.
It is surprisingly naturalistic.
An armor like this was meant to amaze, to dazzle,
to demonstrate that the person wearing it
is so sophisticated that not only
is he wearing the latest fashion in civilian dress
but he is of the class of men who wear armor. This is
meant to last and yet it is built around volatile
parameters: the style of the costume
would go out of fashion. The tension between that
durability, that eternity, and then on the other hand,
the inspiration for it, which captures a moment,
so it is wonderfully ephemeral,
I think that’s absolutely extraordinary.