Glossary
Accidental – the unplanned. That which happens without meaning, by chance. But then, is chance really accidental?
Boundaries – the delineation – demarcation – that separates one thing from another, usually the inside of a place from the outside. Boundaries define the inside, define that which they encircle through exclusion, exclusion of that which is not. They are also defined by that which they protect; but isn't protection a form of exclusion in the name of “safety”? Are boundaries ever – or rather, can they ever be – neutral, non-exclusionary, and therefore not political? If the personal is political, is that not defined by the separation between the body and the outside world? And if so, is the demarcation, or rather, the sign or symbol of the demarcation, clothing?
Cathexis – “a form of emotional investment transferred into an object to form a link between a person and the outside world, so that a simple object like a mug or a sweater becomes a mediator and is experienced as a reinforcement to the sense of self” (Attfield 130).
Clothes – clothes are everything. They keep us warm, safe, they are a barrier and a protection. Just as quickly they can become a threat, something which makes us feel acutely aware of the gaze, of our bodies, of how we are in the world. Clothing is what allows us to live in the world.
Consumption – that which comes before waste. That which produces waste. Attfield describes consumption not simply as the purchase of goods, but the use of said goods after purchase and the development of an emotional connection to the object. It is a literal consumption of the object, sometimes to the point of obsolescence (for example, wearing a favorite pair of jeans until they are simply shreds).
Culture – that which conditions and shapes our identities. The sum of social attitudes and expressions, cultural media, that define how we are as humans, and the way in which we are humans. From the Social Skin:
“Culture, which we neither understand nor control, is not only the necessary medium through which we communicate our social status, attitudes, desires, beliefs, and ideals (in short, our identities) to others, but also to a large extent constitutes these identities, in ways with which we are compelled to conform regardless of our self-consciousness or even our contempt. Dress and bodily adornment constitute one such cultural medium, perhaps the one most specialized in the shaping and communication of personal and social identity.” (Turner 487)
The studium; the coded aspects of our society.
Deconstruction – taking apart of things. To deconstruct is to break down the thing to its most basic form(s). To take apart in order to understand how things work, and how the different components work together, and what the components mean when they are alone vs. when they are together.
Documentation – the recording of an event, a time, or a happening. The 'thing' can be recorded, written down or otherwise remembered either with purpose or unwittingly. All that matters is whether or not a trace or shadow of the 'thing' remains after the thing is gone. Documentation is how we know things. It is how we know history, how we know anything. Documentation cannot exist without language, documentation is communication. Documentation is really the recordings of traces. Documentation includes visual recordings.
Experience – knowledge gained through life. This knowledge/experience is what shapes us as human beings and as individuals. It is unavoidable and inherent. It rubs off on everything and everyone. Documented lived experience is history.
Fragment – a piece of the whole. Usually all that is left of the whole. A fragment is a remnant. It too is defined by absence, an absence which defines a presence. The presence of the fragments signifies that something was there, but is no longer there. It is a tangible trace.
Human – human is the body, human is flesh and blood, human is what wears the clothes, human is what activates the cloth. Human is what makes the cloth that needs to be activated by human body.
Punctum – that which pierces through, which punctures. The detail that shifts perception, that renders human the objective.
Secretions – the unwitting seepings of our body. The blood, the sweat, the tears the smells, the dirt. Everything that exits our pores and settles outside of our selves, onto whatever surface is in contact with the secretion. Secretions are abject, because they are in between. They are in between skin and cloth, skin and fabric, skin and text(ile). Secretions are documentation and they are traces. Secretions, the seeping, the inside to the outside. Secretions are secret, they aren't supposed to be seen, or felt, or smelt. Secretions are abject, they are what makes wear wear and what makes an old garment so poignant. Secretions are human and secretions are infinite. Secretions are a manifestation of the flesh. Secretions are proof of life.
Time – an accumulation of moments. Instances or periods that contain experiences.
Threads – the things that hold everything together. The invisible that keeps everything together. (Threads threads threads are threads that keep threads together)
Trace – that which is left after the thing is gone. The mark left by absence. (a shadow). A trace is a clue.
Wear – signs of life. Signs of life lived in the cloth. Signs of consumption. The traces of life, with all that entails (dust, dirt, dead skin cells, stains, sweat, etc.).
Sources:
Attfield, Judy. Wild Things: The Material Culture of Everyday Life. Oxford: Berg, 2000. Print.
Turner, Terence S. “The Social Skin”. Not Work Alone: A Cross-cultural View of Activities Superfluous to Survival. Ed. Jeremy Cherfas, Roger Lewin. London: Temple Smith, 1980. Print. 112-140