從伸展台到博物館﹕亞歷山大麥昆的時尚藝術

Abstract

近年來，在博物館裡展出名設計師時尚展覽的現象越來越普遍，高度商業化的時尚產業越界進入到過去只展示高尚文化的藝術殿堂。2015年展於維多利亞亞伯特博物館舉辦驚世駭俗的英國時尚設計師亞歷山大麥昆回顧展Alexander McQueen ：Savage Beauty，打破了博物館最高參觀人次的紀錄，帶來了的可觀的經濟收益，然而博物館與商業品牌之間的贊助合作模式，也凸顯在博物館中展出時裝的合理性的爭議。博物館為時裝品牌冠上藝術品的美名，增加文化價值，然而，博物館是否淪為時尚產業的宣傳平台？ 本研究旨在藉由近期的博物館營運發展新趨勢來檢視時尚與博物館之間的論述形構。本論文針對時尚展覽的中的博物館、企業、與展覽策劃三個面向討論。首先，藉由Tony Bennett的展覽複合體與Pierre Bourdieu的品味秀異討論博物館的正當性、博物館化與品味建立的能力。第二，到了1960年代，博物館為追求更多的參觀者而迎合大眾品味，成為更文化民主化的文化單位。然而這種為求生存、商業化的經營方式推使博物館與企業共謀，接受企業贊助，本研究採用Bourdieu的場域理論與企業贊助的論述，檢視當藝術場域被外部影響，在立場偏頗的情況下，是否還能維持策展的自主性以及教育功能？最後，分析展覽的論述生產與意義建構，並透過追溯時尚策展流變，檢視博物館從過去收藏具歷史重要性與時代價值的服裝與織品，到近代品牌時裝展示於藝術場域，挑戰博物館的框架，揭示背後權力知識的關係，重新定義博物館的教育與娛樂功能。 本研究透過田野調查、質性訪談與論述分析，以倫敦維多利亞亞伯特博物館舉辦的Alexander McQueen ：Savage Beauty為案例，分析展覽論述，探究消費性的時尚商品在博物館的場域裡展出的正當性與企業贊助之疑慮，梳理該展覽於時尚展覽史中的定位，加以解析當代時尚設計於博物館展出的現象。Museums have been collecting and presenting contemporary fashion couture since late twentieth century. Nowadays, museums turn to fashion exhibitions with increased frequency, relying on its magnetic attractiveness to draw in the crowd. Exhibiting fashion within the museum’s scope has created unconventional scene. The most visited exhibition in the Victoria and Albert Museum history, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition had brought new visitors, media exposure and commercial interest. However, the cooperation between museums and commerce is often debatable because of its commerciality, its legitimacy and institution autonomy. This thesis takes Alexander McQueen’s retrospective exhibition, Savage Beauty as a case study to examine the corporate sponsorship and to analyze whether or not the museum has turned into a promotional venue for commercial entities.

This research is comprised of an analysis of the three core facets of the fashion exhibition: the museums, the corporate sponsorship, and the exhibition curatorship. First, in order to analyze how the museum has become an attractive venue for the fashion industry to showcase their design, this thesis demonstrate the process of legitimization and power-knowledge displayed with Tony Bennett’s exhibitionary complex and Pierre Bourdieu’s Distinction. Secondly, since the focus of the museum has shifted to be more democratization and popularization, this thesis investigates the corporate sponsorship to interpret several issues revolving around institutional ethics, as well as the museum’s autonomy. Finally, by analyzing exhibition discourse, the visitors’ reviews as well as the history of fashion exhibition, this research explicates the influence of exhibiting fashion in the museum field.

This research adopts a qualitative research approach, applying multiple data collection methods: discourse analysis, fieldwork and semi-structure interviews to the visitors, to develop a thorough interpretive analysis. Research finding suggested that the V&A had emphasized Alexander McQueen’s artistry, exhibit-worthiness and legitimacy through convincing aspects and there was no hint of commercialism within the exhibition. The sponsors have long history supporting McQueen. However, the corporate sponsorship indeed brings wider recognition, and long-lasting influence through the aesthetic appropriation as well as the interchangeability between cultural capital, economic capital and social capital of the museum and the corporations.