The recent death of Alexander McQueen comes as a blow to all those who have admired the breathtaking force of his creations and interventions in the world of fashion. The apparent circumstances make his act of suicide all the more wrenching.
I cannot claim to speak to the meaning of this loss; I am hardly the most fitting writer on this occasion. But I want to note, on this site, that I am reminded once again that one must record one's hopes, ambitions, successes and losses if one is to give meaning to an enterprise such as The Centre for Modern Thought. The long winter of a difficult transition has left us silent for too long.
Alexander McQueen had been among a group of individuals I have hoped to invite to the Centre--one of those creators who push the meaning of their art into regions where one recognizes that the possibility of creation in our time is at stake. Ferran Adrià showed us what was possible in this respect, and I want to use the impetus of this immediate grief to recommit our project to bringing forward and honouring those creative forces that are at work beyond the institutional filters that produce the pallor of the academic every day.
I am minded to give thanks to those in our film and visual culture group who have continued to carry forward this effort in their own areas of engagement. And I want to welcome further ideas for events as I attend, for my part, to our new friends in Tokyo and to their associates--exceptional artists who know what magic can be done with scissor, thread, and colour. Let me also voice openly the hope that our friend Xa Shin Wei--that wizard of the digital textile--can join us again soon.
Christopher Fynsk
Director of the Centre for Modern Thought
May 6, 2010