Leading Chinese fashion designer and scholar Xu Rui is the focus of a fashion exhibit, fashion show, and round table discussion Sept. 26-28 in the Michigan Union.
The theme is “To See the Invisible.” Events open with a lecture and fashion show at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Anderson Room. An exhibit is presented in the Art Lounge Thursday through Saturday, and a meet the artist event and roundtable discussion is at 4 p.m. Friday in the Wolverine Room.
The dress “Silver/Polyester 2012,” garment design by Xu Rui and textile design by JIANG Kinor, is displayed in the exhibit “To See the Invisible.” Photo courtesy Ruru Li, University of Leeds, UK.
Xu will present some of her award-winning works and discuss her theory of “Seeing the Invisible” in Chinese culture through creative, distinctive and thought-provoking fashion.
Her works are not for everyday use, but for aesthetic and cultural engagements. Each piece features fabric of distinctive colors and materiality, structured in ways that are larger-than-life, defying conventional categories of blouse, skirts or pants.
During the show, each garment is presented by a dancing model. Challenging her audience, Xu urges them to see every color, pattern, and structural shape that the costumes display. She invites the public to understand how invisible and intangible cultures are being artistically and playfully negotiated with visible and material garments.
‘State of the Book’ symposium celebrates Michigan literary traditions
The second annual State of the Book symposium from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday at Rackham Auditorium celebrates Michigan’s great writers and the state’s enduring literary traditions with free programs focused on Michigan writers and the craft of writing.
This day-long series of public events will showcase some of Michigan’s literary stars, in partnership with several of the state’s leading non-profit literary organizations: 826michigan, Dzanc Books, InsideOut Literary Arts Project, The National Writers Series, and The Neutral Zone. Events will also feature the work of the next generation of writers that these organizations serve and support.
The day’s events will conclude with an on-stage keynote conversation featuring poet, activist and translator Carolyn Forche. The symposium is presented by the Fiction Writers Review, the Department of English Language and Literature, and the Zell Visiting Writers Series. For a full schedule, go to stateofthebook.com/?page_id=6.
