Installation view of ’Virgil Abloh: "Figures of Speech"’ at the MCA Chicago

‘Twelve thousand square feet of exhibition space is still just scratching the surface of what Virgil has done for the past 20 years,’ says Michael Darling, chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago, who scoped Virgil Abloh for the survey show – before his Louis Vuitton appointment as menswear director in 2018 – on the basis of holding up one of Chicago’s ‘local superstars’.

芝加哥当代艺术博物馆(MCA)首席策展人迈克尔·达林(Michael Darling)说：“一万二千平方英尺的展览空间仍在触及维吉尔在过去20年里所做的事情的表面。”达林在2018年路易斯·威登(Louis Vuitton)任命为男装总监之前，曾在芝加哥的“本地超级巨星”中为维吉尔·阿博(Virgil Abloh)做过调查。

The exhibition is a bit of a ‘cheat code’ for understanding Abloh, the creative director, designer and polymath. It covers a lot of ground: his work with Kanye West as a product and graphic designer for 10 years, his DJ career, Off-White, Louis Vuitton, Ikea, and lots in between. ‘We have laid the ground work, so someone can come in after us,’ says Darling, in recognition that there will be much more to come.

这个展览有点像“欺骗代码”，用来理解创意总监、设计师和博学家Abloh。它涵盖了很多方面：他在坎耶·韦斯特公司当了10年的产品和平面设计师，他的DJ职业生涯，非白色，路易威登，宜家，和很多在两者之间。“我们已经做好了地面工作，所以有人可以在我们之后进来，”达林说，他意识到还会有更多的工作要做。

Abloh and Darling teamed up with AMO’s head of design Samir Bantal to formulate and design the show. Four sections divide up Abloh’s offering from 1989 to date: Music, Fashion, Design and the Black Gaze – the final section ‘cuts through the hype and the buzz’ and ’brings to the surface the social commentary especially around race, that’s been there from the beginning,’ says Darling.

Abloh和Darling与Amo的设计SamirBantal合作制定和设计节目。亲爱的，从1989年到目前为止，有4个章节将abloh的产品分为音乐、时尚、设计和黑色凝视，最后一节“通过宣传和蜂音”，并“给社会评论特别是围绕种族带来的社会评论”。亲爱的。

Wooden virtrine stamped with a Nike tick, holding jewellery Virgil Abloh for Jacob - Co

由耐克(NikeTick)印花的木制病毒，为雅各布举办珠宝维吉尔·阿伯洛(VirgilAbloh)

The buzz is represented by the graphic ‘culture wall’ that welcomes you into the exhibition – an ‘autobiographical, matrix of influences’ inspired by the visual identity of Rem Koolhaas’ 1978 book Delirious New York, featuring portraits, references and text.

这场热议的代表是平面的“文化墙”，它欢迎你进入展览-这是一部“自传体，影响矩阵”，灵感来自雷姆·库哈斯(Rem Koolhaas)1978年出版的“疯狂的纽约”(Dirious New York)一书，书中有肖像、参考

Abloh’s relationship with Koolhaas and OMA goes back to when a new building was being built at the Illinois Institute of Technology campus when Abloh was an architecture student there. The relationship developed further when the pair sat down for an interview for System Magazine in 2017, and it was Abloh’s idea to get AMO involved in the exhibition.

Abloh与Koolhaas和OMA的关系回到了当Abloh是那里的建筑学生时在伊利诺伊州技术学院建造一座新建筑的时候。两人在2017年坐下来接受《系统》杂志采访时，这种关系进一步发展了，这是阿伯洛让Amo参与展览的想法。

Bantal describes the process of working with Abloh on the exhibition as akin to Nanggol (the original version of bungee jumping, performed as a ritual by the men of Vanuata – without the elastic line) and ‘almost strictly’ all collaboration was online: ‘endless threads of scrollable ideas free from location or time’ writes Bantal in the ‘Figure of Speech’ catalogue.

班塔尔称，与Abloh合作的过程类似于Nanggol(由瓦努阿图人表演的蹦极的原始版本-没有弹性线)，而且“几乎严格”的所有合作都是在线进行的。班塔尔在“语音”目录中写道：“无数可滚动的想法没有地点或时间，”班塔尔在“语音”目录中写道。

His work with Abloh and observations about his work led Bantal to conclude ‘the idea of the Prototype as an effective strategy’: ‘A prototype is open-ended and receptive to critique. A prototype is a perfect freeze of exploration, liberated from a definitive end goal,’ writes Bantal.

他与Abloh的合作以及对他工作的观察，使班塔尔得出结论：“原型是一种有效的策略”：“原型是开放的，可以接受批评。”一个原型是一个完美的冻结的探索，从一个明确的最终目标解放出来，‘班塔尔写道。

Nike trainer prototypes designed by Virgil Abloh

VirgilAbloh设计的Nike教练原型。

Walk around the exhibition with these words in mind. You’ll see Abloh fearlessly venturing from project to project, unafraid of failure or new pursuits, priding himself in his ability to be a ‘tourist’. ‘I’ve crafted my output into opening minds, instead of reaffirming closed minds,’ says Abloh in a conversation between Rem Koolhaas and Bantal, explaining his tourist/purist dichotomy. Some prototypes in the exhibition feel like finished works, others feel like the start of something exciting, and some probably made it off the drawing board slightly prematurely, but such is life.

用这些话在展览周围走动。“你会看到，从项目到项目，害怕失败或新的追求，害怕失败或新的追求，在他的能力成为一个“游客”的过程中，“我已经尽心思构建了我的输出，而不是重申封闭的思想，”在remkoholhaas和Bantal之间的谈话中，阿伯洛解释了他的旅游/清教徒的二分法。在展览中的一些原型感觉像完成的作品一样，有些人觉得自己好像是一件令人兴奋的事情的开始，一些人可能会稍微提前离开画板，但这是生活。

Abloh’s IKEA furniture design prototypes are piled up in the exhibition ready for a bonfire. They are reverse prototypes, taking history and working forwards, summarising, simplifying and stripping back – representing Abloh’s interest in opening up classic 20th century design (think Prouve, Le Corbusier and Nakoshima) to a millennial consumer audience. These works also interrogate his interest in copyright law, public domain and fair usage. ‘A couple of the rugs made it into the world’ says Darling, as we observe the pyre.

Abloh的宜家家具设计原型被堆放在展览准备篝火。它们是反向原型，回顾历史和前进，总结、简化和剥离Abloh的兴趣，向千禧一代消费者开放经典的20世纪设计(想想自豪，勒柯布西耶和中岛)。这些作品还讯问了他对版权法、公共领域和公平使用的兴趣。当我们观察火葬的时候，达林说：“有几个地毯进入了这个世界。”

Instead of prototypes, some works look more like props. Fake functional objects wheeled out from backstage at the Virgil Abloh show. A billboard spelling out ‘Advertise here’ with graffiti on the back. Concrete style graffitied furniture pieces and a reflective, high-gloss stainless steel iPhone-shaped mirror for Kreo. Diamond studded paper-clip jewellery for Jacob - Co. These objects nod to Abloh’s formative years as a skateboarder in suburban Chicago.

一些作品看起来更像是道具，而不是原型。在VirgilAbloh的表演中，假功能物体从后台滑出。一个广告牌，上面写着“广告”。为Kreo设计的混凝土风格的装饰家具和反光、高光不锈钢iPhone形状的镜子。适用于雅各的钻石钉钉纸夹珠宝。

While a T-shirt could feel like a prototype, Abloh makes it a work of art. T-shirt screen-printing frames hang on the walls like masterpieces. One framed Supreme t-shirt in the show has never been worn, and only ever displayed in a frame in a museum. From his early t-shirt printing ventures with J Boogie in Chicago as a teen skater, to making merchandise with Kanye West, to designing the Pyrex 23 t-shirts (a comment on young black men, drug culture and Michael Jordan), to his work with re-used Champion and Ralph Lauren flannel tees, working with Shayne Oliver from Hood by Air, Off-White staples, and pieces for Louis Vuitton – such as an unreleased tie-dye Pistolesi leather t-shirt for Men’s SS19 seen in the show, or a simple black and white staff t-shirt for the first runway show. The t-shirt is a medium that Abloh has mastered.

虽然T恤可以感觉像一个原型，Abloh使它成为一件艺术品。T恤丝网印刷框架像杰作一样挂在墙上。在展览中，一件镶有框架的最高T恤从来没有被穿过，而且只有在博物馆的框架里才展示过。从他早年与J·布吉(J Boogie)在芝加哥的t恤印刷事业，到与坎耶·韦斯特(Kanye West)合作制作商品，到设计Pyrex 23 t恤(对年轻黑人、毒品文化和迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)的评论)，再到他与重新使用的冠军和拉尔夫·劳伦(Ralph Lauren)法兰绒球鞋合作，与肖恩·奥利弗(Shayne Oliver)合作，从胡德航空(Hood By Air)的奥菲·奥立弗(Shayne Oliver)、白色的订书机和路易威登(Louis Vuitton)的作品-比如一件未放的领带-为男装SSS 19所穿的领带-Pistolesi皮革t恤，t恤是Abloh已经掌握的一种媒介。

A whole set of unreleased Nike trainer prototypes on a low plinth are also works of art – studded, bulbous beauties, labeled “prototype”, smooth and contoured in phoenix red or bulky dinosaurs in grey and transparent plastic. The trainers don’t feel like throw-away prototypes, they are there to be studied and savoured.

一套未发布的耐克教练机低底座原型也是艺术作品-镶嵌着球状的美丽，贴着“原型”的标签，在菲尼克斯红色或体积庞大的恐龙身上用灰色和透明的塑料做成光滑和轮廓。培训师不像扔掉的原型，他们在那里学习和品味。

More than anything, the exhibition shows how Abloh approaches fashion as an artist. As creative director of Off-White launched in 2013, and artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, from March 2018, he has worked to embed concepts and thinking into collections, campaigns and runway shows. The exhibition presents artefacts and remnants of these – a bright yellow neon sign used in his first Off-White runway show in Paris (F/W 16) reading ‘You’re obviously in the wrong place’. Or his first campaign images for Louis Vuitton shot by Inez and Vinoodh featuring children of colour playing with luxury Louis Vuitton products.

展览展示了ABLOH作为艺术家的方式。作为2013年推出的灰白色创意总监，于2018年3月在路易威登（LouisVuitton）的男装艺术总监，他一直致力于将概念和想法嵌入到收藏、运动和时装秀中。展览展示了这些艺术品和残留物-在巴黎(F/W16)阅读《你的错地方》中使用的一个明亮的黄色霓虹灯标志。或者他的第一次竞选图像是由伊内兹和Vinoodh拍摄的，其特征是用奢华的路易威登(LouisVuitton)产品玩彩色游戏。

Clothes designed by Virgil Abloh on bright blue rails designed by AMO

由Amo设计的亮蓝色轨道上的VirgilABLOH设计的衣服

Abloh is saying a lot: the A/W 2019 collection titled ‘Sliding, backwards, slowly’ featured rubber coated LV-branded neon gloves and a shirt and pants featuring graphics from The Wiz cartoon, that adapts the Wizard of Oz from an African-American perspective. In the final room, the ‘Keep all’ LV bag with a hefty orange chain to keep it safe, speaks of who he is in the world, and how the luxury industry perceives young black males walking into an LV store. Abloh’s ‘black gaze’ that runs throughout the exhibition and infiltrates his work is personal, but it also feels universal in many ways. He brings a perspective that echoes that of many.

Abloh说了很多：A/W 2019系列的标题是‘滑动，向后，缓慢’的特点橡胶涂层LV品牌霓虹灯手套和衬衫和裤子的图形从维兹卡通，这是改编自非洲裔美国人的绿野仙踪。在最后一个房间里，“保持所有”LV包有一个巨大的橙色链，以确保它的安全，讲述了他在世界上是谁，以及奢侈品行业是如何看待年轻的黑人男性走进LV商店的。Abloh的“黑色凝视”贯穿整个展览并渗透到他的作品中，这是个人的，但在许多方面它也让人感到普遍。他带来了一种与许多人的观点相呼应的观点。

Right now, we are still caught up in who Abloh is, but after seeing this exhibition, maybe you’ll start thinking more about what he is actually saying. Abloh summarises in the final conversation of the catalogue spoken to founder and editor-in-chief of Vestoj, Anja Aronowsky Cronberg: ‘...My goal is to disappear and let the work speak for itself.’ §

现在，我们还在关注Abloh是谁，但是在看了这个展览之后，也许你会开始更多地思考他到底在说什么。Abloh在与Vestoj创始人兼主编Anja Aronowsky Cronberg谈话的最后一次谈话中总结道：“.我的目标是消失，让作品自言自语。”