LUNCHEON IN FUR

In my experience, many artistic triumphs come in a flash. They aren't labored over and they come together organically, with a short time span between their inception and completion.

In my opinion, truly creative individuals, though they have the skills to create masterpieces over time, also have the ability to make something meaningful, given little time or materials.

This is true of Swiss Surrealist artist Méret Oppenheim (1913-1985). At age 23, she created what is now known as the most important Surrealist object, Le Déjeuner en Fourrure (Luncheon in Fur).

According to the record of Art History, Oppenheim was dining with Picasso in Paris when she showed him the design for a bracelet lined with fur. Picasso responded that she could line anything with fur, "even this tea cup and saucer", and thus, Déjeuner came to be.

Along with artists like Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, and Andre Bréton, Oppenheim championed the Surrealist idea of psychic automatism and Freudian fetishism, covering or juxtaposing everyday objects with fur.

These works, which have been categorized as "dis/agreeable", challenge the viewer to think about what it would feel like to use them, and creates a Freudian bridge between the fetish object and the everyday object.

To evoke the Surrealist objects of Oppenheim, I centered an outfit around a vintage fur jacket and added a few tonal pieces with a bright yellow skirt reminiscent of the above work, Squirrel.

I'm wearing a vintage scarf, vintage fur, thrifted cashmere sweater, vintage leather mini bag, vintage skirt, gifted pavé cocktail ring, Betsey Johnson wool tights, Gold Toe socks, Chloe sunglasses, and leather Marni heels.

There are still a few more days left to enter my $35 CSN stores giveaway! Just follow Artfully Awear via Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin, Twitter, or Facebook and leave a comment on this post.

Also, thank you to Sara for the Most Creative blog award and Vanessa for the Newbie award!

[Oppenheim images from drawclose.com, chilloutpoint.com, welcomenotations.com, and chilloutpoint.com, respectively.]