2013 SUPERLATIVES

On this final day of the year, here is a list of my 2013 Artfully Awear superlatives.  What are your favorites of the past year?

Favorite Museum Exhibition:

El Anatsui at the Brooklyn Museum.

Favorite Rainy Day Ensemble:

Colorful ensemble inspired by the work of Karen Tompkins.

Best Public Art:

Orly Genger at Madison Square Park.

Favorite Thrift Store Score:

Vintage Edvard Munch print skirt.

Favorite Camouflage:

Barry McGee at Gagosian.

Best Texture:

Save the Queen, inspired by Tomie Ohtake.

Best Day of the Year:

Jazz Age Lawn Party.

Worth the Wait:

Rain Room at MoMA.

Best Photo Op:

Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner.

Favorite Instagram:

My Shark Week outfit on JCPenney's Instagram.

Most Fun DIY:

Graffiti Dress at 5Ptz.

Favorite Costumes:

Warhol Marilyn and Picasso's Woman in a Hat.

Best Installation:

Mike Kelley's Central Deodorized Mass with Satellites at MoMA PS1.

Best New Friend:

Marina Abramovic.

Favorite Project:

Collaboration with Pantone.

Favorite Photos:

Alphonse Mucha at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Favorite Moment of 2013:

Meeting and speaking with HONY's Brandon Stanton.

RECAP: Favorite Colors of 2013

What a year it's been for Artfully Awear!  In a mood of reflection, I've decided to recap some of my favorite moments of the year.  In April, I launched a project with Pantone, in which I created artwork-inspired outfits centered around their forecasted palette of fashion colors.  My favorites were as follows:

1.  Green Glow

I used the work of Tauba Auerbach and a gorgeous Oscar de la Renta dress to draw correlations with the bright, springy green hue.  Coincidentally, my favorite dress of the year is my favorite color of the year!  View my original post here.

2.  Grenadine

With this hot, bright color, I was inspired by Jason Martin's paintings.  See the post here.

3.  Emerald

Pantone's Color of the Year was also one of my favorites, and it is found in the work of Helen Frankenthaler.  View more photos here.

4.  Magenta Purple

A rich, warm purple is showcased by a Nicole Miller gown and Morris Louis Color Field paintings.  See my post here.

Thank you for a great year!  

Joyeux Noël

Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, Angel with Music, 1975

Joyeux Noël from Artfully Awear!  

I hope your day, week, month, and year are filled with colorful merriment and creative fulfillment.

Image via Artsy.

WATER LILIES

Claude Monet, Water Lilies (French, Paris 1840 - 1926 Giverny)

There are few more delightful ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than wandering through the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  On this particular Sunday, Monet's Water Lilies were especially beautiful as a contrast to the grey slush outside on Fifth Avenue.  According to Urban Dictionary, "Monet" can be used to describe someone who "looks good from afar, but far from good close up."  That is usually the case with my Sunday afternoon ensembles!

Coat: Free People

Sequin skirt: French Connection (thrifted)

Tights: Falke

Boots: DKNY

Sweatshirt: J. Crew

Snakeskin purse: Vintage (thrifted)

Necklace: H&M

Photo by Meri Feir.

HUMANS OF NEW YORK

I'm honored to be featured in Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York.  I met Brandon on the subway the other evening, and we had a wonderful chat about life's highs and lows, inspiration, and style.  Thank you, Brandon, for the opportunity, and to the HONY community for the words of encouragement!

See the post here.  Buy Brandon's book here.

CHRIS BURDEN: Extreme Measures.

I couldn't wait to see the Chris Burden retrospective at the New Museum.  Not only was I intrigued about the prospect of a full-career retrospective of an artist most well-known for performance, but also because the entire museum would be filled with just Burden's work.  I was particularly taken by the LA Police Uniforms, created in cooperation with the Fabric Workshop and Museum in 1993.

Made by the genuine factory that manufactures LAPD uniforms, these are slightly larger than lifesize (7 feet, four inches, to be exact), a detail which makes them both fascinating and unsettling.  A commentary on authority, specifically related to the brutal police beatings in LA in 1992, the uniforms remind us of our stature within society, and also recall the fear of the civil rights era.  In the words of Blake Gopnik:

They are perfect facsimiles of what was worn by the LAPD, although blown up to just about fit the largest humans ever born. They capture the inner image that we have of every police officer we have an encounter with – whether as savior or threat. 

Dress/Jacket: Marc Jacobs

Brooch: Vintage

Belt: Jodi Arnold

Boots: DKNY

See the exhibition through 1/12/14 at the New Museum.

Photos by Kathy Paciello.

EXHIBITION: Hypnopompic.

Last night, I attended the opening reception of Finnish-born illustrator Kustaa Saksi's Hynopompic exhibition.  Taking place for 48 hours only, the exhibition combines beautifully intricate wool jacquard weavings as well as projection.  According to his bio, Saksi's illustrations "[radiate] meaning, bending what's real and distilling what's unreal."  It's true -- the combination of organic forms with undulating patterns was transfixing.

Dress: L'Amour Nanette Lepore via JCP

Blouse: L'Amour Nanette Lepore via JCP

Tights: Hue

Boots: Franco Sarto

Jacket: Vintage

If you're in New York City this evening, stop by Artifact at 84 Orchard Street between 6:30 and 9:30pm to see the exhibition.

Photos by Meri Feir and myself.

ART TO WEAR: Rhombus.

Shannon Finley, Rhombus (White Light), 2013

I finally captured the Miista Siri pumps, which have been on my wish list for quite a while.  They are, essentially, a classic black pump, but with an unexpected twist -- a clear lucite geometric heel.  I couldn't help but note the affinity the shoes held with this acrylic work by Shannon Finley, a Canadian artist based in Berlin.  Finley is represented by the Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco.

Finley image via Artsy, my shoes photographed by Lauren Ricciardi.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Andrea Kowch, The Feast

From Artfully Awear to you, Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for art as inspiration and a means of expression.

Image via Artsy.net.  Prints available through Richard J Demato Fine Arts Gallery.

YAYOI KUSAMA: Love Is Calling

Dubbed "Rain Room, Part Deux", Yayoi Kusama's I Who Have Arrived in Heaven at David Zwirner in Chelsea has been drawing sizable crowds to 19th Street.  A big fan of Kusama's work (in particular, her infinity rooms), I set out to Chelsea on Saturday afternoon, unprepared for the amusement park-like queues that greeted me.

Since Fireflies on the Water at the Whitney Museum last year, I skipped the line for the similar work Infinity Mirrored Room -- The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, which commanded the lengthiest line.  The separate line for Love is Calling, moved fairly quickly, and after about 20 minutes, I was admitted into the room for my one minute of viewing.

The experience is delightfully overwhelming, and includes a soundtrack of Kusama's voice penetrating the chamber.  The beautifully luminous tentacles form an environment almost like a seascape, but the sound and infinite reflections make it a bit unsettling.  Endlessness, a theme explored throughout much of Kusama's work, is most notably embodied by these installations, calling to mind the triviality of an individual within the universe.

If you've never experienced one of Kusama's infinity rooms, I recommend a visit to 19th Street, preferably on a weekday.

Have you had a chance to see the exhibition?  How did it make you feel?

Dress: Vintage

Boots: Ash

Handbag: Marc by Marc Jacobs

I Who Have Arrived in Heaven

David Zwirner Gallery

November 8 - December 21, 2013

Photos by Kathy Paciello.

INSPIRATION: The Modern Woman.

I love this so much; all I want to do is wear an Op Art coat and stand near a Helen Frankenthaler painting.

From The New York Times' The Lively Morgue:

June 26, 1963: Reviving the American Indian art of painting on furs, the Fifth Avenue fur designer Jacques Kaplancommissioned five American artists to paint on his collection to be worn by “the modern woman.” Within two hours, the first coat — painted by Anuszkiewcz, with a geometric arrangement of black dots on white calfskin — was sold to Mrs. Harcourt Amory. Each design came as a complete surprise to Mr. Kaplan, as he allowed the artists “absolute freedom to do whatever they wanted.”

Photo: Mayer Liebowitz, The New York Times 

CHALLENGE: Mickalene Thomas.

I'm excited to announce the inaugural Artfully Awear Challenge!

I've chosen a work of art (below) for inspiration, and dare you to style an outfit influenced by it: a direct representation of the work or a subtle nod to the color, form, feeling of the piece.  Take a photo of your look and send it to artfullyawear@gmail.com by midnight EST on Friday, November 22nd.

I'll post all of the photos here, and challenge one entrant to choose the next inspirational work.

For the first challenge, I've chosen a piece by one of my favorite contemporary artists, Mickalene Thomas.  This untitled work is made with rhinestones, glitter, acrylic, enamel, pastel, charcoal, graphite, and oil on wood panel.  

Mickalene Thomas, Untitled #4, 2013

I can't wait to see your photos!

Plainness in clothing is the enemy of art.

GE Reveal Lighting Makeover

Stained glass lamp fitted with standard light bulb.

One of my most prized possessions is a stained glass lamp designed and made by my grandmother.  Reminiscent of the art glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany, the lamp is special not only because it is her own design, but because she created it in her favorite palette of colors.  I put together this outfit inspired by the lamp, and by the beautifully artistic eye of my grandmother.

GE asked me to test out their new Reveal lightbulb, and I couldn't wait to see how it would look in my grandmother's lamp.  With the Reveal bulb, the beautiful colors of the glass and intricacy of the design are much more apparent.

Stained glass lamp fitted with GE Reveal bulb.

GE reveal® bulbs make it easy to enhance the colors and patterns around you, something that is extremely important to visual people like myself. The LED lightbulbs filter out dull yellow rays of standard incandescents, and provide a beautiful, clear light , perfect for a workspace, to showcase artwork, or simply to light your home. An added bonus is that the Reveal bulbs use 28% less energy than standard incandescents.

To learn more about the difference reveal® can make, watch this fun video engaging tastemakers who depend on the best lighting possible for their craft.

Thank you to GE for the opportunity to test out the Reveal bulb!

Blouse: Vintage

Leather pants: Tracy Reese

Boots: DKNY

Mike Kelley at MoMA PS1

The full-museum retrospective on the late Mike Kelley at MoMA PS1 opened a few weeks ago.  I attended the opening in my self-made Kelley-inspired pom pom jacket, but it's taken me a few weeks to develop my feelings about the show and begin to understand the overwhelming experience.


First of all, it is not an exhibition that can be confronted in one visit.  There is just too much -- so many extremely different, opposing mediums and ideas -- that it requires more than one sojourn in order to begin to even scratch the surface of the meaning and intent of Kelley's oeuvre.


Kelley created work that spanned a 30-year career in almost every medium imaginable: assemblage, film, works on paper, painting, sculpture, digital, installation, and on and on.  Much of this work deals with themes of isolation, repressed memory, sexuality, self-exploration.  My personal favorite work is Deodorized Central Mass with Satellites (1991), which I planned ahead to emulate with my pom pom jacket.

However, one of the most poignant pieces in the exhibition is Lumpenprole and Ageistprop (above).  A vast knit blanket stretched across the floor, concealing unidentified lumps beneath it, this work is the perfect example of Kelley's interest in repressed memory, and the way he consistently returned to previously explored themes throughout his widespread career.  While I was viewing the work, another museum attendee held his iPhone poised at the ready in order to catch the movement of the mysterious shapes (spoiler alert: they don't move).  This anecdote is a perfect example of my experience of the show: the feeling that there is something lurking around the corner that could change or develop at any moment, without notice.

Jacket: DIY

Dress: H&M

Shoes: United Nude

Clutch: Betsey Johnson

Photos by Kathy Paciello; Lumpenprole image from hamptonartshub.com.