RAIN ROOM

Have you ever wanted to control the rain?  Random International's installation/environment at the Museum of Modern Art gives its audience a sense of what it would be like to have that power.

Part of the the MoMA PS1 Expo 1: New York exhibition, Rain Room utilizes digital technology to keep guests dry within a constant downpour.

Lit only by one spotlight, attendees are admitted into a controlled rainstorm, which clears a path as they navigate through the space.

It is a sensory experience, heightened by the sound of the deluge, which calls to mind issues of our control of the environment through scientific means.

Rain Room is open through July 28.  Photos by Meri Feir and myself.

ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Champagne Beige.

For my latest Artfully Awear + Pantone post, I'm featuring the shimmery color Champagne Beige.

My inspiration for this look has been on my mind for years, as I've always loved the sinewy Art Nouveau elegance of Alphonse Mucha's ladies.

Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech painter and decorative artist who created the Art Nouveau style, originally known as Mucha Style.

He began his career as a theatrical designer in Moravia, and eventually relocated to Paris, where he met the acclaimed actress Sarah Bernhardt, one of my style icons.

In 1895, Mucha began a six-year contract with Bernhardt, creating lithographs for her performances.  This solidified his position as an important commercial artist.

Throughout his career, Mucha struggled to separate himself from the Art Nouveau style he essentially created, and found art's importance through its spiritual connotations alone.

The women depicted in Mucha's Art Nouveau paintings and prints hearken back to an even earlier age, referenced in their Neoclassical garments.

Mucha's view on Art History is summed up by the following quote, and beautifully represented by his work: "Nothing has changed in these past two thousand years.  Only the names are slightly different."

Dress: Nicole Miller Artelier

Headpiece: Vintage necklace

Shoes: B Brian Atwood (buy here in nude and black)

All photos by Kathy Paciello at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

[Mucha images from gelaskins.com, wikipaintings.org, graduate-extraordinaire.blogspot.com, bohemia-apartments.com, and commons.wikimedia.org.]

ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Emerald.

After a brief hiatus, I'm back with my latest Artfully Awear + Pantone post, featuring the Color of the Year: Emerald.

Emerald has always been one of my personal favorite colors, and is surprisingly flattering with almost any skin tone. The hue is also well represented in the work of Helen Frankenthaler.

Her oversized canvases, though seemingly abstract, were often inspired by landscapes, such as her most famous work, Mountains and Sea, which measures 7 feet by 10 feet.

One of the few female artists recognized alongside the group of second generation Abstract Expressionists, Frankenthaler (1928-2011) was a Color Field painter.

The thin veils of paint that make up her paintings are reminiscent of watercolors, even though they are actually oils. Her "soak stain" method of thinning oil paint and applying to unprimed canvas was adopted by other artists including Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.

Two of my favorite posts of all time are inspired by Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.

Color Field painting was different from Abstract Expressionism in its denial of emotional or mythical themes.

"You have to know how to use the accident, how to recognise it, how to control it, and ways to eliminate it so that the whole surface looks felt and born all at once". --Helen Frankenthaler

Dress: Nicole Miller Artelier (full length version here for $100!)

Shoes: Calvin Klein

Necklace: Anthropologie Chasca

[Photos by @kay_elle_pea; images from stylesight.com, newcriterion.com, justalittlegreen.tumblr.com, and accidental-brilliance.com.]