ART TO WEAR: Rebeca Raney x Madewell.

I came across this Rebeca Raney x Madewell tote in store a few days ago and fell in love. Raney is an MFA graduate from the School of Visual Arts and lives and works in Brooklyn.

 In case anyone reading this was wondering what to get me for Christmas, I'd be overjoyed to receive this hand-painted tote, $225.

View the full Rebeca Raney x Madewell collection here.

BILL JENSEN

Bill Jensen (1945-) is a Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based painter, represented by Cheim & Read in New York.

Originally from Minneapolis, Jensen started his artistic career by airbrushing sweatshirts with monster motifs in high school.

He is now well-known for his abstract canvases, characterized by layer after layer of oil on linen.

"It's more alchemy than craft.  I think that one of my responsibilities is to uncover the energies that material possesses." --Bill Jensen

I'm wearing an H&M dress, Falke tights, K* shoes, and a suede Lauren Merkin clutch.

[Photos by @kay_elle_pea;

Jensen images from cheimread.com and tumblr.com.]

PLEATS PLEASE

I had the pleasure of attending the launch of the new Taschen book, PLEATS PLEASE, outlining the 20-year history of Issey Miyake's clothing line that drastically changed the guidelines for what a garment should provide to its wearer.

"PLEATS PLEASE are clothes designed to suit the needs and style of every woman.  They are valued not only for heir beauty but also for their practicality.  The clothes continue to be as popular today partly due to the fact that they project an air of authority suitable to any occasion, whether special, everyday or for travel; regardless, they require almost no maintenance."

As the ultimate art-to-wear garments, Issey Miyake's PLEATS PLEASE collections are not only a feat of technology (a process which is described in detail in the book), but is also deeply tied to contemporary art.  In addition to exhibitions such as Big Bang: Creation and Destruction in 20th Century Art, PLEATS PLEASE has completed a number of Guest Artist Series, resulting in garments  adorned with the work of Yasumasa Morimura (pictured above), Nobuyoshi Araki, and Tim Hawkinson.

I'm wearing PLEATS PLEASE scarf/blouse, Ellen Tracy silk skirt, vintage leather bag, and Calvin Klein leather booties.

ART TO WEAR: Self Portrait.

"I believe in low lights and trick mirrors." --Andy Warhol

I rarely discuss beauty products here, but I couldn't resist this Andy Warhol eyeshadow palette by NARS (one of my personal favorite beauty brands).  It would be ever so easy to create your own work of art by using these shades.

$55, available here.

ART TO WEAR: I Still Love NY.

I'm so thankful to live in a city as resilient as New York.  However, post-Hurricane Sandy, there is a very real need for relief for thousands of displaced New Yorkers. 

As a response to the devastation, New York-based artist Sebastian Errazuriz created these beautiful "I Still Love NY" t-shirts by dip-dying tourist tees to represent the flood line.

Each tee is made to order and 100% of the proceeds go to Hurricane Sandy relief programs.

$40 at Grey Area.

LICHTENSTEIN GIRL

Pop Art looks out into the world.  It doesn't look like a painting of something, it looks like the thing itself.  --Roy Lichtenstein

This year's costume was inspired by the comic strip paintings of Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein (whose birthday happened to be on the day I wore this).  I painted my face with Ben-Day dots using lipliner, wore a yellow wig, and turned a wire-framed purse into a makeshift word bubble.

I'm wearing a vintage dress and earrings courtesy of Lydell NYC.

[Lichtenstein images from artsamerica.org and art-glossary.com.]

YARNBOMBING

Yarn bombing is a form of street art, where surroundings are impermanently altered through the use of yarn.

Artist Juliana Santacruz Herrera took to the streets of Paris last year to fill the cracks with art.

Street art, including yarn bombing, is technically illegal, but who could complain about these decorative potholes?

The contrast between the grey tones of the city and the brightly colored yarn causes the viewer to stop and think about his/her surroundings, and possibly appreciate the inconsistencies.

See my previous post about Olek, a NYC-based yarn bomber who also makes the mundane beautiful by her use of yarn.

I'm wearing a dress by Candela NYC, leather Lauren Merkin clutch, vintage jewelry, and Manolo Blahnik oxfords.

All images (c) Juliana Santacruz Herrera via designboom.

ART TO WEAR: Filigree

Jewelry, especially from ancient times, is just as much artwork as artifact, especially when you consider the craftsmanship behind each piece.  Filigree is a type of metalwork used for jewelry since the 6th century B.C., and is represented in many ancient cultures, including Italian, French, Greek, and Etruscan, and is still popularly used today. Filigree is accomplished by soldering together many tiny filaments to form a piece of metal that resembles lace.

I'm wearing the Filigree Statement Necklace, courtesy of Lydell NYC.

KARA WALKER

"I wanted to make work where the viewer wouldn't walk away; he would either giggle nervously, get pulled into history, fiction, into something totally demeaning and possibly very beautiful." --Kara Walker

Kara Walker (1969-) is a New York based artist, well known for her paper-cut silhouette works, which broach issues of race, identity, politics, and violence.

Walker's work first came to the public's attention when she was in her mid-20s, and she became the youngest artist to receive a MacArthur "genius" grant at age 27.

Specifically in relation to the plight of African American women in the antebellum South, Walker's room-size tableaux depict scenes from history, literature, and lore, adding a cinematic quality to the arrangement of life-size figures.

Walker works in many mediums, including gouache, animation and even shadow puppets.  In my opinion, her paper cut works are the most boldly thematic, zeroing in on the issues she raises through the stark contrast of black and white.

Upon immediate confrontation, the beautiful craftsmanship of the cut paper is striking.  The social, political, sexual, and violent themes come to light upon closer inspection.

Walker currently lives in New York City, where she is Professor of Visual Art at Columbia University's MFA program.

I'm wearing a Jill Stuart dress, Candela shoes, and a vintage leather clutch.

Photos by @kay_elle_pea.  Walker images from columbusmuseum.com, degenerationartstream.blogspot.com, nyclovesnyc.blogspot.com, and museumstudiesblog.blogspot.com.

CLOUD CITY

These photos were taken on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Tomás Saraceno's installation Cloud City currently resides, through November 4.  Saraceno creates environments out of scientific forms, breaking boundaries between art, science, and architecture.  This work challenges the way the participant interacts with his or her surroundings, and the roof of the Met is the perfect place to experience the mirrored structure, which allows viewers to ascend closer and closer to clouds themselves.

I'm wearing a Robert Rodriguez blouse, H&M skirt, Neon wedges, and Linda Farrow sunglasses.

THE JAPANESE BRIDGE

The work below is one of a series of twelve paintings of Claude Monet's footbridge at Giverny, a beloved subject of his work from the year 1899.  

Claude Monet,  Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, 1899

The bridge is recreated at the New York Botanical Garden for the exhibition Monet's Garden, on view through October 21.

I'm wearing a Zara dress, Theory shoes, and a Rebecca Minkoff bag.

 Thanks to Chelsea for the photos, @zkinslow for the .gif animation and metmuseum.org for the image.

RYAN MCGINNESS

Ryan McGinness (b. 1972) and I share more than just an appreciation of bright, contrasting colors and symbols.  

The artist and myself are both originally from Virginia Beach, VA, and now reside in New York, NY.

McGinness's large-scale silk screens (and other works in a multitude of media) combine visual forms and iconography that overlap to produce a web of signs and symbols.  I've always thought of these works as a sort of scavenger hunt of characters and meanings.

He has described the way that the culture of Virginia Beach is an inherent aspect of his work.

"I think my interest in [graphic language] comes from growing up in Virginia Beach, which has a surf and skate culture obsessed with branding and saturated with a cult of cool.  

"At an early age I recognized that the power of a logo...can change the value of an otherwise ordinary object like a surfboard or a t-shirt or a skateboard."

Reminiscent of the juxtaposition of high art and illustration of artists like Andy Warhol, McGinness's work brings together multiple disciplines, including graphic design, fine art, advertising, and signage.

I'm wearing an H&M dress, vintage bangle, and Carlos wedges.

Photos by @kay_elle_pea on the roof of the New Museum.