WARM UP 2014

Even though the weather is already cooling down, you still have a few more chances to Warm Up at MoMA PS1.  The gravel courtyard of the Museum of Modern Art's contemporary outpost in Long Island City swarms with trendy folks on Saturday afternoons, grooving to one of many DJ sets and posing for photos.  You'll also get to explore The Living's installation in the courtyard, the winner of this year's Young Architects Program.  The installation is called Hy-Fi and is made of 100% organic materials, all self-contained and produced.  You can read more about it here or just head over to PS1 on Saturday.

Check out my outfit from last year's Warm Up here.

Tunic: Mara Hoffman
Chambray pants: J. Crew
Shoes: Belle by Sigerson Morrison
Sunglasses: Duane Reade

My dear friend Katie, founder of the dating website Clycked, kindly shot these photos & facilitated mingling.  Thanks to Hannah Kauffman for providing gratis tickets!

GEMSTONE GEOMETRIC

This is the second time that my outfit found affinity with the work of Canadian artist Shannon Finley.  I'm drawn to the fragmented geometry of her works, both in my design sense as well as my fashion sense.  Of course, her sense of color theory adds to my fixation.

I spotted this dress in the window at J. Crew a few months ago and was pleasantly surprised to find it on Final Sale recently.  They always have the best (and most artful) prints!

Dress: J. Crew (Still available here; the colors are MUCH more vibrant in person!)

Shoes: Salvatore Ferragamo Vara (patent version available here)

Necklace: H&M

Sunglasses: Suno

Finley image from Artsy.net, photos by Kathy Paciello.

LIANG YUANWEI

In honor of the First Day of Spring yesterday (and, of course, my birthday) I debuted this lace frock, which brought to mind the floral paintings of Liang Yuanwei.

Yuanwei (b. 1977) is a Chinese painter known for her large-scale, meticulously painted canvases, thick with impasto.

The floral works pictured here appear, at first, to have a wallpaper-like quality to them.  But upon closer inspection, it is apparent through the raised, expertly knifed oil paint and uniformity of the detail, that they are meticulously painted by hand.

Yuanwei's paintings are exercises in time management and expertise, taking her up to 8 hours to complete one horizontal strip of a painting.  

Like most works of art, the intense skill demonstrated by Yuanwei is better examined in person, when the detail of knife work and thickness of the paint can be clearly seen. 

Liang's works have been described as "gorgeous paintings that mix the visual appeal of tapestries with the conceptual inclinations of American Minimalism."

Her work is expertly summed up by the following: "Liang is uninterested in representation or smiotics.  Perception is via a flurry of delicate strokes on the canvas that manifest time's accumulation and the personal, even spiritual, experiences of the painter." 

Dress: Nanette Lepore (near exact dress available here)

Mohair Coat: H&M (recent; spring-friendly version here)

Peacock Embroidered Clutch: vintage, belonged to my grandmother (a gorgeous current version here)

Shoes: J. Crew Etta Cap Toe Pump in Neon Persimmon (Sold out color; other options here)

Birthday Flower Crown: handmade by my friend Meri

[Photos by @kay_elle_pea. Quotes from Barry Schwabsky in Vitamin P2 Images from artasiapacific.com, archivodenuevosartistas.blogspot.com, and thebesttimeoftheday.blogspot.com]

UNICORN TAPESTRIES

Embroidery and crewelwork on garments always puts me in mind of medieval tapestries, such as the well-known Unicorn Tapestries of the Late Middle Ages.

The set of seven tapestries is of South Netherlandish origin, and is made of wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt (or gold) wefts.

The tapestries, depicting the hunt and capture of the mythological unicorn, manifest themes of fertility and marriage, as well as the Passion of the Christ.

There are also many symbolic characteristics, ranging from the over 100 species of plants depicted, to the number of figures and colors used.

In Medieval times, the unicorn was a symbol of invincibility, often representing Christ, and the horn was believed to have healing properties. This belief extended to the horn of the narwhal, which was a highly sought-after object.

Dating from around 1495 to 1505, the set remains in remarkable condition and resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection at The Cloisters.

I'm wearing a J. Crew cashmere sweater and pencil skirt and Plenty by Tracy Reese embroidered jacket, all thrifted from the same Goodwill, on different days. The boots are the Frye Veronica, the leather purse is vintage, and the necklace is from Anthropologie.

[Unicorn Tapestry images from metmuseum.org.]

HOMAGE TO THE SQUARE

In my last post, my outfit reflected the stark snowy landscape and its contrast of black and white. Yesterday, I decided to brighten things up a little for a different kind of contrast--bold color against a backdrop of white.

The colors in this outfit were inspired by Josef Albers' color studies. Albers (1888-1976) was a lifelong artist and teacher, whose students included Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Eva Hesse. Though he was skilled in many artistic disciplines, including graphic design, printmaking, poetry, and photography, he is most known for painting, particularly his compilation of color studies entitled Homage to the Square.

In the Homage series, Albers explored the complex relationships between colors, and eventually published Interaction of Color in 1963. The basis of his color logic was that colors are influenced by context, i.e. the same red will appear different when placed next to a different blue.

Albers' color theories are now the bases of many upper-level art classes. I remember slaving over my own Homage series during undergraduate painting class, and I am eternally indebted to Albers for my own deep love of color and its relationships.

For this outfit, I wanted to reflect the intense hues of the Albers works and the juxtapositions of dissonant colors. I thought the motif of the scarf reflected the theme as well, and the boots were necessary to keep my feet warm!

I'm wearing a sweater and skirt from J. Crew, vintage leather purse and vintage scarf, Topshop tights, and Sorel "Joan of Arctic" boots.

P.S. You can now follow Artfully Awear on Tumblr for more updates and outtakes!

[Albers images from pixeljoint.com, fine-art.com, fine-art.com, paintingphotofy.com, thesillyboodilly.blogspot.com, nga.gov.au, and luxeandlucid.typepad.com, respectively.]

NEON TREES

I never thought I'd fall in love with a neon spandex garment, but this dress proved me wrong. Aside from being made out of what appears to be swimsuit material from the 1980s, it is a size 14, which is a mite larger than what I wear. I had to have it nonetheless, and at $12, I figured it was worth a try. [Click images to enlarge.]

After a few stitches and a cinched belt, I thought it was perfect!

Aside from the shocking pink color, the dress caught my eye because it reminded me of paintings by Que Houxo, a Japanese artist who works with fluorescent paint and blacklights.

His paintings are beautiful on their own, but under the blacklight, they gain a whole new dimension.

I first discovered his works when he designed the display windows for Topshop.

This dress definitely captures the contrast between sweet florals and oversaturated neons, as seen in Que Houxo's work.

These are my favorite summer shoes, but I think they're great for fall, too, with socks.

I'm wearing a vintage dress and belt, J. Crew socks, and Johnny Wujek for Modern Vintage shoes.

Thanks to Whitney Marie for the lovely photos!

[Que Houxo images from wweek.com and apartmenttherapy.com, respectively.]