PUFFY

Another one from MASS MoCA:  Lee Boroson's Plastic Fantastic.

Meant to evoke organic forms, the shapes in this installation are fabricated out of man-made materials, thereby collapsing the notion of a natural environment.  It reminded me of Tomas Saraceno's installation on the roof of the Met a few years ago, but it gave me a greater urger to hug the walls.

Same outfit, with an H&M mens' vest.

Photos by Kathy Paciello.

ANSELM KIEFER at MASS MoCA

One of the most outstanding aspects of my first visit to MASS MoCA was the long-term Anselm Kiefer exhibition, on view through 2028.  Kiefer is arguably the most important post-war German artist, and his work deals with many themes related to his home country's struggle after World War II.

Kiefer was born in Germany in 1945, and the rebuilding years after the war are his first memories.  His work deals with history directly, through the use of varied materials like photographs, organic matter, and post-industrial building materials.  It has been described as apocalyptic, and that term comes to mind easily when confronted with the size and scale of the works in the MASS MoCA exhibition.

In its own building separate from the rest of the museum, the Anselm Kiefer exhibition, in collaboration with the Hall Art Foundation, is like a memorial, and the quiet within the space attests to the ___ with which the images and forms are imbued.

Dress: Marni

Necklace: Saturday

Shoes: Pour la Victoire

Photos by Kathy Paciello.

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.]

SHAPES OF STELLA

Now that the holidays are over, it's officially the "bleak midwinter". With little to look forward to until spring (read: my birthday), it's easy to get into a wardrobe rut. I'm of the opinion that it's possible to beat the midwinter blahs through a well-planned wardrobe.

Although it's still absolutely necessary to layer up, it's fun to experiment with color palettes that wouldn't normally be associated with the cold season. This ensemble was inspired by the colorful minimalist works of Frank Stella.

Stella (b. 1936) is an American painter and sculptor most closely associated with the Minimalist movement.

During his early career, Stella was interested in making pictures that were art objects in and of themselves, not pictures that depicted something else.

Stella's early works were very minimal: simple unprimed canvas with black paint, in some cases. These works are from the 1960s to 1970s and represent Stella's experimentation with color and shaped canvases, which further complicated the work's status as object versus depiction.

Minimalism like Stella's came to be a representation of the 1960s aesthetic, as seen in art, architecture, home decor, and fashion.

Although minimalism has lost some of its caché in recent years, it represents an important art historical movement that developed in response to Abstract Expressionism.

This vintage skirt was a recent thrift find, and I thought it bore a striking resemblance to the colors and patterns of Stella's paintings.

For me, the colors of this outfit (and smart layering) made a chilly midwinter day a bit more bearable.

I'm wearing a vintage skirt (which I will probably shorten and wear to death this summer), vintage cashmere/angora sweater, Betsey Johnson wool tights, unidentified wool socks, a necklace from Burlington Coat Factory, and Marni clogs. (Not shown: thermal undergarments--a necessity!)

[Stella images from kingfishers.ednet.ns.ca, waynethomasartroom.wikispaces.com, artistquoteoftheday.wordpress.com, and abstract-art.com, respectively.]

CASUAL FRIDAY

Happy Friday, all!

After this morning's session of Art Lovers' Yoga, I was motivated to post another Matisse-inspired outfit. As one of my favorite artists of all time, Matisse is bound to appear on this blog with some frequency.

The print of this sweater reminds me of Matisse's late work, the cutouts. As I mentioned before, when the artist was bedridden, he relied on cutting shapes out of colored paper and pasting them down to express his artistic vision.

I've always found the cutouts to be extremely powerful for their simplicity and visual dynamics.

Here is an installation shot I captured on a recent visit to the National Gallery:

Isn't it hard to believe that Matisse created masterpieces like this on his death bed?

I decided to pair my Matisse sweater with this necklace which was a recent acquisition. I have a weakness for neon in my wardrobe (case in point), and I think it complements the sweater quite well! To complete the look, I added my favorite jeans and leather mules.

I'm wearing a Twinkle by Wenlan sweater, PRPS jeans, necklace from H&M, and Marni shoes.

Have a great weekend!

[Matisse images from henri-matisse.net, habit-of-art.blogspot.com, and picasaweb.com, respectively.]

ZEBRA

Last Wednesday, I attended StyleLikeU's Pre-Fashion Week party. It was a great time to get together before the craziness of the spring shows and meet some of the others featured on the site as well as the StyleLikeU team. For the event, I wore a customized vintage dress (also featured on my StyleLikeU profile), vintage Bloomingdales silk zebra print blazer, Marni wedges, and a Cynthia Rowley purse.

The inspiration for this outfit was one of my favorite contemporary artists, Mickalene Thomas. She creates photographed or collaged interiors of multiple prints and media that allude to or directly represent art historical masterpieces, and replaces their subjects with women of color. The bold floral and zebra print in my outfit really reflects my obsession with her work. [images from rickday.net and sbcaf.org]

The vertical beams of light in the background of this shot are from Tribute in Light, a memorial at the World Trade Center site. They are searchlights that beam into the night representing the two towers that were destroyed on September 11, 2001. These photos were taken on a Brooklyn rooftop and it was really stunning to see how visible the lights were from far away. May we never forget.