SOUNDSUITS in BOSTON

Over the weekend, I made a special visit to Boston to see the work of one of my very favorite artists, Nick Cave, at the Institute of Contemporary Art.  (See my original Nick Cave post from over 3 years ago.)  Luckily for me, my two very best friends also live in Boston, so I was able to kill 3 birds with one stone, as it were.

Nick Cave (b. 1959) has built his artistic career on breaking down barriers between visual art, performance, and costume.  His Soundsuits are some of the most beautiful things to behold, and take on an even greater persona when they are worn during Cave's choreographed performances.  I had the pleasure of viewing HEARD•NY last year at Grand Central Station, and discovered firsthand the wonderfully unique and mesmerizing movement of the Soundsuits.  The ICA show, on view through May 4th, includes a number of Cave's ubiquitous suits, which he considers armor for the body.  Also on view are some of Cave's newer works, which extend past the realm of the wearable costume.  I'll never cease to be hypnotized by the detail and beauty of his work, and look forward to seeing another performance where the Sounsuits come to life.

Dress: Vintage
Tights: Hue
Necklaces: Various, with bird ornaments
Pumps: Sam Edelman

Photos of me by Kathy Paciello; other photos by me.

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.

REDDRESS (and a Giveaway!)

Out of 550 meters of red wool, Aamu Song created REDDRESS, an installation/sculpture/wearable that combines both interaction and performance.

Viewers are encouraged to sit and lounge within the luxurious folds of the dress, while a performer enrobed within the gown stands and performs on a pedestal.

REDDRESS was created for the London Design Festival last fall.  Hear Aamu Song discuss the work here:

Among many other aspects of the work, the idea of femininity is boldly expressed by the choice of a red dress, traditionally regarded as sensual and ladylike.

Inspired by REDDRESS, I'm giving away the red dress above from Shabby Apple (www.shabbyapple.com), an online boutique of women's dresses and other lovely things.  To enter, LIKE Shabby Apple on Facebook and comment here with your favorite Shabby Apple item.  

You'll receive five bonus entries if you relate the item to artwork!

I will choose a winner randomly on March 10, 2012 and will notify you via email.  Sorry, this giveaway is only open to US residents.
[Images from mymodernmet.com, com-pa-ny.com, avocadosweet.com, delood.com, and firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com, respectively.]

SOUNDSUITS

Sometimes the best approach to getting dressed is throwing on a few favorite pieces and calling it a day. This ensemble was inspired by one of my most beloved contemporary artists, Nick Cave, and it centers around my favorite color, GREEN.

Nick Cave is a contemporary artist whose work simultaneously incorporates art, fashion, costume, performance, and dance. You may remember his work from the "Monsters, Inc." spread in the September 2010 issue of American Vogue.

His Soundsuits, made of a myriad of different materials, are studies in the movement and sound made by the person wearing them. These works are beautiful as sculptures, but take on a whole new meaning when worn (often by Cave himself) during a performance.

As an African American artist, dancer, and designer from a humble background, Cave explores the intersection of culture and consumerism in his strikingly gorgeous costumes.

The Soundsuits are meant to symbolize traditional African ceremonial garb and also reference the haute couture creations of avant garde fashion.

The central theme of these works is the simultaneous isolation and insulation of culture--particularly, for Cave, of coming to terms with his African descent in American society.

Cave is currently the director of the Graduate Fashion program at the Art Institute of Chicago. You can find out more about his work at the SoundSuitShop.

The Soundsuits are so quirky and kitschy, with their bright colors and fun textures, styling an outfit around them was quite a pleasure.

I started with the funky faux fur jacket (which looks like it could have been part of a Soundsuit in a previous life) and then added a few bright accessories.

I'm wearing a faux fur jacket from F21, Obey tee, boys' thrifted Levi's 511s, a vintage silk scarf, J. Crew anklets, Lisa F. Pliner Idelle platform sandals, a vintage reptile Nicholas Reich handbag, and my Grandmother's emerald ring.

Even though they have about a 50 year age difference, I think this bag and the shoes were meant for each other--see how the green arch echoes the hue of the bag? Together at last!

[Cave images from latimesblogs.latimes.com, artuga.tumblr.com, buamai.com, hypebeast.com, palmbeachillustrated.com, and blogs.tcpalm.com, respectively.]

BAKER OVERSTREET

As previously discussed, although it's the coldest time of the year on the East Coast, I can't help but look forward to spring. As an attempt to stave off the winter blahs, I've been wearing some of the brightest colors I can (so far evidenced here and here).

Hence, I was delighted to find out (somewhat late) that it's Rainbow Tights Week in the blogging world!

I decided to go for a tribal look, pairing my favorite Windjammer tights (last worn here) with pieces inspired by one of my favorite contemporary artists, Baker Overstreet.

Overstreet is a relatively young artist that I first encountered at his Follies exhibition in New York at Fredericks & Freiser. I was immediately enamored of the large scale works, which function as tableaux of color and shape.

Overstreet completed an MFA at Yale in 2006, and his work has steadily gained popularity over the past 5 years.

He was recently included in the "Abstract America" show at Saatchi Gallery in London, which solidified his international presence.

Overstreet's bold, colorful works are clearly inspired by primitivism and a tribal aesthetic. It is interesting to note the way he creates depth in the otherwise flat works by the placement of contrasting colors.

Overstreet's most recent work has moved into performance art, with his alter-ego June Fagley as the star. His paintings still play an important role in his performance art, acting as advertisements for the show.

For this outfit, I combined a few of the brightest colors from Overstreet's paintings with an amazing embroidered vest that was a recent thrift find.

I'm wearing a vintage Mexican wool vest, vintage leather skirt, Zehana Outfitters turtleneck, Topshop tights, Jeffrey Campbell boots, and a necklace that was a gift from Greece (Thanks, Kris!).

Many thanks to Angel.Pearls for the Stylish Blogger award nomination!

[Overstreet images from enantiomorphic.blogspot.com, artnet.com, contemporaryartlinks.blogspot.com, avigupta.com, and saatchi-gallery.co.uj, respectively.]

INTERNATIONAL KLEIN BLUE

Although green has been my favorite color since age eight, I've recently been gravitating toward various shades of blue (evidenced here, here, and here). Simply adding one new color to your wardrobe can help you see old clothes in a plethora of new ways.

The blue in this ensemble was inspired by French artist Yves Klein (1928-1962). Though his artistic career spanned only a short time, he made invaluable contributions to the history of art; most notably, International Klein Blue. IKB is a saturated cobalt color Klein specially formulated and patented for his own artwork.

Much of his art centers on the use of IKB, whether simply as the color itself, or in various iterations of texture and medium.

In Blue Venus, Klein was clearly inspired by Matisse's Blue Nude, mentioned before.

Klein further explored the Blue Nude concept, painting nude models with IKB paint and having them impress their bodies onto paper--the resulting work was quite a lovely figural action painting.

Isn't the wearing of an outfit really a figural action painting in itself?

For my IKB ensemble, I chose to pair the color with camel--a no-fail match in my opinion.

Since camel was heralded as the color of the season, I've been scouring out pieces from local thrift shops, including these Betty-Draper-esque slacks, which I foresee becoming wardrobe mainstays.

I'm wearing all vintage with a Christian Lacroix jacket and Cynthia Rowley patent leather reptile purse.

[Klein images from keepitchic.com, decadentflux.com, 1.bp.blogspot.com, and farm4.static.flickr.com.]