IA ORANA MARIA

Paul Gauguin, Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), 1891.

Ever since I spotted this vintage jumpsuit in a thrift shop years ago, the young ladies depicted within its pattern have reminded me of Paul Gauguin's Tahitian paintings.  I wore it to the Metamorphoses exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 2014, but I never obtained proof of the garment's likeness to the paintings since photographs were prohibited within the space.  Yesterday afternoon at The Met, the outfit finally met its match.  The painting depicted, Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), was Gauguin's first major painting after he relocated to Tahiti, and it is interesting to note it's Catholic theme juxtaposed with Polynesian subjects.  I had a chuckle thinking about the trickle-down effect of culture and how an image so much like a 19th century masterpiece could be featured on a kitschy 1980s ensemble.

Photo by Kathy Paciello.

XU QU

I found this Maliparma dress/jacket at the thrift store recently, and it immediately brought to mind the intricate maze-like paintings of Chinese contemporary artist Xu Qu.  The mazes in his work are actually enlarged versions of the patterns on modern currency, and references the globalization and commoditization of art.

Dress/jacket: Maliparma

Sweater: J. Crew

Denim: Hudson

Photo by Hilary Pollack; Xu Qu image from Artsy.net.

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes. --Frank Lloyd Wright

Today's ensemble is inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, an architect who designed over 1,000 structures.  He is most well known for his architecture (such as Fallingwater and the Guggenheim), but was involved in much of the interior decoration of his buildings as well, including stained glass.  The modernist style of his glass and structures has inspired design up to the present day, including the stained glass above, and the vintage jacket I'm wearing.

Dress and jacket: vintage, thrifted.

Photo by Hilary Pollack; FLW image from glass-by-design.com

ACTION PAINTING

Hans Namuth photograph of Jackson Pollock, 1950

Hans Namuth photograph of Jackson Pollock, 1950

Hans Namuth photograph of Jackson Pollock, 1950

It was a stunning fall day; the type of day which makes you feel guilty for doing anything but frolicking outdoors.  I'd been wanting to do an action painting project for a while, and with a visit to the Pollock Krasner House & Study Center upcoming, it was time to make something to wear.  After looking through countless photographs of Jackson Pollock creating his drip paintings (most of them taken by Hans Namuth ca. 1950), I was ready to embark on my own paint-flinging experience.

First, I found a dress at the thrift store in a thick cotton fabric which resembled canvas.  I used an old sheet as a dropcloth, and spent some time mixing acrylic paint to the right consistency.  (Pollock used house paint.)  Then I took everything up to the roof of my building, set up my camera and tripod, and went to work.

I used one of Pollock's most famous paintings, Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist), as my inspiration, and created multiple layers of black, some white, and a lavender color.  I waited for each color to dry in between layers so they wouldn't mix and become muddy.

Overall, it was an extremely fun project and a great stress reliever!  I left the back of the dress unfinished, because some of the paint bled through and it reminded me of what the back of a painting would really look like.

On a side note, I've had great difficulty finding out how to attribute Namuth's photographs of Pollock.  It seems that many of them are courtesy of the Namuth Estate, and most are copyrighted 1950.

For more information about Pollock's painting process, here is a great article from ArtNews from 1951.

Photos by me; Pollock photos from various sources, all courtesy of the Hans Namuth Estate.

JUMP IN!

Happy Friday!

The peak of my week was definitely visiting Pearlfisher for their JumpIn! installation.

I can't remember the last time I played in a ball pit; definitely over 20 years ago!  The installation was originally created in partnership with Right to Play, whose mission is to harness the transformative power of play for children dealing with adversity.

As a middle of the work day interlude, I definitely felt the positive effects on my stress levels!

Thank you to Hilary and Katie for sneaking out of the office and being my accomplices.

Blouse: Alice + Olivia

Jeans: Hudson

Photos by Hilary Pollack and Katie Karp.

EL ANATSUI | THE SCHOOL

Over the past few years, I've come to recognize Jack Shainman as one of my favorite galleries in NYC, representing a number of my most highly revered artists, including Nick Cave, El Anatsui, Barkley L. Hendricks, Carrie Mae Weems, Kay Hassan, and others.  When Shainman opened The School, an outpost of the gallery upstate in Kinderhook, NY last year, I couldn't wait to visit.

I finally had the chance to go over the weekend, on a trip to the Catskills.  It was a beautiful late summer day, and the little town of Kinderhook was bustling.  Not only was I anxious to experience a larger, more remote Shainman Gallery, but couldn't wait to see the exhibition of works by El Anatsui, one of my favorite artists.

See my post from Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui at the Brooklyn Museum in 2013.

Upon entering The School, a giant Anatsui globus was suspended from the ceiling.  Throughout the space, there were dozens of Anatsui works; the exhibition just seemed to go on and on and there were two or three more large scale pieces around every corner.  It was interesting to note the ways in which the pieces interacted with the space, some occupying intentionally "unfinished" rooms or corridors.  There were also earlier works that I had never seen, such as the Market pieces from 2004 (the room of little boxes, pictured above).

Visiting The School was such a welcome interlude to the weekend, and it renewed my love of El Anatsui's work and the expertise of Jack Shainman.  The exhibition is open on Saturdays until September 26.

Blouse: Goldhawk, thrifted

Shorts: Banana Republic (available here)

Shoes: Belle (also worn here and here)

Photos of me by Meri Feir; other photos by me.

DANCE THE ORANGE

"It's remarkably difficult to find words for the flustering magnetism of the color abstractions by the painter Stanley Whitney," began Peter Schjeldahl's review of the artist's solo exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem.  I couldn't agree more.  I visited the exhibition just after its opening, on 17 July, and had to think long and hard about its meaning.  Of course, there is the obvious Mondrian influence - punctuated by the fact that music (specifically, Jazz) is a source of inspiration for Whitney.  But what stood out to me the most was the vibrating color.  Schjeldahl quotes Whitney as saying, "I always want to use every color in the universe, but then I have to take some out."  I completely understand that feeling.

Dance the Orange is on view at the Studio Museum in Harlem until October 25, 2015.

Silk shirt and pants: thrifted

Shoes: United Nude (also worn here)

Photos by William Sealy.

Yinka ShoniBirthday

The Dutch Wax work of Yinka Shonibare MBE, a Nigerian artist who lives and works in the UK, has fascinated me for the past 5 years or so.  Having recently seen his Magic Ladders exhibition at The Barnes Foundation, I decided to allow my love for his work to infiltrate my 28th birthday celebration.  It was a wonderful, colorful evening; thank you to every who came to celebrate!

Fabrics from AKN Fabric in NYC

Flower pins and barrettes: handmade

Flower crown: Handmade

Dress: thrifted/altered

Shoes: Loeffler Randall

Venue: Salvation Taco

Photos by myself, Kathy Paciello, and Lauren Ricciardi.  Shonibare images from yinkashonibarembe.com

THRIFTED: Cafe Terrace At Night.

This vintage dress is possibly one of my most exciting thrift finds to date.  I remember plucking it off of the rack at a local thrift store and squealing with delight, as I imagined promptly leaving the store and heading directly for the Netherlands, where Vincent Van Gogh's Cafe Terrace at Night (1888) lives in the Kröller-Müller Museum.  Alas, I still have not seen this fantastic painting in person (which, coincidentally is not signed by the artist), but I spent an afternoon with the Van Gogh pair at MoMA, reveling in the swirls and undulations of the paintings and my outfit.

Dress: Thrifted

Tights: Joe Fresh

Boots: Delman

Bracelet: Vintage Givenchy (via Goodwill)

Photos by Kathy Paciello; Cafe Terrace image via prweb.com.

SNOW DAY

Kim Beck, Total Sell Off (1), 2009

What do you wear on a snowy day in the park?  This ensemble was inspired by Kim Beck's Total Sell Off (1), which I found via Artsy.  Much of Beck's work deals with the financial crisis, using phrases related to liquidation and shut downs.  One of her projects involved planes that flew over Manhattan, releasing smoke that spelled out the words "Lost Our Lease".  I'm thankful to have a warm, happy home on this snowy day.

Scarf: thrifted

Leather jacket: DKNY, thrifted

Skirt: Courtesy of eShakti Custom

Gloves: Saks Fifth Avenue

Sunglasses: Linda Farrow

Photo by Kathy Paciello; Beck image via Artsy.

FUNK ART

I recently thrifted a book of painting and sculpture from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and came across the work of Robert H. Hudson (b. 1938), a Bay Area sculptor.

Hudson's work was new to me, but combined a few of my favorite things:  Abstract Expressionism, the Bay Area color palette, and assemblage.

Hudson began as a painter (comparable to the work of Richard Diebenkorn, also from the Bay Area) and slowly moved toward a combination of painting, sculpture, and found objects, eventually known as Funk Art Assemblage.

"Drawing from a reservoir of images, memories, ideas, and stories, he has developed a unique and ever-expanding language which he puts to use in a multitude of mediums."

I'm wearing a thrifted skirt worn as a dress, vintage leather belt, thrifted and DIY jean jacket, Lauren Merkin clutch, and Tory Burch boots.

[Hudson images from zymoglyphic.org, sofaexpo.com, and lorraineglessner.blogspot.com; quote from San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: The Painting and Sculpture Collection, 1985.]