YANGYANG PAN

I recently discovered the work of Yangyang Pan (b. 1976) via The Jealous Curator, and was struck by the beautiful painterly quality of the works, made modern by electric color.

Pan was born and trained artistically in Sichuan, China, and now lives and works in Ontario, Canada.

Her website describes her paintings as "full of satisfaction" and relates her use of brushstrokes to Chinese calligraphy, which she uses to represent landscape and flora.

Personally, I find the oil-on-canvas works to be reminiscent of one of my very favorite Abstract Expressionist artists, Joan Mitchell. View my Mitchell post here.

I'm wearing a dress from the Brooklyn Flea and Kork-Ease sandals.

Photos by @kay_elle_pea at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Pan's work is currently on view at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art.

MIDDAY

Me, midday, 2012

Anthony Caro, Midday, 1964

People have asked me to describe what my sculpture is about and I keep on saying its like music. What I think I mean by that is that Im trying to take out the whole business of it being pieces of steel that are used in engineering, pieces of steel that are used in architecture. I just happen to use those materials instead of using notes.

--Anthony Caro 

I'm wearing a Cynthia Steffe dress, Lovely People sandals, and a vintage belt.

[Photo of me by MF, Caro photo from thenewsgallery.com.]

You Are Here.

These photos were taken in front of Ellie Balk's public art work, You Are Here, which symbolically connects the neighborhoods of Clinton Hill and Fort Greene in Brooklyn.  The red dot in the middle represents the exact location of the mural within the surrounding geography.

"The purpose of this mural is to connect these two diverse neighborhoods into one place and to raise awareness of just how close we are to each other." -Ellie Balk

I thought the colorful woven design of my clutch perfectly embodied the mural itself, as well as Balk's idea of the meshing together of the community.

I'm wearing a Tracy Reese dress, Havaianas, and  Cleobella clutch.

LUCIO FONTANA

Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) was an Italian artist and proponent of Spatialism and Arte Povera.

Spatialism is characterized by a focus on "matter, colour, and sound motion", as described in the White Manifesto of 1946.

Arte Povera sought to separate art from commerce and the hierarchies of wealth and status, making it more accessible to the public at large.

The works shown here are from the Spatial Concept series, which Fontana began in 1949.  He referred to these works as tagli, the Italian word for slashes.

Fontana created tagli out of various media, including metal, clay, terracotta, paint, and glass.  The works shown here are probably the most well known of the series, and are simply slit canvases, which accomplish a surprising illusion of depth.

The above work, Teresita, which was dedicated to Fontana's wife, famously brought $11.6 million at auction at Christie's in 2008.

I'm wearing an H&M dress, Fashion Against AIDS necklace, and Ecote shoes.

[Fontana images from canalblog.com, the-wrong-guy.blogspot.com, and weareprivate.net.  Photos by Meri.]

ART TO WEAR: Pink Dress.

I recently discovered the beautiful paintings by Michael Carson via the Jealous Curator, and was particularly inspired by the above work, The Pink Dress.  In an effort to find a dress like the one in the painting, I came across this MM6 Maison Martin Margiela version.

Sleeveless Crew Neck Dress in Peony, $235 at Shopbop.

KEITH HARING

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Keith Haring: 1978-1982 exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.  I've always been enamored by the scope and reach of Haring's work, produced in such a short time span.

I briefly discussed Haring's work before here, but the Brooklyn Museum exhibition was the first time I'd experienced such a wide range of media.  Haring's classic imagery such as the radiant baby and barking dog were well represented, but there were also a number of unfamiliar pieces that provided new insight to his work as a whole.

Central to the exhibition was a selection of party photos from the Keith Haring archives that showcased Haring's involvement in the East Village club culture, as well as his association with other artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf.  In addition, excerpts from Haring's journals gave insight into his artistic process.

A particularly poignant piece in the exhibition is a film that I saw for the first time, Painting Myself Into a Corner, from 1979.  The work is an excellent example of the way that Haring's work, life, and essentially, his being, overlapped.

Before his death in 1990, he founded the Keith Haring Foundation, which provides funding and imagery to AIDS organizations, and has continued Haring's legacy of social and political awareness with a sense of humor.

I'm wearing a Keith Haring x Patricia Field dress, United Nude shoes, and an H&M necklace.

Keith Haring: 1978-1982 is on view at the Brooklyn Museum through July 8.
Visit their website for more information and interaction, including a playlist meant to accompany the exhibition.

STREET ART

Continuing the theme of art in public places begun in my last outfit post, I've always been inspired by street art.  I took these few photos while running errands, and they are just a tiny sampling of the work that I pass on a daily basis.

Anonymous or attributed, street art can be found nearly everywhere, and can take the form of almost any media.  See one of my previous posts on the Kenny Scharf mural here.

Because it often exists outside the traditional context for artwork, street art is privileged with the opportunity to give the viewer pause, and possibly make a statement about the relationship between art and its environment.

Street art is regularly covered, removed, or defaced without notice.  Because of its ephemeral nature, I always photograph any work I find interesting, as it may be gone the next time I pass.

I'm wearing the Brooklyn Canvas dress, courtesy of Sugarlips, Uniqlo jeans, an H&M necklace, and Joe Fresh boots.

Photos by Kathy, Chelsea, and me.  Thanks to Sugarlips for their affiliation with Artfully Awear.