ART TO WEAR: Boyarde Messenger x Charlotte Olympia.

I'm not sure how this project has eluded my attention for so many months, but I just came across these painted shoes by artist Boyarde Messenger.  Messenger hand-painted Charlotte Olympia pumps to look like famous works from Art History, and they're just beautiful!  Now I have a serious desire to make my own.

What do you think: would you DIY?  Which shoes are your favorite?

 Via.

MAGRITTE: Cloudy with a Chance of Symbolism.

It's been a few years since my last outfit post inspired by Magritte, but there is so much within the artist's oeuvre, visually and symbolically, that I often return to it for inspiration.

René François Ghislain Magritte (1898-1967) was born in Brussels and eventually traveled to Paris, where he became affiliated with the Surrealists such as André Breton.

In addition to his surrealist works, Magritte produced painted forgeries of Picassos, Braques, and Chiricos, and ultimately forged money as well.  I find this extremely intriguing, given the play between reality and alternate reality in his works, such as those depicted here.

Many people are familiar with at least a few of Magritte's works, particularly for their imagery within popular culture.  His recurring surrealist themes, evidenced symbolically, have become synonymous with the artist himself.

In Magritte's opinion, painting was "the art of putting colors side by side in such a way that their real aspect is effaced, so that familiar objects—the sky, people, trees, mountains, furniture, the stars, solid structures, graffiti—become united in a single poetically disciplined image. The poetry of this image dispenses with any symbolic significance, old or new."

Dress: Diane von Furstenberg (same print, different dress available in a limited quantity here)

Heels: C'N'C Costume National Patent Leather Pumps (available here, over 50% off!)

Photos by Kathy Paciello at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Les Robes Géographiques

I've fallen in love with the paper series Les Robes Géographiques by London-based artist Elisabeth Lecourt.  Though these pieces are not meant to be worn, I feel the need for something similar in my closet and on my wall. 

"The vulnerability of the human being, the fragility of the bodies exposed by Lecourt proposes a painful beauty as well, as much by the emotional thing of the topic like by its own necessity to understand our body and what there is within us."

via

More maps here.

ORLY GENGER at MADISON SQUARE PARK

The first time I encountered Orly Genger's Red, Yellow, and Blue during its installation at Madison Square Park, I wasn't sure I appreciated the 1.4 million feet of repurposed rope, equal to more than 20 times the length of Manhattan, undulating amongst the grass and trees.

At first,  the sculptures seemed to detract from the respite of the lush park in the midst of hurried Flatiron, but I soon appreciated their presence as I watched the public, encouraged through interaction with the works, to experience the park and their surroundings in a new way.

Fashioned out of nautical rope gathered from the East Coast and then meticulously knotted by hand, the massive installation Red, Yellow, and Blue encompasses multiple layers of meaning, both literally and figuratively. 

Genger’s installations have been described as “aggressive”, and almost appear to man-handle the spaces in which they reside. At the same time, there is a calming quality to the repeated links and knots.  Genger's work is inspired by Minimalism and interaction in work by artists such as Richard Serra and Felix Gonzalez-Torres.

Dress: W118 by Walter Baker

Jacket: Doo. Ri

Shoes: Rachel Roy

Photos by Meri Feir.

Concurrent with the Madison Square Park project, you can buy Genger's MSP collection, inspired by Red, Yellow, and Blue, through Grey Area.

RAIN ROOM

Have you ever wanted to control the rain?  Random International's installation/environment at the Museum of Modern Art gives its audience a sense of what it would be like to have that power.

Part of the the MoMA PS1 Expo 1: New York exhibition, Rain Room utilizes digital technology to keep guests dry within a constant downpour.

Lit only by one spotlight, attendees are admitted into a controlled rainstorm, which clears a path as they navigate through the space.

It is a sensory experience, heightened by the sound of the deluge, which calls to mind issues of our control of the environment through scientific means.

Rain Room is open through July 28.  Photos by Meri Feir and myself.

ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Champagne Beige.

For my latest Artfully Awear + Pantone post, I'm featuring the shimmery color Champagne Beige.

My inspiration for this look has been on my mind for years, as I've always loved the sinewy Art Nouveau elegance of Alphonse Mucha's ladies.

Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech painter and decorative artist who created the Art Nouveau style, originally known as Mucha Style.

He began his career as a theatrical designer in Moravia, and eventually relocated to Paris, where he met the acclaimed actress Sarah Bernhardt, one of my style icons.

In 1895, Mucha began a six-year contract with Bernhardt, creating lithographs for her performances.  This solidified his position as an important commercial artist.

Throughout his career, Mucha struggled to separate himself from the Art Nouveau style he essentially created, and found art's importance through its spiritual connotations alone.

The women depicted in Mucha's Art Nouveau paintings and prints hearken back to an even earlier age, referenced in their Neoclassical garments.

Mucha's view on Art History is summed up by the following quote, and beautifully represented by his work: "Nothing has changed in these past two thousand years.  Only the names are slightly different."

Dress: Nicole Miller Artelier

Headpiece: Vintage necklace

Shoes: B Brian Atwood (buy here in nude and black)

All photos by Kathy Paciello at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

[Mucha images from gelaskins.com, wikipaintings.org, graduate-extraordinaire.blogspot.com, bohemia-apartments.com, and commons.wikimedia.org.]

ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Emerald.

After a brief hiatus, I'm back with my latest Artfully Awear + Pantone post, featuring the Color of the Year: Emerald.

Emerald has always been one of my personal favorite colors, and is surprisingly flattering with almost any skin tone. The hue is also well represented in the work of Helen Frankenthaler.

Her oversized canvases, though seemingly abstract, were often inspired by landscapes, such as her most famous work, Mountains and Sea, which measures 7 feet by 10 feet.

One of the few female artists recognized alongside the group of second generation Abstract Expressionists, Frankenthaler (1928-2011) was a Color Field painter.

The thin veils of paint that make up her paintings are reminiscent of watercolors, even though they are actually oils. Her "soak stain" method of thinning oil paint and applying to unprimed canvas was adopted by other artists including Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.

Two of my favorite posts of all time are inspired by Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland.

Color Field painting was different from Abstract Expressionism in its denial of emotional or mythical themes.

"You have to know how to use the accident, how to recognise it, how to control it, and ways to eliminate it so that the whole surface looks felt and born all at once". --Helen Frankenthaler

Dress: Nicole Miller Artelier (full length version here for $100!)

Shoes: Calvin Klein

Necklace: Anthropologie Chasca

[Photos by @kay_elle_pea; images from stylesight.com, newcriterion.com, justalittlegreen.tumblr.com, and accidental-brilliance.com.]