The Mona Bismarck American Centre for Art and Culture is an informative ground for Americans in Paris. The centre always proposes interesting exhibitions that focus on solely American-centred topics or wider themes that enable visitors to understand the richness of the continent’s culture. The centre is a splendid and typical Parisian townhouse from the 19th century decorated for the countess Mona Bismarck in the 1950s. Therefore, the figure of a fascinating woman stands firmly behind the institution: a wealthy, elegant and beautiful lady who supported arts, fashion and culture. Since her death, in 1981, the building shelters a cultural centre that presents multidisciplinary shows that connect French to American culture.
The current display organised by the centre is Quilt Art: L’Art du Patchwork (on until the 19th May). There are twenty-five works on display, all objects lent by the American Museum in Britain, located in Bath and which opened in 1961 to promote American decorative arts in Great Britain. Their collection of American quilts is the finest and most important in Europe.
Log cabin Quilt, 1875-1900 One of the most popular American quilting pattern. Copyright: American Museum in Britain
To be honest, I barely know anything about quilts, their making and history. To me quilts are associated with a fantasized American history, to the Little House in the Prairie and grandmothers… I personally do not even have a sentimental relationship with quilts: I can only vaguely recall seeing a flowery blue and pink example at my grandparents’ house in England but that is the only encounter I enjoyed with this object.
Queen Kapi’olani’s Fan Quilt, Early 20th Century Traditional Hawaiian pattern. Copyright: American Museum in Britain
I therefore discovered the Mona Bismarck Centre’s display with much curiosity and expectation. The exhibition is very pedagogic and clear which was great for ignorant visitors such as myself!
Quilts are popular elements of a traditional and humble yet creative art, significant of America’s history and singularity. I appreciated that the display highlighted the concept that the art of patchwork is clearly linked to America’s identity: a melting-pot. The exhibition outlines the idea that a patchwork quilt represents the country with its blending of multiple cultures that come together in harmony without ever annihilating individual identities. A wonderful and accurate comparison.
Baltimore Album Quilt, 1847 Flamboyant gifts made for display rather than domestic use. Copyright: American Museum in Britain
American quilts’ history therefore conveys the country’s pattern. Quilting dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe when padded fabrics were used for military clothing and bedding. When European Settlers arrived in the New World, they brought with them their textile practices that they then adapted to the local materials available. Patchwork is by definition heterogeneous and the centre emphasise the various inspirations patchwork embodies with the help of a combination of European textiles, local crafts, various techniques and motifs and imported materials like silk. The result is a traditional pillar of American decorative arts.
Tumbling Blocks Star Quilt, 1852 Made For the New Jersey State Fair. Copyright: American Museum in Britain
To study the evolution of quilt art is to explore American history: the conquest of the West, the Amish tradition, relationships with Native Americans, the Civil War… The objects presented in Paris range from the eighteenth (the oldest quilt presented was designed in 1760) to the twentieth century. Symbolic motifs and designs indeed evoke political, social and religious realities.
One Patch Quilt: Diamonds variation, 1969 Gee’s Bend quilts design by the Afro American community. Copyright: American Museum in Britain
When observing quilts, you come across various masterful techniques: the layout of dozens of squares of materials, handmade over-stitching as well as modern machine assemblages. I am myself a terrible and shameful seamstress. I could only admire the methods used by the quilt makers who managed to create colourful, poetic and useful pieces with little means.
The ornamental lexicon of American patchwork also illustrates the diversity of their influences and the creation of truly American symbols.
Lafayette Orange Peel Quilt, 1830-1875 Inspired by a popular myth concerning the Marquis de Lafayette. Copyright: American Museum in Britain
When I was studying at l’Ecole du Louvre, I was specialised in decorative arts and I think that what I most appreciated in this discipline is that objects were representative of craftsmanship, but also illustrated the story of people possessing and using them (an interest that was later confirmed by my love of fashion). This emotion was evoked through this exhibit. My imagination visualised images of long and tiring journeys, women patiently working on their designs, children wrapping themselves up with warm blankets…There is something very personal and familiar with objects like these that brings a sentimental feel to the exhibition: an ambiance more pompous displays often lack.
The display is arranged within aesthetic themes which enables the visitors to comprehend the diversity of the designs that somehow have similarities through different times and places while we can establish formal comparisons. We can observe the contrasts between simple Amish designs and rich decorative Hawaiian pieces when constant motifs tend to travel through time (like the Sharon Rose).
Rose of Saron Quilt, 1850 Traditionally made for newlyweds. Copyright: American Museum in Britain
Quilting also has this distinctive particularity of being practised throughout the whole country, by all women, highlighting the universality of the discipline. Finally, patchwork demonstrates an additional example of decorative arts that from the utilitarian have become works of art.
Another reason I do not know much about quilts is that these objects are often associated with folk museums that, I must admit,I never visit. I am not interested in folk art and I have very bad souvenirs of classes I had at l’Ecole du Louvre about this subject: a trauma. I, consequently, must confess that I would have probably never visited this exhibition if it hadn’t been held at The Mona Bismarck Centre. Thus I have to thank the institution for scheduling this exhibition and gently accompanying me through the process of discovering folk art again. I wouldn’t say that I have since become a huge fan of quilts; they have however aroused a new interest.
Further resources:
Beresford, Laura and Hebert, Kate. Classic Quilts from the American Museum in Britain. London: Scala, 2009.
Kiracofe, Roger. The American Quilt. A History of Cloth and Comfort, 1750-1950. New York, 1993.
Installation Shot DIY Graffitti and Agitpop, Punk: Chaos to Couture, Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
I didn’t actually want to go the Punk: Chaos to Couture Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I know nothing about the subject and I don’t have a punk bone in my body (I dress like Audrey Hepburn and prefer opera and ballet). Nor is punk within the sphere of my interest or research (Exhibitions like Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity are more my thing). And yet, becauseI am in the process of crafting a Phd proposal and/or a book on fashion in the museum, I knew that I should visit exhibitions that I might dislike or don’t appeal to me, (including this show at the Met as well as the Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture at the Bata Shoe Museum). Plus I wanted see what the Andrew Bolton could match or surpass the McQueen exhibition. Fashion exhibitions are in fashion, and the Met has the talent and the budget to set the standard and then raise the bar.
What makes the exhibitions at the Met so appealing to me is their theatricality. Step into the galleries and you have entered another world, in this case, the run-down overblown grandeur of a stately mansion created out of plastic and styrofoam by exhibition designer Sam Gainsbury, who also created the brilliant setting for the McQueen show. The moody Goth/Glam atmosphere invoked, for me, an atmosphere of rebellion and resistance, themes that seem to be consistent with the punk movement.
Installation Shot, DIY Hardware, Punk: Chaos to Couture, Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
“Punk’s signature mixing of references was fueled by artistic developments such as Dada and postmodernism, so it makes sense to present this exhibition in a museum that also shows the broader output of those movements. Indeed, that dialogue between art and fashion is what makes The Costume Institute so singular. “ said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art during introductory remarks.
Conceived and curated by Andrew Bolton, the Punk exhibition, in the Museum’s second-floor Cantor galleries, features about 100 designs for men and women, most of which are examples of haute couture and ready-to-wear garments incorporating interpretations of the aesthetic themes of punk. Although there seems to be an inherent conflict between punk’s do-it-yourself ethos and couture’s craftsmanship and made-to-measure credo, “both are defined by impulses of originality and individuality”. The exhibition is thematically organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with punk which were curatorially defined as: Do-It-Yourself Hardware, Bricolage, Graffiti & Agitpop, and Destroy.
At the preview, curator Andrew Bolton made a point of addressing some of the criticism that was voiced prior to the show’s opening, including some from the grand dame of punk herself Vivienne Westwood in the New York Times. Bolton clearly stated that he deliberately decided not to include original garments worn by punk icons like Debbie Harry or Johnny Rotten. Instead his intent was to “present punk in a respectful even reverential manner” and “to highlight its influence on couture”. Designers’ works on display in thematic groupings include: Christopher Bailey, Hussein Chalayan, Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga, Martin Margiela, Alexander McQueen, Stephen Sprouse, Gianni Versace, Yohji Yahamoto, Zandra Rhodes (who attended the preview) and Vivienne Westwood. My eyebrows were raised when I noticed several outfits from very recent collections, including a punk-inspired Burberry outfit from Spring/Summer 2013, but there is no doubt that savvy designers pay attention to what is on the calendar at the Costume Institute. And those that didn’t make it into the Met are well represented in the nearby windows of Bergdorf Goodman, including items available for purchase from Alexander McQueen, Burberry, and Gareth Pugh.
For me, a good fashion exhibition is both engaging and thoughtful, with a depth of research underpinning its conception. Since I wasn’t expecting to like this exhibition, I was surprised by its effect on me. It was an immersive experience into another world. I listened to music that I loathe; I saw garments that I would never wear; I marvelled at the artful craftsmanship and use of non-traditional materials; and I liked it. Call me old-fashioned and out of touch, but I did not find it “dull”, and I left with a deeper appreciation for the lasting influence of the punk movement on couture in usurping traditional representations of beauty and fashion. Plus, I was amused by the symbolic re-creation of grimy and gritty toilets of the 1970s East Village club CBGB and the crazy wigs by Guido Paulo, and I was inspired by what you can do with staples, safety pins, and garbage bags. There was an aesthetic coherence to the show that worked for me, if no one else.
Moschino Dress A/W 2009-10 Embroidered with Safety Pins, Punk: Chaos to Couture DIY Hardware Gallery, Photo by Ingrid Mida 2013
There has been some sharp criticism rendered in the press and this surprised me (in the New Yorker and New York Times no less). Andrew Bolton clearly stated his intent was not to provide a historic framing of the subject, and yet has been taken to task for not doing what he said he would not do. It must be demoralizing, especially with such an emotional subject that invokes memories and nostalgia for many. Perhaps all the negative press will fuel the crowds to judge for themselves. The exhibition runs until August 14, 2013.Punk: Chaos to Couture, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cantor Exhibition Hall, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York May 9 – August 14, 2013
Note: This review is the my opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any other contributors at Worn Through.
Installation Shot, Punk: Chaos to Couture at the Met, Photo by Ingrid Mida 2013
As this is my last post for Worn Through, I wanted to start by thanking Monica and the whole team for creating such a fun and lively community that I was happy to be a part of for so long. I would also like to thank the readers of Worn Through who have inspired conversations, shared events and comments, and helped to make it all a truly enjoyable experience.
Covering events and exhibitions was sometimes a very challenging task, not for any lack of interesting material to write about, but for the very opposite reason. With so many things happening and such rapid growth in the field, it can be difficult to choose which conference to splurge on, and which exhibition requires a special trip. For this very reason, rather than end with a post about a singular event or experience, I thought that I would include a round up of some of the current and upcoming fashion exhibitions that are happening in 2013. I hope to attend many of these myself, and to perhaps read about those that I won’t be able to see here on WT or elsewhere!
Models in Stephen Burrows, 1973. Photograph by Charles Tracy
Also in New York, Front Row: Chinese American Designers was guest curated by Mary Ping for the Museum of Chinese in America. The exhibition, which is on view through September 29th, focuses on a group of Chinese-American designers living and working in New York City. Simultaneously, Shanghai Glamour: New Women 1910s-1940s, is also open through the 29th of September.
New jewelry acquisitions at the Museum of Art and Design are on exhibition through June 2nd, in the show Wear it or Not, and on Wednesday May 15th, the legendary clothing and art collector Iris Apfel, will take part in a live interview and Q&A with Deborah Needlemen in programming titled: A Life in Collecting with Iris Apfel.
At the Phoenix Museum of Art in Arizona, there is an exhibition that focuses on textiles, titled: Digital Print Fashion that is on view through July 14th.
Left: Mary Katrantzou, Dress, Fall 2012. Printed organza. Lent by Carol Mack. Mary Katrantzou, Dress, Fall 2011. Printed cotton pique. Lent by Carol Mack. Middle: Alexander McQueen, Dress, Spring 2010. Printed. Lent by Suzy Kellems Dominik. Right: Alexander McQueen, Dress, Spring 2010. Printed. Lent by Suzy Kellems Dominik. Images via the Phoenix Art Museum.
The display was preceded by its strong reputation and was much awaited by French scholars and myself.
Detail of a 1725 Robe à la Française Photo Les Arts Décoratifs
It had been quite a long time since I visited a historical costume exhibition (I very lamentably missed the Impressionism and Fashion exhibition held at the Musée d’Orsay and now at the MET) and I entered the exhibition space quite intimidated. I suppose this may be linked to the fact that costumes from the past seem very far from what I know: I cannot relate to them at all.Visitors often acknowledge the fit of garments by intuitively imagining wearing them. I’d obviously love to inhabit these costumes but they would play the role of disguises rather than pieces of clothing. That is why I look upon them as bizarre and enchanting objects coming from a surreal world.
European 1725 Robe à la Française Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Moreover, when I observe costumes, the art historian in me cannot help connecting them to paintings. 18th-century dresses evoke Watteau‘s gracious scenes (contemporary costume historians relate to “Watteau pleats” when describing the plunging pleats visible on the back of 18th-century dresses that the painter so perfectly rendered) or Fragonard‘s Rococco feminine depictions. Later, Ingres‘ strong portraits testified of the Empire’s aristocratic taste and Winterhaltersuperbly depicted the 19th century European crowned heads.
“Watteau Pleats” Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Pedagogy is certainly the key word that comes to mind when visiting this show. I was surrounded by groups of very young children as well as fashion school students…
The Parisian institution chose to present the objects in a traditional scientific chronological order whereas the LACMA as well as the Historisches Museum had preferred to privilege themes.
The Arts Décoratifs’ choice enhances a didactic approach. Non-specialists are therefore benefited by this coherent display which enables a strong understanding of the evolution of fashion, from extravagant ornamentations to simplicity of shapes alongside focuses on contextual explanations that enable them to comprehend turning points of the society: trades, the expansion of seaside tourism, the evolution of transport, the place of women in society, construction techniques…These precise explanations are described on screens within each glass case as well as on the luminous wall panels.
Didactic Screen with contextual explanations and illustrations Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
With the help of these two parallel guiding lines, we comprehend how much clothing constantly balance ceremonial representation and everyday use, ornamentation and simplicity, aesthetic trends and constraints with a solid focus on Paris.
The story behind this display is remarkable: Martin Kramer and Wolfgang Ruf were both competitors in the historical textile and costume market. At the end of their career, they decided to unite their forces and assemble their collections representing 50 years of collecting. LACMA acquired this exceptional and perfectly conserved collection of clothing and accessories. Their collection is a marvellous statement of men’s and women’s aristocratic and bourgeois dress that highlights exquisite craftsmanship and unconditional beauty.
Robe à la Française, England – 1765 Photo Les Arts Décoratifs
The scenographer, Frederic Beauclair tells the stories of these garments, and the high society attached to them, with simplicity and enables visitors to fully admire the objects with the help of lighting tricks, mirrors, and the curved glass panels that make possible a wide look upon the display. I am very sensitive to the notion of three-dimensional examination within fashion displays (this was the theme of my MA dissertation). To me, it is crucial that visitors can observe garments in their whole. Some glass cases and mirrors facilitate the comprehension of back details, the width of a crinoline, the tournures…
1880s Tournures Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Texts explain that the 18th century shimmering silks were made to be visible at candle light, when aristocrats would entertain themselves at the royal court. At the same period, noblemen’s shoes had red soles: a very Louboutinesque attitude!
The garments are presented in clusters where gentlemen and gentlewomen seem to enjoy a conversation while allowing visitors to interact with them, helped by an equal levelling.
Right: 1790 French Dress Left: French Robe à l’Anglaise, 1785-90 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
The visitor’s eye clearly observes the typology of 18th century garments that oscillate between the solemnity of French court costumes and the budding influence of English elegant simplicity.
The accessorized white mannequins strongly participate in this interaction. They have defined faces and paper styled wigs . They look soundly incarnated and natural. By interacting with these realistic figures, visitors can easily compare body shapes and proportions.
Therefore, this display also highlights the evolution of attitudes, taste, beauty and silhouettes.
English coat, 1825-1830 and Scottish trousers, 1825-1830 Photo Les Arts Décoratifs
Anglomania in France gives birth to suppler and more comfortable costumes. An aesthetic that will know its peak under the Empire period during which the empress Josephine will popularize high waisted muslin dresses.
I particularly appreciated the installation dedicated to the French Revolution during which the clothing became, for a rebellious minority, a privileged support for opinions, as the exceptional embroidered waistcoat (one of my favourite pieces from the display) below demonstrates.
Around 1830, this lightness disappears and the romantic woman wears a corset while men’s clothing become simpler.
The second Empire sees the domination of crinolines that reflect the industrialisation of production means in the 19th century. Sewing and embroidery machineries evolve as well when new artificial colourings are imagined.
French dress – 1855 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Some isolated garments are suspended with the help of invisible wire or moulded on invisible forms. Doing this, the curators suggest the visitors to proceed to a case study, to concentrate on a technique and an aesthetic.
Mid 18th century Waistcoats Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
I did however deplore the labels installed at the far ends of the glass panels. I had to do numerous round trips between the garments and the labels: difficult when the exhibition is crowded!
At the end of the 19th century, silhouettes change dramatically with the introduction of the tournure (1870) that focuses the volume at the back of the dress, or the S shaped line.
French Dress, 1880 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
At the turn of the century international influences, particularly from Japan, are crucial in the making of new shapes. These new aesthetics incarnate the Belle Epoque that opens the way to the creation of Haute Couture in reaction to an industrialisation that has become too significant.
Therefore, the exhibition ends with a few silhouettes evoking the birth of Haute Couture (a story to be continued at an exhibition held at l’Hotel de Ville: that will be the subject of a further post!) and its invention by Charles-Frederic Worth (I experienced an amusing moment when I heard two French women expressing out loud how shocking was the idea that an English man could have created such a French symbol!).
Modernity is on its way! Elegance is now individualised and and luxury signed.
Paul Poiret Turban – 1911 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
During and after my visit, I had in mind the reflections two friends of mine shared about this exhibition. They are both art and fashion lovers, but not specialists or academics. When speaking about this show, they both expressed the same feeling: they found it boring.
I was stupefied. Why did they find it boring? Too didactic, too scientific they would say. As visitors, they yearned for more drama, more spectacle!
There lies the eternal fashion exhibition debate. Most visitors expect fashion exhibitions to be entertaining and curators constantly have to reflect on how they can be didactic without escaping the visitor’s desire for fantasy.
Mid 19th century Crinoline and French Dress, 1865 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
As a scientific person myself, I did not agree with my friends and I am also sure that many visitors did find pleasure in this display simply because of the exquisiteness of the garments that speak for themselves. I could hear many “Oohs and Aahs” during my visit and I consider this a very positive point!
Further resources:
The exhibition is now over but its catalogue is a remarkable piece of lecture: Sharon Sadako Takeda, Sharon and Durland Spilker, Kaye. Fashioning fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915. New York: Prestel: 2010.
I’m back in London this week, after being in utopic Auckland, New Zealand for a month, where I did catch a few dress-related exhibitions of note. However, coming home to England, I was greeted with the news that advance tickets to the Victoria & Albert Museum’s current retrospective of the career of David Bowie, in sound and vision, were sold out!
Thankfully, my room-mate and die-hard long-time Bowie fan had booked us tickets for late July before the last were gone. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of Bowie fans in range of the exhibition or doubtless are coming from afar to see this unprecedented coming together of Bowie’s stage costumes and other ephemera. Some tickets are still available at the museum on day of showing – but the museum’s site advises arriving early to purchase.
Since there will surely be some disappointed fans out there who can’t get in, and I couldn’t really bear the thought of waiting until July to know what’s on display, I share with you a clip of the exhibition put together by ArtLyst. It gives a good impression of the exhibition as a whole and focuses in on the displays. However, I recommend you watch it synced to your favourite Bowie tune instead of with the clip’s somewhat sleepy background music!
In 1995, a giant shoebox of a building (literally a concrete shoe box with a slightly tipped lid) opened at 327 Bloor Street West in Toronto to house one of the finest shoe collections in the world. Inside the Bata Shoe Museum, there are over 12,500 sets of shoes and shoe-related artifacts (such as socks, stockings, shoe-making tools) from around the world, including western and non-western footwear as well as ancient and indigenous cultures.
Bata Shoe Museum South Storage for European Footwear and Prints, Copyright of the Bata Shoe Museum 2013
Senior curator Elizabeth Semmelhack is part of a team that organizes the roster of shows within the permanent and exhibition galleries, as well as a lively lecture and film series. Exhibitions in recent years have included: Roger Vivier, Process to Perfection; Roaring Twenties: Heels, Hemlines and High Spirits; Socks: Between You and Your Shoes; Shoes in Art; and On a Pedestal. This museum is one of my favourites anywhere, not only for the quality of the exhibitions and scholarship, but also because the curators and staff are friendly and welcoming to all, including students, visiting researchers, and shoe-aholics alike!
Accessibility is a touchstone topic for me, since my work in the Ryerson Fashion Research Centre is predicated on making that Collection an open and friendly resource to faculty, students, visiting researchers and designers. While I was editing the shoes that had been donated to Ryerson over the past 31 years, I decided to de-accession a substantial portion of them, because I knew that Ryerson fashion students have access to a broader range and better quality examples at the Bata Shoe Museum. Few curators would risk inviting an entire class of first year fashion students to come for a visit, but I witnessed Bata Shoe Museum Assistant Curator Sarah Beam-Borg do just such a thing last fall when she guest lectured at Ryerson’s School of Fashion. For these reasons, the Bata Shoe Museum seemed like the next logical visit on my behind-the-scenes visits with curators of fashion in the museum. My conversation with Senior curator Elizabeth Semmelhack took place in Elizabeth’s office on April 5, 2013 and has been condensed and edited below.
Elizabeth Semmelhack, Senior Curator Bata Shoe Museum Copyright Bata Shoe Museum 2013
Ingrid: Let’s begin with a quick list of highlights. What is the oldest pair of shoes in the Collection?
Elizabeth: A pair of ancient Egyptian funerary shoes from 2500 BC.
Ingrid: Most recent acquisition?
Elizabeth: We received lots of donations for our upcoming sneaker culture show, including a pair of Pierre Hardy sneakers and Prada sneakers.
Pierre Hardy POW Sneakers 2013, Property of the Bata Shoe Museum Copyright of the Bata Shoe Museum 2013
Ingrid: Rarest pair?
Elizabeth: Perhaps a pair of Chimu boots from the mid-15th century
Ingrid: What is your favourite pair of shoes?
Elizabeth: There is a pair of 1770 moccasins, possibly Mohawk, dating back to the time of the American Revolution. This beautifully made pair of moccasins is in perfect condition but still has the footprint of the man that wore them inside. When see this imprint, I feel history collapsing.
18th Century Mocassins (c.1770), Property of the Bata Shoe Museum Copyright of the Bata Shoe Museum 2013
Ingrid: Which pair would you grab if there was a fire or flood?
Elizabeth: That’s a really tough question. I’d probably grab a pair of 18th century shoes, because each one was handmade and is absolutely unique and beautiful in its own way.
18th century shoes, French, Property of the Bata Shoe Museum Copyright of the Bata Shoe Museum 2013
Ingrid: Your storage facility seems so unconventional with shoes displayed openly and was the topic of some discussion at my recent visit to FIDM Museum. How is this possible? How do you control dust?
Elizabeth: Since this is a private museum, the building was specifically designed so that the shoes could be stored openly. There are special filtration and ventilation units for the collection storage rooms that control humidity, temperature and air quality. This open access is of great benefit from a curatorial standpoint, because it allows me to make connections more easily than if I had to open archival boxes in order to see inside.
Ingrid: The upcoming show on sneaker culture seems like somewhat of a departure from shoes as art objects or shoes as a feminine accessory.
Elizabeth: Yes it is. After studying high heel culture for so long, it became apparent to me that people assume shoes are gendered. Shoe obsession has been associated with women, but men also have a shoe culture. Men often assume that this museum has nothing for them and with this exhibition, we hope to appeal to a different demographic.
Ingrid: Were there any surprises in your research for the sneaker culture exhibition?
Elizabeth: For men, there are few places where they can play with form and colour in what they wear and sneakers allow them to accessorize, especially since they do not have to wear ties anymore. Sneakers represent idealized masculinity and youth culture, and also share a visual reference with other objects of male desire like an aerodynamic sports car. They can also be associated with sports celebrity. It also was surprising to learn that collecting sneakers seems to be organized differently, in that men want certain shoes and conceive of acquiring a complete set, whereas a woman collector often buys shoes as a discrete object based on aesthetic choices like a work of art. Sneakers have a linkage to play and offer a visual reference to the deconstruction of the working persona.
Ingrid: Why are shoes now “the thing”?
Elizabeth: Certain accessories of dress like hats and jewelry used to be markers of status. As wardrobes have become more informal and more democratized, shoes have become the accessory that convey status, social meaning and gender. For example, two women can wear the identical jeans and t-shirt, but if one of them wears a pair of Christian Louboutin heels and the other wears flats, social meaning is conveyed through those choices. Shoes have become the marker that can literally transform the outfit.
The Bata Shoe Museum is located on the south-west corner of Bloor Street West and St. George Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Their upcoming show “Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture” opens on April 25, 2013. I’ll be attending the opening with my teenage son, knowing that it might be the ONLY fashion-related exhibition he’ll ever be excited to see with me. I might just have to invest in a pair of beautiful sneakers for myself!
I’m in Sweden for a little Easter holiday this week, so please enjoy this post from when I lived there and covered that stylish country for Worn Through! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Glad Påsk!
As someone who is always looking out for new resources and constructive ways to use my time, I thought I would pass along the website I’ve been exploring for the past few days: Digitalt Museum.
The Swedish version of this online collections space is a collaboration between sixteen museums in Sweden, ranging from the large and well-known Nordiska Museet to smaller regional museums, such as The Gotland Museum of Defense (the Norwegian version includes 1 million objects from 87 museums). There are almost 700,000 objects to search and sift through, the majority of which belong to Nordiska Museet, the Upplands Museum, the Army Museum, and the Postal Museum. Fortunately for costume studies scholars, these institutions offer multitudes of clothing objects available for rifling through on this site, which many of them use as a primary visual online catalog.
“Bindmössa” probably owned by Greta Ersdotter, b. 1804 in Upplands. From Upplandsmuseet (UM02868). Photo: same.
It’s not a perfect resource; not every object has good information, some have next to nothing. But I found the site to be user-friendly and visually pleasing. After working in some challenging collections, I can appreciate their efforts to extend connections between materials to the public; the “related objects” section links not only to objects with similar qualities or keywords across all the museums, as we’ve come to expect from websites. In the case of objects such as the trunk below, a “consists of” section also appears, through which one can click on objects found in and accessioned with the chest, such as the above bonnet. This kind of dynamic information makes for rich resources and research.
Chest, marked 1782, probably owned by Greta Ersdotter, b. 1804, in Upplands. From Upplandsmuseet (UM02873). Photo: same.
Thinking about the future of museums and their online presence, the opportunity to see the collections of many museums side by side is fascinating. This creates opportunities for efficient searching, but more importantly, enables happy accidents, in which you find relevant objects at a museum you might not have thought to visit.
Similarly, the “slumpmässigt” button above the images (the “random” button, similar to the icon from iTunes) is endlessly engaging: with a click of that bright pink button, you are given about forty thumbnails with photographs of randomly chosen objects, of which a quarter will probably be clothing-related (!). It’s a great way to think about objects in and out of context and perhaps find new combinations and relationships. Dare I say it is almost like…Pinterest–but bounded by museal integrity?
Below are some clothing history-related things I found that exhibit different facets of this resource, and which will hopefully pique your interest.
Clothing objects:
Nordiska Museet provides especially detailed descriptions of its objects; even the twist of the wool used to knit these stockings is noted (it’s S).
Hand-knit stocking, with zig-zag pattern in the leg and plain along the foot “to save money”, c. 1850-99. Used in Svärdsjö, Dalarna. From Nordiska Museet (NM.0246265A-B)
One dress, two methods; sometimes you can catch glimpses of variations on or changes in attitudes toward photographing clothing. I wonder how these two records of a blue silk dress came to be; was the first simply meant for proprietary documentation? And the second: taken in relation to an exhibition, the result of additional funding for photography, due to an inventory and website update, or another reason?
Blue silk dress, c. 1820. Worn by Charlotta Krook Kjellberg, maybe in Skåne. From Nordiska Museet (NM. 024402). Photo: Elisabeth Eriksson/Nordiska Museet.
Blue silk dress (same as above), c. 1820-9, here mounted on a dress form with bright white accessories. This listing is for a set of photographs of the dress object, while that above is for the object itself. From Nordiska Museet (photograph NMA.0052197). Photo: Mats Landin/Nordiska Museet, 2008.
Swedish Pickelhaube of brass, model “m/1894″, c. 1894. From Armémuseum (AM.001629). Photo: same.
Textiles:
Weaving samples seem to be a large part of these museums’ collections:
Weaving samples for churches in Uppland. Designed by Britta Rendahl-Ljusterdahl, 1970. From Upplandsmuseet (UM.41319). Photo: same.
Two dolls, “Easter witches”, made from fabric scraps and paper, c. 1800-99. From Nordiska Museet (NMA.0113127A-B). Photo: same.
Photographs:
Students, then and now:
Two unidentified young people on a boat in Sundsvall, Västernorrland.; the young man is wearing the traditional cap of a student. Possibly c.1915-25; not noted. From The Sundsvall Museum (SuM-foto 005405). Photo: same.
Young students in traditional caps at their graduation from Katedralskolan in Uppsala, c. 2007-11. From Upplandsmuseet (DIG019275). Photo: Peter Gullers/Upplandsmuseet.
A mini-evolution of woman postal carriers:
“Uniform for a female mail-carrier, 1970s, Stockholm”. From Postmuseum (POST.035331). Photo: unknown.
“Fashion show of new models of uniforms for female mail-carriers, early 1980s.”, c. 1982. From Postmuseum (POST.035338). Photo: unknown.
Fashion photography:
“Woman in dark clothing with a Fall leaf. Exterior.”, c. 1941, by photographer Gunnar Lundh. From Nordiska Museet (NMA.0054759). Photo: Gunnar Lundh/Nordiska Museet.
Sometimes one is even are privy to exhibition space. This photograph from 1934 provides many resources: the state of the exhibition of dress in the 1930s, the clothing itself, as well as the portrait information on the wall.
A documentary photograph of the Postmuseum, 1934. “Postal uniforms and portraits, room 14.” From Postmuseum (POST.018239). Photo: same.
Objects, related:
Rigid birchwood heddle for bandweaving (“Bandvävsked”), accessioned 1926 (no manufacture date), used in Lappland. From Nordiska Museet (NM.0158443). Photo: same.
And seemingly unrelated, as with this cake form:
Wooden cake form in the shape of a man dressed in a 17th-century outfit; German. Accessioned 1896 (no manufacture date). From Nordiska Museet (NM.0081488A-D). Photo: same.
What are your go-to online collections spaces? What makes them valuable to you? What place do you think collections have online, and what is their future? How do you feel about using a database that is not entirely in your mother-tongue? Let me know what you think in the comments section below!
Going behind the scenes at a museum is a rare privilege. Lucky for me, the entire team at FIDM Museum in Los Angeles, California was welcoming and gracious during my recent visit. Curator Kevin Jones and Associate Curator Christina Johnson made me feel like they had oodles of time to answer my many questions about their museum and study collections. “I want the whole museum to be about accessibility,” said Kevin Jones, “we welcome visiting researchers here.”
Kevin Jones and Christina Johnson at FIDM Museum Offices in Los Angeles, CA Photo by Ingrid Mida, March 2013
The origins of the FIDM Museum collection can be traced to 1973 when instructors of the Fashion Design Department raided “their personal closets to assemble the fledgling museum’s first collection”. The intent was to offer garments for students to be able to “understand textile drape, pattern structure, and finishing techniques,”, and the collection was maintained by library staff. In 1978, the collection was formalized as a museum with non-profit status and this attracted important donations such as garments from Betsy Bloomingdale and the Rudi Gernreich Archive. By 1997, the collection had grown to 10,000 objects and was separated from the Library into its own department. In 1999, former grad Kevin Jones arrived on the scene to become collection manager, and in 2002 became curator. Much to my surprise, I learned that Kevin undertook a radical transformation of the collection at that time, sorting through the entire archive and de-accessioning a significant number of unwanted pieces. In the intervening 11 years, Kevin has edited the collection four times, each time endeavoring to improve the quality of both the Permanent and Study collections. This collection now rivals the world’s best with 15,000 items of fashionable dress, including significant items of couture and important historical artifacts spanning over 200 years of history.
Although here is no formal acquisition policy, Kevin and Christina look for items that have “cultural significance or something that sets it apart in terms of construction, textile, or embellishment.” In 2011, there was an exhibition and catalogue called FABULOUS! Ten Years of FIDM Museum Acquisitions that featured the ‘most fabulous’ items donated or acquired from 2000-2010. The cover of the 370 page catalogue showcases a close-up photo of the lace from an evening gown called “The Peacock Dress” by Alexander McQueen, F/W 2008-2009. This breathtaking dress was specially commissioned for the FIDM Museum and was one of the last gowns made that McQueen actually designed himself. Only three such gowns exist, and having seen it in the FIDM Museum storage facility, I can attest that it is truly a sight to behold!
2010.5.73 Evening gown by Alexander McQueen, Fall/Winter 2008-2009. FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles; FIDM Museum Commission: Funds provided by Karen Coombs-Jordan. Photograph by Brian Sanderson. Copyright of FIDM.
An exciting acquisition in the works is The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, which includes 1,200 rare and beautiful historic dress artifacts. The late Helen Larson was an avid collector of period dress and her private archive includes many rare and near perfect examples of clothing and accessories, including garments worn by Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra, couture pieces from designers like Worth, Poiret, Fortuny, Vionnet and Chanel that were purchased from Doris Langely Moore (the founder of the Fashion Museum in Bath, England). Their friendship and correspondence is documented in letters that are part of the archive and make this collection a very important one in the history of dress. Some of these objects are currently on display in the exhibition A Century of Cotton: Selections from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, 1800-1900.
A Century of Cotton: Selections from the Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, 1800-1900. FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles. Loan courtesy of Jane Gincig & Pat Kalayjian. Photograph by Brian Sanderson. Copyright of FIDM
A Century of Cotton: Selections from the Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, 1800-1900. FIDM Museum at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles. Loan courtesy of Jane Gincig & Pat Kalayjian. Photograph by Brian Sanderson. Copyright of FIDM
Although I find my work as Collection Co-ordinator at Ryerson University immensely rewarding, there are lots of frustrating moments. Knowing thechallenges that Kevin has faced over the years – including space, storage, time constraints, budgets, conservation issues – gave me hope that the vision I have to transform the Ryerson collection might actually be possible. Although it might never rival that of the FIDM Museum, my aim is to make the Fashion Research Centre at Ryerson University an open and accessible resource for students, faculty, and visiting researchers to examine historic garments firsthand, to benefit from seeing the details of cut, construction, and embellishment, as well as to explore aspects of material culture and to discover the stories that live in the folds, the seam allowances, and the hems.
While studying history of art and museology at L’Ecole du Louvre, in Paris (the city I was brought up in by a French father and an English mother), I already knew I wanted to specialise in fashion history after graduating, and I can remember how this ambition would make eyebrows rise! It seemed that, only five to ten years ago, I was quite an avant-garde.
France, and Paris in particular, has always been profoundly associated with fashion and history in the eyes of the rest of the world. However, the cultural study of dress was quite a marginal discipline here: no specific courses (the reason why I fled to London to study Fashion Curation!), rare exhibitions, and a lack of professionals to look upon…
Has the situation really evolved?
L’Ecole du Louvre has since opened a class focused on the history of fashion, dress patrimony is increasingly highlighted by couture brands, and currently, there are no fewer than six fashion-oriented exhibitions in Paris. Therefore, it seems that the discipline is ready not only to expand, but stand out.
This cultural emulation perfectly coincides with my new thrilling role as a Worn Through contributor and I am glad I have such a rich program to share.
I am starting right away with a display that caught my attention by its original tone in the midst of the more traditional approach Parisian dress exhibitions accustom us to.
Craig Green – CSM BA, 2010 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Arrrgh! Monstres de Mode (Monsters of Fashion) takes place at the Gaîté Lyrique, curated by the Greek visual arts collective, ATOPOS CVC,that had previously presented the display, in 2011, at the Benaki Museum, in Athens.
View of the main display through a hole created in a passageway by a furious monster Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
The Gaîté Lyrique is a Parisian space dedicated to digital culture and Arrrgh! Monstres de Mode intends to explore how the character iconography and monstrous figures derived from digital culture have inspired today’s fashion designers.
Toma Stenko – The Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors – CSM BA, 2011 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
The contemporary characters phenomenon first appeared in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century before booming intensively in Japan. From the 1980s onwards, contemporary characters have flooded the artistic production in street art and video games, toys, animation and cinema, object, product and graphic design, always questioning the established norms of aesthetics.
Walter Van Beirendonck – SS 2008 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Fashion has not escaped the phenomenon and this exhibition is the first international display to highlight the radical or grotesque creations inspired bycharacter design and the Gaîté’s first fashion oriented project.
The visitor is welcomed by a disturbing installation specially designed for the exhibition by the artist, Paul Graves, who imagined a dismembered body emerging from a bin and wearing iconic Alexander McQueen shoes. The tone is set!
Paul Graves’ Installation Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
It was my very first visit to the Gaîté Lyrique so I had no previous reference concerning the space. I did find the location very dynamic and youthful which was certainly an appropriate venue for such a presentation.
In the main exhibition space, within a very white and neon-lit scenography, the curators present an eclectic selection of designs created by established designers as well as emerging talent. The first level displays an installation imagined by the Parisian activist collective, Andrea Crews, which features a figure brandishing a chain saw upon an array of recycled clothing.
The main space is infested with a large number of monsters placed on the same level as the visitors. I appreciated this concentration of figures as it created a very strong visual impact, the impression of a real invasion.
Pictoplasma – Les Petites Bonhommes, 2006 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
No glass panels protect the mannequins so that the visitors can approach very closely with a mixed feeling of curiosity and timidity. Captions are simply pasted on the floor beside each object. There are no explanatory panels but they are, honestly, not missed.
The entire visit is accompanied by thumping bizarre sounds that never distract but, on the contrary, truly enwraps us in the atmosphere of the display. I am usually not a huge fan of soundtracks in exhibitions as I find them tiring but in this case, I was hypnotised.
Characters displayed are most often abstract figures, with bold, graphic silhouettes. They give birth to hybrid bodies resembling avatars and mutants.
Kim Traeger – Run Over Rabbit – CSM BA, 2011 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Issey Miyake and Dai Fujiwara Monkey A-POC, 2001 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Fables and fairytales are a strong inspiration and the anthropomorphic metamorphosis is expertly highlighted through the designs of Kim Traeger’s rabbit woman, Erika Mizuno’s womanly bear, or Issey Miyake’s monkeys.
Alex Mattsson – The Sixth Sun – RCA MA, 2009 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
The literal frightening feeling is not left aside: Mareunrol’s designs clearly nourish a certain anxiety, whereas Rick Owens’ silhouette is a subtler gothic reference.
The scary is also evoked through humoristic figures, like an amusing red monster dress, or Bernard Wilhem’s ironic draped ghosts, reminiscent of childhood Halloween costumes.
Bas Kosters – Monster Dress, 2009 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Animation, toys, and pop culture are united within the farcical silhouettes of Hideki Seo or Piers Atkinson’s teddy accumulation.
Hideki Seo – Swimming in the Garment – MA Antwerp Royal Academy, 2005 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
I also took notice of some futuristic eco-warriors in the designs of Manon Kundig and Filep Motwary.
Filep Motwary and Maria Masttori – The Forest can Hide us, 2013 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
No themes separate the objects and they are all mixed and diffused in a rather disorganised and chaotic environment which, I believe, was an intentional mise-en-scène.
Besides the digital inspiration, the common thread within the display is the human body. All designers here mutate the human body by hiding it, distorting it, using atypical shapes, vibrant colours, unusual textiles, and extreme abstract elements.
Pierre Antoine Vettorello – Bonnie Magnum vs Samantha Beretta – MA Antwerp Royal Academy, 2009 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Such transformations sometimes evoke art installations rather than genuine fashion design.
Henrik Vibsov – The Solar Donkey Experiment, SS 2010 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Often, the mannequins have a hidden face when it is not simply abandoned. A new reality, an alternative self is created. It also enables the viewer to focus their attention on the clothing only.
Chi He – Oh My Dog – CSM BA, 2011 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
The monsters here are not scary in the genuinely frightening sense. The designers provoke disgust, curiosity, admiration, surprise or disturb but barely frighten. The only true feeling of fear I experienced was within the large, claustrophobic, dark room where a video created by Bart Hess was presented.
Bart Hess- Caged Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
It is clear that formal fashion, the idea of the wearable and traditional aesthetic norms were not the subject here. This exhibition highlights the transformative nature of fashion and the freedom in expressing oneself through clothing.
I also found it very interesting that such an important number of young graduates and students’ creations were presented. It enabled me to reflect upon this new generation eager to propose new ways of designing fashion, new shapes, and new identities.
Andrea Ayala Closa – Denominate a Space – MA Antwerp Royal Academy, 2007 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
Dress often becomes a costume, a disguise that enables the wearer to play with the self and the persona: who are we? What do we hide beneath our clothing? The borders between the beautiful and the ugly are also constantly questioned.
Charlie le Mindu – Blond Lips, SS 2010 and Kiss Freak, 2011 Photo Hayley Dujardin, 2013
What I missed in this exhibit was contextualisation. I would have appreciated videos, drawings, or stills representing the uncommon characters that have inspired the fashion designers. Those (like me!) who are not experts in character design would have valued understanding the various influential phenomenon the exhibition is based on.
However, this display is truly a welcomed, adventurous, refreshing, and imaginative project far from what we are used to seeing in Parisian museums.
Arrrgh! Monstres de Mode is on view until the 7th April, at the Gaité Lyrique, in Paris.
Further Resources:
Duggen, Ginger Gregg, Hoos Fox, Judith and Polhemus, Ted. Not a Toy: Radical Character Design in Fashion and Costume: Fashioning Radical Characters. Berlin: Pictoplasma Publishing, 2011.
Klanten, Robert. Doppelganger: Images of the Human Being. Berlin: Die Gestalten Verlag, 2011.
ATOPOS‘ website is also a fantastic source for those interested in the exhibition’s making-of.
You can also find out more about Craig Green who is the superstar revelation of the display.
Finally, for the L.A based readers, the LACMA is organising a conversation between the provocative fashion designer, Walter Beirendonck (many of his designs are on view within the exhibition), graphic designer, Paul Boudens and curator Kaye D. Spilker.
Brooklyn artist, Caitlin Keogh has a solo show on view at Leslie Fritz gallery in New York through March 30th titledModes. I was pleased to have the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her approach to art making and the interplay between design and fine art. Please read below for our interview.
Caitlin Keogh, Blackpool, Acrylic on MDF, 2012, 16 x 12 inches
Mellissa: One thing that I love about your work is how you often seem to incorporate references to fashion history and decorative arts into many of your projects. I was wondering if you could speak a little bit about your background, and how you may or may not be influenced by fashion and design.
Caitlin: My interest in drawing and painting developed synonymously with learning to sew and loving fabrics. My dad is a painter and printmaker and my mom is a weaver who worked as a seamstress, so I grew up with a lot of both fine and applied arts skills going on. I went to art school, at Cooper, and that was the first time I was expected to make big distinctions between the skills and their various histories. Fine art was taught as a conceptual education, while it seemed like craft was possibly a supportive element to a studio practice, but not terribly relevant or intellectual.
I was really happy when I got a job after graduating making technical drawings for a shoe designer. The drawings were used in the factory for production. It was really important that the image be legible, like instructions, and I loved this practical imperative. I’ve tried to bring that informational clarity, a kind of explicitness, to my work in my studio.
Caitlin Keogh, left: Chassis, Acrylic on MDF, 2012, 16 x 12 inches; right: Tulips, Acrylic on MDF, 2012, 17 x 13 inches
M: As an artist showing in museums and galleries, and operating within the world of fine-art, your appropriation of ideas from other creative practices that have been hierarchically subjugated raises questions about value systems, and sometimes blurs the distinctions between different areas of cultural production. I’m wondering how these divisions within the arts might influence your ideas about making work?
C: That’s a difficult question. While I’ve been really interested in finding out where and what those divisions are, historically, materially, etc., it’s like I try to analyze the opinions about these distinctions, but then make work as if I don’t see any. For example, the Cecil Beaton photo of the model in front of the Pollock painting has been a big source for me. It’s typically framed as a low-blow to modernist abstraction, to put the singular painting into the role of textile design. To me its a beautiful depiction of an artist in her studio standing before her work, whether it’s a weaver or painter or muralist doesn’t much matter. It’s motivating to rewrite that historical moment in such a way that I don’t have to accept the hierarchical narrative. And also I like how Beaton was antagonizing that hierarchy by overlooking the usual separations.
Cecil Beaton photographs, published in Vogue March 1951, paintings by Jackson Pollock
M: In your press release for Modes, you are completely forthcoming about your inspirations and source material for your work. One particularly strong influence that emerges is textile design. In reference to your time spent looking at objects in a Belgian antique store over an extended period abroad, you write:
The things I was searching through at Modes were visually and technically amazing. It was so intimate and beautiful and quiet, all of these tactile, pliable, and colorful scraps, but maybe, importantly, also seemingly unmediated … the objects themselves seemed unmediated from the hands that produced them. There was no distance in terms of design, production, completion, and use. There was just the technique… the ability to make something, or the residue of practice. Just practice. Building something by repetition. It was all so encouraging. It made me feel so optimistic.(Click here to read the essay in its entirety)
Caitlin Keogh, left: Bargello Magic, Acrylic on MDF, 2013, 17 x 13 inches; right: Executed in Deep Maroon, Acrylic on MDF, 2012
M (continued) : I think it’s really interesting that you mention the significance of the unmediated-nature of the objects that you were looking at. Particularly, because when I look at your paintings, as someone who has studied textile design, I see a clear aesthetic link between the art that you’ve created inspired by woven textile-objects, and the preparatory artwork that weavers used to make (before the days of CAD) that were all hand-painted over grids. I always thought that these objects were a form of fine art in themselves, even though they were created for the ultimate production of decorative arts and were viewed as value-less outside of the immediate design industry. In some ways, by focusing on the practice of creating these repetitive motifs and patterns, you’ve distilled a three-dimensional object and returned it to its earliest state, almost capturing the essence or idea behind the items that you were looking at. Yet, rather than appearing inchoate like a sketch or draft, the paintings themselves become striking objects that can stand alone. I’m wondering how intuitive the process of interpreting your source material was, or if you developed a methodology or process of your own to create these works?
C: The process for coming up with the image that will be painted is pretty intuitive. I look for fabrics and pieces of embroidery that are optically unusual and attractive to me. Initially these were older things but now I look for pictures in books or on the internet, so the history of the designs are pretty blurry. The bargello flame stitch has been key for the last couple years, it’s really dynamic, can be made more or less busy and complicated. Also, It’s a simple structure to represent, it’s all on the surface.
Since I’m working in a studio context, I have the benefit of not being beholden to textile trends, seasons, production resources, as an actual designer would be. It’s fictional, and also possibly quite a romantic vision of textile production. CAD systems use another layer of technical information, the code for making the image, which I can’t visualize, so I’m not there yet. And whether or not to turn into a machine is a decision I’d like to put off a little longer.
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Caitlin Keogh graduated from Bard with an MFA in 2011. She received her BFA from Cooper Union in 2006. Additionally, she studied at the Ecole Nationale Superieure Des Beaux-Arts De Paris in 2004. Recent museum exhibitions include a solo presentation at MoMA PS1, New York, and group presentations at Mu.Zee,Ostende, Belgium, as well as Kunsthalle Zurich, Switzerland. She has exhibited widely in group exhibitions including MOT International, Brussels, Belgium; Renwick, New York; White Columns, New York; 179 Canal, New York; and Tiny Creatures, Los Angeles, California.
Modes is on view through March 30, 2013 at Leslie Fritz Gallery, 44 Hester Street, New York. Please see the gallery website for more information.
