Fashion Copious

Tilda Swinton As Art Piece At MoMA

This took place Saturday.

Gothamist: MoMA Visitors Delightfully Surprised By Tilda Swinton Sleeping In A Box

Tilda Swinton has currently taken up residency sleeping at MoMA. It's part of an unannounced, surprise performance piece called "The Maybe" that will be taking place on random days all month year (see updated details below). A MoMA source told us, "Museum staff doesn't know she's coming until the day of, but she's here today. She'll be there the whole day. All that's in the box is cushions and a water jug."

Exhibit: Maciek Kobielski's White Nudes

The Last Magazine: MACIEK KOBIELSKI'S WHITE NUDES

Also: Models.com has an interview with him.

Prince New Work

A FANTASTIC BODY OF NEW WORK BY RICHARD PRINCE at Sadie Coles Gallery, London

Inez & Vinoodh Exhibit Gagosian Paris

Outsider Art Fair 2013

NYC. Jan 31^st - Feb 3^rd. Website.

Good Reads | How to Paint

I've recently been avoiding reading articles, and hence sharing them with you, so that I may catch up on some books i've been neglecting reading. And so the Good Reads section has been running dry. So be it; I think this is right. The book i'm currently reading is Cezanne: A Life by Alex Danchev. It's a great look at the monumental painter and below are a couple of quotes from the book.

One of the boldest pronouncements ever made by one artist to another was made by Picasso in homage to Cézanne:

It is not what the artist does that counts, but what he is. Cézanne wouldn't be of the slightest interest to me if he had lived and thought the Jacques-Émile Blanche, even if the apple he painted had been ten times as beautiful. What is of interest to us is Cézanne's inquietude, that is Cézanne's lesson ... that is to say, the drama of the man. The rest is false.

Also, Pissarro, to Cézanne:

“Look for the kind of nature that suits your temperament. The motif should be observed more for shape and color than for drawing. There is no need to tighten the form which can be obtained without that. Precise drawing is dry and hampers the impression of the whole, it destroys all sensations. Do not define too closely the outlines of things; it is the brushstroke of the right value and color which should produce the drawing. In a mass, the greatest difficulty is not to give the contour in detail, but to paint what is within. Paint the essential character of things, try to convey it by any means whatsoever, without bothering about technique. When painting, make a choice of subject, see what is lying at the right and at the left, then work on everything simultaneously. Don’t work bit by bit, but paint everything at once by placing tones everywhere, with brushstrokes of the right color and value, while noticing what is alongside. Use small brushstrokes and try to put down your perceptions immediately. The eye should not be fixed on one point, but should take in everything, while observing the reflections which the colors produce on their surroundings. Work at the same time upon sky, water, branches, ground, keeping everything going on an equal basis and unceasingly rework until you have got it. Cover the canvas at the first go, then work at it until you can see nothing more to add. Observe the aerial perspective well, from the foreground to the horizon, the reflections of sky, of foliage. Don’t be afraid of putting on color, refine the work little by little. Don’t proceed according to rules and principles, but paint what you observe and feel. Paint generously and unhesitatingly, for it is best not to lose the first impression. Don’t be timid in front of nature: one must be bold, at the risk of being deceived and making mistakes. One must have only one master—nature; she is the one always to be consulted."

On working hard:

Getting to know Pissarro transformed Cézanne’s attitude to his craft. “I lived like a bohemian until I was forty,” he told Bernard, with pardonable exaggeration. “I wasted my life. It was only later, when I knew Pissarro, who was indefatigable, that I got a taste for work.” “Work” meant execution, and production, but also a felt need to push oneself—to stretch—and at the same time to push a painting to the limit, in Cézanne’s parlance. “All the great artists have been great workers,” as Nietzsche said, “tireless not only in invention but also in rejecting, sifting, transforming, ordering.”

One more; Cézanne:

"Let us study nature in all its beauty, let us try and grasp its spirit, let us seek to express ourselves according to our individual temperament. Besides, time and reflection modify our vision, little by little, and finally understanding comes."

★ Darger

Ricco/Maresca Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, 3rd Floor NYC.

'A Gentleman Desires Violet'

A small painting I did this week. Of great meaning.

New Direction

Some new [experimental] paintings, that i've done over the past ten days. While in the same family as my previous work, these do take on a new direction [and technique], and i'm now pausing to see if it's something I want to push forward with. For those of you who care about order, below left came first, then middle, then right. The above one was last, which I did last night.

Exhibit: Mannequin — le corps de la mode

The Musée Galliera presents:
Mannequin — le corps de la mode
Opens: February 1^st
Paris

 

The model is one of the vital cogs in the couture house and ready-to-wear machines, reproduced ad infinitum from the earliest 19th century fashion illustrations through today's magazines, advertising slots and videos. Shaped by and for fashion, she embodies all the contradictions of an industry torn between business and creativity and chronically committed to producing images.

Models were once called "mannequins", a borrowing from French and initially a reference to the wickerwork dummies used to display garments in the dressmaker's workshop. When applied to living models the term kept its implication of an "inanimate object" existing to call potential buyers' attention to the garment. The model, to use today's word, has been tirelessly promoted as a feminine ideal of youth and beauty, an artificial embodiment of perfection intended to win over the clientele. In response to the fashion economy's need for profitability, she has been reduced to a specific format, forced into repetitive, mechanical poses and moulded with makeup and retouching. A pure product of her era, the model as model body must meet physical and aesthetic requirements which, as part of a specific commercial context, leave little or no room for individuality or realism.

Beginning in the early 20th century, society women and actresses were long fashion's ongoing icons, endowing brands and magazines with the benefits of their fame. It was only later that the faces and names of professional models became generally known, revealed by the couturiers and photographers whose creations and muses they were. As stars and celebrities they were instruments for selling the glossies. Recognisable but malleable, they capitalised on image and personality, adopting fictional roles under the stage-management of photographers whose fantasies they embodied and promoted beyond the world of fashion.

From the anonymous model to the cover girl, from the clothes horse to the sex symbol, from the supermodel to the girl next door: ambivalence is all in the sheer mass of photographs devoted to the model's commercial, aesthetic and human worth, and the stereotypes she represents. In this choice of images mostly from the Musée Galliera collection, the exhibition offers a history of fashion photography from the point of view not only of the photographer, but of the model as well.

Sylvie Lécallier, exhibition curator and coordinator of the Musée Galliera photography collection

WWD:

The show will present close to 120 images of fashion models from videos and magazines, combined with actual mannequins. It includes the work of photographers Horst P. Horst, Erwin Blumenfeld, Henry Clarke, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Nick Knight, Corinne Day and Juergen Teller.

 

 

New

A painting I completed today.

Photography As Fine Art

One of the things that have been consuming my interest as of late is the idea of photography as Fine Art. As a Painter it's taking me a little time to break it down and make sense of it. To help me along i'm reading some books on the subject, including Roland Barthes' Camera Lucida (which Jane gave me), and talking to some friends who are experts on the subject. I'm also looking at photographers that are considered fine art photographers, to assist my physical eyes. So, last night, as I was looking at a William Eggleston book (that I received as a gift from Kelsey), I think I came to terms that 1) Yes, Photography can achieve the status of Fine Art, and that 2) Its qualification is that of painting and other fine arts, and that is that it needs to transcend. Could it reach the same width and depth of Painting? My initial reaction is no, but those are questions i'll worry about soon after. [The reason is I say no though is that photography fights ambiguity, the other thing needed in fine art, besides transcendence].

The reason i'm sharing all this with you is the below article on the matter, [in which you'll find additional links to other articles I recommend you read]. They are all initiated by a new photography exhibit at the National Gallery in London titled Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present.

Chase Jarvis: The ‘Vulgar’ Photographer — Trespasser on the Sacred Ground of Fine Art?

It’s a battle that’s been fought since photography arrived on the scene as a medium of visual expression. To its critics, it’s been nothing more than a glorified means of copying or reproducing something. To its proponents, it’s every bit as legitimate an art form as painting and sculpture. Regardless of which side you come down on, photography has always had to struggle to gain acceptance in the fine art world, especially in museums.

Now, one of the most prominent museums in the world is adding a photography exhibit to its repertoire, and there are quite a few folks who aren’t happy about it.

...

This is the National Gallery’s first major exhibit of photography, and for a number of reasons, it’s being heavily panned by critics. That criticism is stretched into a critique of the place of photography in the world of art.

“Photography,” says Graham-Dixon, “lacks the depth and heft, the thinking sense of touch, that painting possesses.”

I'm opening up the comment section below, in case you have any books/articles recommendations, for me to read. As well as other photographers I should be looking at.

Good Reads | White Art

Art

Art Info: Diversify or Die: Why the Art World Needs to Keep Up With Our Changing Society

For make no mistake about it, the “emerging majority” thesis has great significance for art and its institutions. Cosmopolitan New York is a majority minority city, and has been for as long as anyone can remember. But walk from the subway towards any gallery opening or museum party, and watch the color drain away. In fact, for some time now, the people who crunch the data on cultural participation have been warning that the art world's inability to address this issue threatens its very future.

...

The data tells the story. As of 2008, non-Hispanic whites made up close to 80 percent of visitors to museums, even though they were only about 70 percent of the population. Another study, by Reach Advisors, polled 40,000 museum-going households. Among those who frequented art museums, a stunning 92 percent identified as white, and only 16 percent identified as a minority  

"Cutting-Edge" Photography

Galleria Carla Sozzani:

PHOTOGRAPHY brings together some of the most prominent photographers in fine art and fashion, under a common theme, and provides visitors with an unprecedented opportunity to experience the very latest, cutting-edge photographic expressions. PHOTOGRAPHY includes new works by William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Nan Goldin, Martin Parr, Terry Richardson and Ryan McGinley.

The exhibition consists of approximately 25 new prints that are reflective of each photographer’s distinctive aesthetic, from William Eggleston’s iconic Americana; Stephen Shore’s intensive snapshot documentation; Nan Goldin’s poetic self-reflection; Martin Parr’s whimsical observations of contemporary living; Terry Richardson’s stark, blunt simplicity; and Ryan McGinley’s images of youth and beauty.

Let's take a look at these cutting-edge photos:

The Weakness Of 'Art Photography'

I more and more believe that photographers who want to be taken seriously as fine artists should only produce a single production of a photo. The same way a painter only paints a single one off. This idea of producing multiple copies in editions is utter bullshit, and the reason why art photography is perceived inferior to painting, sculpture, etc... Artist's Proof is another marketing joke in the life of a photographer. No guts, no glory.

Art In America: What's In A Number

In April, New York collector Jonathan Sobel made headlines when he filed suit against Memphis photographer William Eggleston (b. 1939) and the Eggleston Artistic Trust over the production and sale of recently made digital pigment prints of the pioneering colorist's work from the 1970s and '80s.

Sobel, who had amassed over the past decade one of the largest private holdings of Eggleston's limited-edition dye-transfer prints, claims that many of the new pigment prints violate the New York State law governing limited editions, diluting the rarity and thus the value of his collection, estimated to be worth between $3 and $5 million.1 Sobel also assumed that since each of the prints he acquired was from a previously issued limited edition, no further prints of those images would ever be made.