Fashion IS Art

Oh how I love outrageous fashion. Lady Gaga is my hero. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.

Now look at the picture of this woman on the right. Would you look at her and say, "that is a woman who loves crazy fashion"? Probably not. My personal style leans more towards Donna Karan then Betsy Johnson. I shop more at Target then Barney's. I RARELY wear jewelry or a belt, it just feels like too much. Lip gloss is generally my version of makeup.

Now the big reveal: I ADORE Alexander McQueen. For years I have looked at his fashions with lust. I dreamed of owning one of his works of art. A few years ago McQueen did a line for Target. I tried on every piece hoping to fulfill my fantasy at a price I could afford. No dice. There was no way I would ever wear any of those clothes, even at a reduced price tag. Sigh.

When he died, I felt a loss. A true artist, creating wearable pieces that transended their purpose. Maybe I should have bought one of those dresses at Target and just hung it in a frame.

If you are a lover of fashion or art, you will want to check out the costume institute at The Met for their Savage Beauty exhibit, opening May 2011. McQueen in his glory, all 19 years of his career. His most interesting and original pieces on display for 3 months.

epilogue: Target announced that they will be re-releasing some of their most popular dresses from the GO collection over the last 5 years. Sale starts March 13th, be sure to check it out.

Appropriation

ap·pro·pri·ate
Pronunciation: \ə-ˈprō-prē-ˌāt\
1 : to take exclusive possession of 2 : to set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use 3 : to take or make use of without authority or right


I have had such fear of being seen as unoriginal that I have shied away from things that I have a genuine interest in documenting visually. My idea was this week to show some of my favorite artists doing just the thing that I fear to do.



The first and best example of appropriation has to be Roy Lichtenstein. He is the king of comic book art as fine art. The reason I chose this image is because I have done many pieces with Converse sneakers (one of my many obsessions) and have never seen this painting before. It just goes to show, you can be derivative without even realizing it.

Keith Haring has been a favorite of mine for a long time. His work is very minimal and also quite derivative of comic book art. He started out as a graffiti artist which makes this piece interesting to me. It definitely borrows themes from ancient Egypt, some of the original graffiti artists. Those guys really knew how to decorate a wall!

Lastly, I had to talk about Pablo Picasso. Definitely the most famous of the three artists I am discussing. Partially because he has done the most work, but also because he has the oldest work. The picture on the left shows a painting based on the famous story of Don Quixote. Like many artists he has taken a story and brought it to life with his images.

Basically, the point of this was to convince myself that it is OK to use what you know. Not everything can be 100% original, in fact it is impossible to not have the things around you inspire the art on the page.