Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Good grief! I've had quite the absence! Such is life when writing a thesis. (More about that some other time.) What I really want to share is my visit to the Members Preview of "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday!

I've got a golden ticket!

Any expectations I had arrived with were blown away when I entered the exhibition. The space itself had become a reflection of McQueen's voice and vision, and galleries were separated into themes shown consistently throughout the artist's body of work.

 My favorite space was the "Romantic Gothic" gallery, inspired by McQueen's exploration of the Victorian Gothic era. The gallery was dripping with Poe. Walls and floors covered in antique mirrors.  And a soundscape of wind, rain and howling wolves? Yes, please.

"Romantic Gothic" also featured two of my personal favorite McQueen pieces:

black duck feather dress, "The Horn of Plenty"

gold feather and cream tulle gown, "Angels and Demons"

Also of note was "The Cabinet of Curiosities," featuring some of McQueen's most iconic pieces. New obsessions include:

The chess match and knight from "It's Only a Game"

Shalom Harlow's performance in McQueen's Spring/Summer 1999 show:

The experience was awesome, in the truest meaning of the word.

Visit the exhibition's website to view commentary of selected pieces, performance videos, and even a walkthrough of the exhibition itself! Here's the link: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.

Kudos to the Met, The Costume Institute and Alexander McQueen™for making this incredible art accessible!

"Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" runs May 4th-July 31, 2011.

Yoko Ono and Kara Walker in Conversation

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending "Yoko Ono and Kara Walker in Conversation" at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.  Both Ono and Walker have broad artistic practices, but find common ground in addressing social issues such as feminine sexuality/identity, peace/violence and exchanges of power.

Ono shared two performances of "Cut Piece," the first filmed in NYC, 1964:


YOKO ONO CUT PIECE by TECHNOLOGOS

and the second in Paris, 2003.



Walker's body of work has manifested in many different forms, including painted and drawn imagery, wordplay, puppetry, film and projection. She is however, probably best known for her silhouettes that address the African American narrative and create mysterious, bizarre and often harrowing worlds for the characters living within.



In her own words:



Both Yoko Ono and Kara Walker are currently featured in Contemporary Art from the Collection at MoMA.
http://www.moma.org/