Art Meets Fashion

If you are in Milan, today is the last day of John Baldessari's art-meets-fashion Giacometti Variations, on show at Fondazione Prada. Curated by Germano Celant, the exhibition has nine 4.5 meter high Giacometti-esque figures all lined up as if they were in a fashion show presentation. We are all inspired by artists from different periods and this is a great visual showing a layered inspiration by Baldessari-Giacometti-Degas and other more current culture references.

Baldessari claims also to have been influenced by the cotton skirt and bodice worn by Degas' bronze dancer, La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans - with these rotated at various junctures during the running of the exhibition.

'It is au courant, almost de rigueur that fashion models be extremely tall and thin,' says the veteran conceptual artist. 'Giacometti figures are the most emaciated and skinny sculptures that exist. Why not fuse the two?'.  

Of the whole Baldessari states: 'Is this parody? I’m not sure. I hate categories and definitions - I certainly am borrowing. Isn’t this what artists do? Doesn’t art arise from art? What I am doing is furthering an idea - that is the requirement of any good art.'

 Embellishments on models have included elongated ladders,

 giant crystal-encrusted ruby slippers,

 vividly-coloured hula hoops,

 decorative birds,

and a stack of books.  

text by: Malgorzata Stankiewicz 

more photos and info here

A Celebration in Pink+Green

Winter is for the birds

artwork by Laura Loving , enamel on canvas, 10x10

I was only too happy to slip into my flip flops

sugar cookie by Bernadette Gallego

to spend the holidays with family in West Palm Beach

tableau of personal things: Lilly Pulitzer: A Guide to Colorful Holidays,

elephant bag from the Siem Reap flea market,

vintage sunglasses from Melrose Place,

sequined bag from acquaintance Christina Yu of Ipa-Nima fame,

Lilly P pouches, green leather bag from Hong Kong with Luella pompom keychain

It began with a spectacular surprise at The Breakers

my senses were in full bloom

gumamela/hibiscus from Alegre Beach Resort Cebu

the ocean never fails to balance me

Frou La La napkin ring in green turbo shell

with baby starfish on vintage ribbon, boar tooth, freshwater pearl,

wood beads, swarovski crystals strung in coconut beads

A.Postcard.Perfect.Moment.

from the Lilly Pulitzer holiday stationery collection

I couldn't ask for a better birthday celebration that turned into a week long affair

surprise birthday cake from Bernadette Gallego on my big 3-0

of flowers

flower centerpiece from a best friend's wedding reception

food and wine

one of Garrison Rousseau's fabled dinners

corals and carved bone crustaceans from F.S. Henemader's

sweetness

Crema Catalan fresh from Bernadette Gallego's kitchen

song

Lillified Steinway

and merriment!

photo from my Moroccan themed 27th birthday at my father's garden (2002)

I've always been enamoured by the pink and green mix.

fashion shoot for Zee Magazine's Most Stylish 2006

vintage dress by New Yorker in Manila, iguana-Martin Gallego's pet,

jade & diamond ring-family heirloom,

photography by Jon Unson, makeup by Romero Vergara

bougainvillea on terrace, Alegre Beach Resort Cebu (2005)

coffee table tableau at Richard Stolzman's beach paradise in Mactan Island (2003)

facade of Alex Kafe, Argao (2005)

sideroad bushes, Pilar, a fishing village in Siargao (2005)

beach house of Ed and Bernadette Gallego, Alcoy (2005)

Tops, lookout point in Cebu (2004)

the sweet Margarita at our Cebu Mardi Gras brunch

with my parasol from Saigon's Ben Thanh market (2006)

Its vibrant cheer immortalized by icons

Dorothy Draper and Lilly Pulitzer,

photos from Renovation Therapy blog

The colors were also my inspiration for an Advanced Textiles school project

photo taken at an abaca weaving hut in Alcoy, Cebu (2005)

pink and green raffia lariat necklace by Ethnic Ventures

where I used the image of one of my favorite sculptures,

Woman with Her Throat Cut by Alberto Giacometti

for a sinisterly whimsical tangent.

Segueing into Christmas

photo from Freshome blog

card from the Lilly Pulitzer holiday stationery collection

we partook in holiday feasts

another one of Garrison Rousseau's fab table arrangements

he designed the china for Shanghai Tang

table linens from Iloilo made of indigenous fibers (2003)

much tooo much

photo from the old Schnadig showroom, High Point Market (2005)

With my embonpoint, I am starting to look like this ornament

but also filled with new lovely memories of family

photo from Lilly Pulitzer holiday collection

no time for food related postsantum depression

I relish the blessings of 2009 and have purged its ills.

photo taken from the Hot Springs Pharmacy, Virginia

where everything has eerily stood the test of time (2007)

Ready to greet 2010 infused with pink champagne

photo from moblog

with my nearest and dearest from all over the world!

Pink Champagne by Julia Gilmore

*photos, unless noted, are from personal archives*

Attached is a video by Fashion TV Philippines documenting the Zee Magazine fashion shoot.