june bum park

When I saw artist June Bum Park's Finger Parking in the Otherworldly exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design, I thought maybe he'd done it all in post-production, superimposing his hands over the footage of a busy street.  It turns out he does it all in camera!  Filmed from a rooftop, it's just a question of optics and perspective that allows his giant hands to manipulate the tiny world below.  Simple, but so smart.

See another of his short films after the jump...

savage beauty

Day 2 in new york was reserved for priority number 1: Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty at the Met.  I got up at 7, we were out the door by 8, and by 9:15 we were in line behind about 250 people, but in front of another 200 or so.  Doors opened at 9:30, and by noon we were stepping into McQueendom.  Yes, we spent about 2 1/2 hrs in line, and then through the actual exhibit itself we moved through the rooms packed shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of others, almost carried by the current.  Was it worth it?  YES.  If you're in nyc, tomorrow's the last day, so RUN and see this. 

The pieces, almost every single one of them, were enough to blow my mind.  But the installation too was absolutely gorgeous, a series of rooms each with its own macabre personality, some mirrored all around (so you could see every garment from every imaginable angle) and some like old palaces with torches on the wall.  Even the music they had accompanying each space was perfect. 

What really moved me though was the sense of scope you got of this man's genius, the sheer expanse of his artistry.  He was not just a brilliant designer, who thought outside the box as far as his clothes were concerned, he was an artist who worked with different mediums and wasn't hindered by the limits of traditional fashion.  There was no fear in his work, but rather a belief in his own vision, no matter how out there, that was truly inspiring.  He created films and holograms and whole universes in his collections, and that intensity of creative drive was so exciting to see.  Even husband was impressed and inspired.   We left feeling inspired, moved, uplifted, motivated, and saddened by the loss of such a great artist.

Of course we bought the book.  And the calendar.  And some magnets.  Ok, ok, and a postcard or two.

              images from fashion for lunch,  sandi in the city, beauty anonymous, style.com, life and style madrid, renan jay pacson

julio romero de torres

One of my favorite spanish painters is Julio Romero de Torres. There's an entire museum dedicated to him in Cordoba, but unfortunately the few times I've tried to go it's been closed for remodeling. The women in his paintings are so mesmerizing, with their languid poses and piercing gazes.  The paintings are so spanish to me, not just in the subject matter of these doe-eyed dark-haired ladies with oranges and black lace, but in the level of intense drama that for me is so typical of spanish culture. 

More beauties after the jump...

shaun tan

 

This weekend we went to the Reina Sofia.  I was hoping to see the Miroslaw Balka exhibit, but it turns out it was in Burgos, so that was a little disappointing.  Of course we enjoyed the museum anyways, as we always do.  And then as a bonus, in the gift shop we discovered this wonderful book:  

 

Some of you may be familiar with Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia, which was one of the NY Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2009. I always check that list for christmas presents, and remember that book, but I hadn't seen any of his other work.  Now I'm a huge fan.  Children's books? Don't be fooled, these are for all of us.

More amazing illustrations after the jump...