Jean Paul Gaultier at the de Young... I like saying that out-loud. It just rolls off the tongue, unlike the pieces featured at the exhibit. Gaultier's work doesn't "roll-off" anything, or flow, or gently meander, or anything of the sort, rather, it takes ginormous leaps, and crashes, and breaks into a million pieces, and reassembles itself. At times its loud. At times bright and sour. At times it seems to happen in slow motion. At times it even travels back in time...
What the hell am I talking about? Well, I went to the exhibit and upon seeing the first works I thought: ok, this is weird guy who makes "couture" pieces that could have originated from some snobby art-school type making "art." Gaultier is hailed as being an Avant-Garde artist, a resurector of Haute Couture, an inspired and rebellious man. And, it turns out that indeed, he is an incredible and fascinating artist, and that I need to shut-the-hell-up when I have no evidence for what I am talking about.
I have good things to say now, and evidence to base them on, so continue reading...
Oliver and I entered the first exhibition room and saw these maniquins with animated reflections on the face (so they were looking around the room and speaking... it was creepy/cool). They were wearing pieces from his Virgins Collection. I love how fluid all the fabrics are, the unconventionality of the designs-- channeling the gentleness of the Virgin, yet incorporating an element of fetishism and vulnerability (e.g the top-less one in the back left, the bleeding hart flowing into the draping of the dress of the one in the back right).
Gaultier not only understands, but creates femininity and decadence.
This is a piece from from his Russia-inspired Collection. I love the color, and the romanticism channeled in this particular piece. All the colored stripes and flowers are hand-made and decorated with sequins. Incredibly labor intensive and exquisitely crated.
OK, this hat, ridiculous right? But look at it! The choice of color-- POP! By the way, it's all beaded. BEADED. This is dedication. Would I wear it? No, but that isn't the point. The point is that it's commendable to continually see work that is so different, so carefully crafted, so well thought-out, and so passionate.
Well, not only is this beautiful,
just beautiful! The kicker is: the animal here is not real... it's bead work! BEAD WORK. It's so precise.
I can't quite remember, but it's pretty clear that this fits into some Spain-themed collection. Look at the embroidery. I like that the pants are ivory-colored, framed by the black embroidery that holds back a muted red. I like that the patterns are of flowers. I also like how 'clean' the whole piece is-- this is what makes it so elegant! I see this and I think: Gaultier gets it. He didn't just imitate or duplicate something that existed; he also didn't create a sloppily-inspired version of the original. Rather, he took to internalizing the subject matter with great care. I feel that this must be so because contrast of the black and ivory make this a bold piece (note, not white, white would have cheapened it). However, the careful and precise embroidery give this an air of delicate elegance. That is what toreadors are about: boldness and elegance. Pulling those two qualities together is an art, and seeing this channeled here is absolutely inspiring.
I love the gypsy quality of these. Also note that they are intricate, and clearly well thought out. Despite the madness that is going on, and the fact that I would never wear these (again, that is not the point), I can see where this came from, and it's evident that a lot of time was spent in the thought and development of these. This reminds me of the good ol' days when I used to teach in grad school, and I only needed to look at a student's assignment briefly to say if the student had completed the assignment thoughtfully. It's the same thing here, and I saw it everywhere-- Gaultier is thought-full.
Other pieces showcased. I like that this was set-up as a runway, and that the maniquins circled about as though it was.
The belle of the ball...
Gaultier also channels a lot of eroticism. This was my favorite display from that collection.
Gaultier-- truly great. So happy I went!
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Then we spent some time in the park, this is what I'll show for it:
xoxo,
S
