“Savage Beauty”, the Alexander McQueen retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum, is a must see.
The majority of McQueen’s designs shown at the exhibition are not wearable —as they do not perform the utilitarian function of clothes. His fabrications are often extension of the human body, which metamorphoses into snakes, trees, sea creatures; a reality which transforms nature into a fantastic world, where unicorns, butterflies, mussels and bones —among many other nature artifacts— become prosthesis of the human body in a surrealistic dark vision.
Romanticism is the recurring theme in many different versions, from the darkness of gothic to the more ethereal
McQueen’s design production was extremely prolific, often at the borderline between fashion and art. His fashion shows were real performance art experiences, including multimedia non only as enhancement of the fashion items presented, but as expression of his visionary thinking and designing. The movies shown are best representing of this thinking, as they can best communicate the itinerary taken by the designer in his creations.
The exhibition was somewhat disturbing but made me think.
And if you seek "grounding" visit the roof installation by Anthony Caro, very much down to Earth, compared to the surreal worlds of Alexander McQueen.Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Metropolitan Museum of Art
May 4, 2011–August 7, 2011
Metropolitan Museum of Art
May 4, 2011–August 7, 2011