November 17, 2010 - May 15, 2011
at the Museum of Arts and Design
Located on Columbus Circle NYC
This has become one of our favorite museums. Their exhibits are well curated, unique, thought provoking and fun. Please explore the link below.
The Global Africa Project features ”the work over 100 artists working in Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States, and the Caribbean” and “surveys the rich pool of new talent emerging from the African continent and its influence on artists around the world. Through ceramics, basketry, textiles, jewelry, furniture, and fashion, as well as selective examples of architecture, photography, painting, and sculpture, the exhibition actively challenges conventional notions of a singular African aesthetic or identity, and reflects the integration of African art and design without making the usual distinctions between "professional" and "artisan."
The work below I find haunting and mesmerizing. It was created by the design team of - Jacques van der Watt and Daniça Lepen. In accepting the Mercedes Benz South Africa Award for Fashion Jacques van der Watt stated:” "With the theme, Modern South Africa, we decided to look at the history of South Africa's traditional dress and how that could be reinterpreted in a modern way. We looked at influences from the past and brought it into a modern context," Daniça Lepen commented further, "our inspiration was that silhouette created when African mothers wrap their children with blankets and carry them on their backs. We took this as our starting point. For the look and feel of the clothes we examined the textures of African hairstyles. We were also taken by the traditional head-to-toe clay colour, but reinterpreted it in a high-performance man-made fabric made with spandex to give it an uncompromisingly modern twist."
Black Coffee
Polyspandex robe, wood on elongated mannequins
Mercedes Benz South Africa Award Installation
http://collections.madmuseum.org/html/exhibitions/508.html
The Global Africa Project features ”the work over 100 artists working in Africa, Europe, Asia, the United States, and the Caribbean” and “surveys the rich pool of new talent emerging from the African continent and its influence on artists around the world. Through ceramics, basketry, textiles, jewelry, furniture, and fashion, as well as selective examples of architecture, photography, painting, and sculpture, the exhibition actively challenges conventional notions of a singular African aesthetic or identity, and reflects the integration of African art and design without making the usual distinctions between "professional" and "artisan."
The work below I find haunting and mesmerizing. It was created by the design team of - Jacques van der Watt and Daniça Lepen. In accepting the Mercedes Benz South Africa Award for Fashion Jacques van der Watt stated:” "With the theme, Modern South Africa, we decided to look at the history of South Africa's traditional dress and how that could be reinterpreted in a modern way. We looked at influences from the past and brought it into a modern context," Daniça Lepen commented further, "our inspiration was that silhouette created when African mothers wrap their children with blankets and carry them on their backs. We took this as our starting point. For the look and feel of the clothes we examined the textures of African hairstyles. We were also taken by the traditional head-to-toe clay colour, but reinterpreted it in a high-performance man-made fabric made with spandex to give it an uncompromisingly modern twist."
Black Coffee
Polyspandex robe, wood on elongated mannequins
Mercedes Benz South Africa Award Installation
http://collections.madmuseum.org/html/exhibitions/508.html
