Jean Paul Gaultier at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts

Corcirico ensemble for men Haute Couture Fall Winter 2011/2012 collection Jean Paul Gaultier

This men's haute couture ensemble from Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall/Winter 2011 line is one of the additions to the exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. This exhibition which was curated by Nathalie Bondil and Thierry-Maxime Loriot of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art opened yesterday at the Dallas Museum of Art. To read more about Gaultier's design aesthetic and this exhibition, read my article in Vintage and Modern here.

Photo credit: Photo by Patrice Stable courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

When Does Fashion Become Art?

Alexander McQueen Jungle 1997-1998

This is the abstract for my Keynote Address at the Costume Society of America Mid-West Conference presented on October 14, 2011 at 4 pm at the University of Northern Iowa:

When Does Fashion Become Art?  by Ingrid Mida

Clothing can be a visual mirror of our inner selves. We each get dressed in the morning and make choices how to present ourselves to the world. We construct our identity with our choice of clothing and accessories and signal our belonging or not. This expression of identity through dress makes it a ready subject for artistic practices and interpretation and both artists and designers have considered notions of the body and identity as articulated through fashion. 

There has been much debate about whether fashion is art. Fashion scholars such as Sung Bok Kim, Sandra Miller, Anne Hollander and Elizabeth Wilson have considered the question. In my interviews with four museum directors/scholars, including Matthew Teitelbaum of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Nathalie Bondil of the MMFA, Valerie Steele of FIT and Harold Koda of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there was no consensus. This was not surprising given that fashion designers themselves do not agree on whether fashion is art.

It was an instinct – as a result of my work as an artist - that led me to frame the question in a different way. Instead of asking “Is fashion art” it seemed to make more sense to ask “When does fashion become art?” After all, both fashion and art require the translation of an idea into another form. Both disciplines share a visual vocabulary and process-oriented development. Both fashion and art also have commercial aspects driving their conception and both can include multiples in a series or collection.

But, not all fashion is art. What falls into the realm of fashion is just too broad for that statement to be true, especially when fashion can include both garments of haute couture and trendy mass-produced items.

A Conversation with Matthew Teitelbaum of the Art Gallery of Ontario about Art and Fashion

Matthew Teitelbaum, Director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario

Recently I sat down with Matthew Teitelbaum, the Michael and Sonja Koerner Director and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario,  to talk about his views on fashion and art. I was looking for a contrary viewpoint to that of Nathalie Bondil, the Director and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, who during our interview at the Gaultier press preview clearly defined fashion as art. Whether fashion is or is not art is definitely a topic worthy of discussion....  An extract of my conversation with Matthew was published on Fashion Projects here.

Now if only I could get Harold Koda or Anna Wintour to have a chat with me....

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

The Art of the Interview

Nathalie Bondil, Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry-Maxime Loriot at the MMFA
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

Conducting an interview is like a dance. There is a back and forth between interviewer and interviewee that requires finesse and sensitivity. Your senses have to be on high alert, gauging their mood and reactions to your questions, listening to their responses, coming up with the next question..... Depending on their willingness to participate, it can be exhilarating or it can be like pulling teeth.

To my utter surprise and delight, my interviews with Nathalie Bondil, Director and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art and exhibition curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot fell into the exhilarating category. Generous with their time, charming and articulate, they made my job in writing for Fashion Projects look easy. My interview with Nathalie Bondlin was published on Fashion Projects on Wednesday and can be read here.  And my interview with Thierry-Maxime Loriot was published today and can be read here.

And although I did not interview Jean Paul Gaultier directly, I was at the back of a group of about ten journalists and I can attest to his sweet, funny and humble nature. The one thing he said that has stuck with me was this:  "Be yourself. Have confidence in yourself. Live your dream." 

Jean Paul Gaultier's Teddy Bear with a Shell Bra
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Scenes from the Preview of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier

MMFA, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo by Ingrid MIda 2011

JPG Smart Car
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Press waiting to preview the JPG exhibition
Photo by Ingrid Mida

As I waited outside yesterday at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to enter the press preview of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, I was feeling a bit jaded. Although it has been said that "fashion is for everybody", sometimes that world can be a bit insular. And while my niche in writing about art and fashion is a unique one, it still requires me to have a thick skin.

Red carpet shoes
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Luckily it was not long before my spirits were lifted. At the press conference, Nathalie Bondil, director and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts talked about her vision for the exhibition of Jean Paul Gaultier's work. She saw beyond the provocative and humourous aspects of his work, identifying him as a contemporary artist with an important but subtle message about the dictates of beauty, where "everyone can wear his fashions regardless of size, age, gender, or sexual identity". She thought that this was something society needed to hear and initiated the exhibition which was funded by the museum, (an important distinction in my mind compared to marketing oriented exhibitions funded by the fashion house). Although Ms. Bondil described herself as "not a fashion person", she is both beautiful in looks and spirit. When one well known fashion diva walked in twenty minutes late to the conference and started up the self-serve espresso machine, Ms. Bondil laughed and said "Je me recommence" (I start again). And at the end of the day, I had a one-on-one half hour interview for Fashion Projects with Ms. Bondil and she was as articulate, gracious and fresh as if it was her first interview.

Nathalie Bondil, JPG, and Thierry Maxime Loroit
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

Jean Paul Gaultier being interviewed for TV in the Skin Deep Gallery
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Jean Paul Gaultier laughed often and was both humble and sweet. He said "I am no longer l'enfant terrible. I am just the old terrible."  He worked hard to convey his message that "there is not only one type of beauty".   I'm not sure how many other journalists appreciated his humanist approach to fashion, but it was refreshing to hear it spoken.

On the steps of the MMFA
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

I have so much more to share about The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier and will follow up in upcoming posts with links to my review and interview for Fashion Projects as well as photos and video clips.

This exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts opens to the public on Friday, June 17, 2011 and runs until October 2, 2011. It will later travel to Dallas, San Francisco, Madrid and the Netherlands.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier

Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo courtesy of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

I'm off to Montreal this morning to attend tomorrow's press preview of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. And I'm going even though there is a looming strike at Air Canada and there are a myriad of important events on the schedule for this week.

From what I've read and seen in the advance press materials, the show is going to be spectacular. I was granted interviews with curators Nathalie Bondil and Thierry Maxime Loriot and will be writing an exhibition review for Fashion Projects.

In preparation for my trip, I looked back at posts I wrote about Gaultier in the past (of which there are nine!). I also reread my posts from June 2008 about the Yves Saint Laurent retrospective which also was held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Back then, I wished that I'd been able to attend the opening for that exhibition and three years later I have just such an invitation in hand....