Double Feature III

A 'False Encyclopaedia' double feature with James Dobson, discussing:
Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2015

I'm going to be honest, I couldn't help but feel ever so slightly ripped-off at Rei's latest outing... there's a little part of me that cringes when I see constructions like this on the catwalk as I can instantly imagine it flashing on peoples TV screens during the late night news, in that little 'light relief segment' at the end as an illustration of how 'wacky' fashion is, and Brian and Shirley sitting at home dunking their chocolate wheatens into their milky tea having a little chuckle and saying something like "You'd look good in that Shirley". 

For a label that is capable of moving people to tears, this collection, dare I say it, felt a little predictable. Sure, red, the most provacative of colours (yawn), the colour of harlots, cardinals and baboon's arses has a lot of power but after a few seasons of these hefty assemblages staggering down the catwalk wouldn't the next unexpected step be something positively wearable? 

Wouldn't that be more provocative?

/JAMES

All I thought was organs, organs, organs. Sarah Lucas, Louise Bourgeois, Hannah Wilke. So, feminism is in fashion. But then, the clothes were anti-fem. Why doesn't Rei just throw pillows on women?
/HORST





1. Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2015
2. Comme des Garçons Fall/Winter 2014
3. Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2014
4. Cardinals Vatican City, 2013
5. Hannah Wilke Untitled, 1980
6. Louise Bourgeois Cell XIV, 2000
7. Sarah Lucas Nice Tits, 2011
8. Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2015

The Cyber Woman, Mechanical Dolls

1. Hans Bellmer Machine Gunneress In A State Of Grace, 1937
2. Sarah Lucas Bunny Gets Snookered, 1997

When Hans and Sarah erect 'female material sculpture', sexual identity has eaten itself. There is no in and out. Physical interaction is impossible. Femancipation is the construct of disembodied bodies.
/HORST

The Cyber Woman, Robots

1. D&G Spring/Summer 2001
2. Hussein Chalayan Fall/Winter 2009
3. Karl Lagerfeld Vogue, 2010
4. Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2007

The fembot is the anti-emotional archetype of feminism, introduced in the 1927 silent film 'Metropolis' and repeatedly quoted ever since. Yet, the stainless steel surface remains projection screen for erotic fantasies. Femancipation is the construct of virtual porn.
/HORST

Mrs. Carter's Non-Collaborateurs, In Non-Chronological Order

1. Herb Ritts Andie MacDowell in Hawaii, 1984
2. Leonor Fini The Ends Of The Earth, 1949
3. Marylin Minter Splish Splash, 2005
4. Irving Penn Issey Miyake, 1991
5. Man Ray Le Violon d'Ingres, 1924
6. Herb Ritts El Mirage, 1990
7. René Magritte The Lovers, 1928
8. Guy Bourdin In Between, 2010
9. René Laloux Fantatsic Planet, 1973
10. Erwin Blumenfeld Vogue, 1950
11. Robert Mapplethorpe Lisa Lyon, 1980

For her self-entitled #VisualAlbum 'BEYONCÉ', Beyoncé has been seeking expressionist advice from French surrealism and its tradition in film and fashion photography.

Beyond well-established motifs of modern and contemporary art, the content also reflects something soft-political: feminist speech clashes with sexist slang ('Bow Down Bitches') and masochistic submission ('I Cooked This Meal For You Naked.'). A work on rough love, drunk love, jealousy. Not an artwork though - but a commercially valuable, visual-acustic product.
/HORST

Portraits Of An Artist V

1. Yves Klein Gelsenkirchen Opera, 1959
2. Andy Warhol The Velvet Years, 1965
3. K.P. Brehmer Berlin studio, 1974
4. Marina Abramović Rhythm 10, 1973
5. Joan Mitchell Paris studio, 1957
6. Yayoi Kusama Infinity Nets, 1961
7. Yayoi Kusama Infinity Nets, 1961

While portraits of male artists often show the subject dirty and proud, either right before completion or while revealing the final result, female artists seem to be captured in the sensual act of creation itself - in an almost meditative manner, pausing, thinking.
/HORST

A Short History Of Typography In Popular Culture VII

1. Barbara Kruger Untitled (Your Gaze Hits The Side Of My Face), 1981
2. Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2002
3. Jay-Z Magna Carta Holy Grail, 2013
4. Barbara Kruger Untitled (I Shop Therefore I Am), 1987
5. Helmut Lang Fall/Winter 1997
6. Bruce Weber Helmut Lang, Fall/Winter 1997
7. Acne Spring/Summer 2013
8. Barbara Kruger Untitled (Are We Having Fun Yet?), 1987
9. Acne Spring/Summer 2013
10. Barbara Kruger Untitled (You Are Not Yourself), 1982
11. Raf Simons Spring/Summer 1998

Barbara Krüger collaborates with Kanye West. Louise Bourgeois poses for Helmut Lang. Raf Simons quotes the Sex Pistols. What they share is a 'cut and paste' approach and sense for the censored message. Black bars and red markers constitute their visual language. An advertisement for feminism, hedonism and consumerism. Are we having fun yet?
/HORST