Anne & Mark’s Art Party Closing Bash

OK – it’s been over a week now and I really should have had this post up long ago but I’ve been suffering from an art hangover like you wouldn’t believe (unless of course, you were at the party)!

In fact, this is what the inside of my brain looks like now – a cacophony of pattern, lights and color like this giant kaleidoscope by Ned Greene!

Or this detail from Emanuela Harris-Sintamarian’s gouache Die Gesteze der Stukturen!

And here are the synapses of my grey matter firing in pops of dreamy florasl and dandelion puffs of exploding fractals seen here in Carrie Lederer’s Clear Night!

The computer of my mind is overloaded and is threatening to crash (detail from Karen Gutfruend’s CTRT ALT DEL)!

And my dreams are haunted by a blind white rabbit, thank you Tulio Flores and Asiel Design….so here we go – one more trip down the rabbit hole before I move on!

First of all I’d like to thank everyone who made it out to see my Florilegia and shared with me their response to the work – this input is simply invaluable to an artist  and means do much!  Thank you , thank you , thank you!

And then there were the visitors who seemed like they were exertions of my paintings!

So Fabulous!

And then there were my art crushes…..like this discarded cigarette packaging piece by Robert Larson.  He was able to take something dirty and disgusting and transform it into something sublime!  I smelled it too  – not a hint of nicotine or anything else. Pure alcmemy!

I also adored this woman’s torso fashioned from safety pins, Lacey by Bob Marzewski, like little stars or snowflakes tenuously welded together.

Lorraine Lawson’s missed media paintings,  Bob Marzeweski’s torsos and Tessie Barrera-Scharaga’s Matrix of Chaos, an installation piece of multiple images of the Virgin and kneeling benches.

So easy to get lost wandering through the maze of galleries – at least if you’re doing it right.

Kristin Lindseth’s prints.

Gianfranco Paolozzi’s Journal, enamel, robber paint, glue on recycled role of paper.

Will Marino’s Paradigm Shift , wound and folded paper

Patrick Hofmeister’s Aware.

Malia Landis’s IIiima in Kiawe.

Marianne Lettieri’s Memory Bank.

Lynn Dao’s Domestic Apocalypse

Love the simplicity of this delicate bowl  against a simple grey background in this oil painting by Deborah Trilling.

John Hylton’s Moon Watcher, canvas, paint wood.

Monica Van den Dool’s Behold in front of Emanuela Harris-Sintamarian’s gouache  Die Gesteze der Stukturen.

Wesley T. Wright – California Coyote – Stoneware, underglaze, glaze, concrete, steel in front of Nanette Wylde’s monoprints.

It was such a delight to meet Natalia Bertotti and Michael Garlington who collaborate on intensely dark, curious and magical images that somehow tap into some cultural core of ours – Grimm’s American fairytale crossed with something ripped out of the headlines of an old newspaper – or rather the stories that was never fit to print or maybe a precursor to a circus side show. They photographed Susan Sarandon in amazing paper dresses here’s a link to this process.

          

Love the flask action!

I’m not even sure what I’m looking at here, but it feels like a pierced and leaking Padora’s Box emptying out into a sea of melting glaciers – a big old barrel of global warming by Briget Henry with Ann Altstatt. Feel free to go with another interpretation!

Grant Wells’s  Ocean Structure 1, pigment transfer on canvas.

Tim Craighead’s oil and alkyd on linen, Without Constantini.

Adon Vaneziano’s sculptures.

Brian Taylor’s  Changing Nature, photography.

Dotti Cichon with her installation she collaborated on with Jamila Rufaro.

Pantea Karimi and her paper vovelles.

With Lorraine Lawson and her mixed media paintings.

Sara Cole’s Forgotten Women 2 , acrylic, graphite, gesso on paper.

Oleg Lobykin’s bronze Flex Cube.

Ann Sconberg’s  photography,Thirteen One and Two.

Quinn Peck’s archival ink jet print on fabric.

Betsy Braun-Kernaghan and her mixed media work.

Michelle Longosz photographs.

A detail from Jenifer Renzel’s The Contraption.

Vanessa Callanta’s self portrait.

Marc D’Estout’s A Briefcase of Puppetry  (detail)  found objects, fabricated steel, paint, patina.

Joe Uglyeye – Personal Demons – spray paint, screenpaint, acrylic on birch panel.

Denise Harris-Olenak’s Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, photographic plates on copper and wood.

Beyond the visual art, the big draw go the Closing Bash was the fabulous runway put on by Pivot:  The Art of Fashion!  The lights the crowds, the fantastic music and and even more fantastic fashion! Above are Charlotte Kruk’s  Bossa Nova Bombshells made from recycled Ferrara Pan Chewy Lemonhead & Friends, Lemonhead, CherryHead, Grapehead wrappers!

And her Godiva coat!

                         

Tullio Flores

Lace design work.

                          

Tulio Flores

                          

                         

IB Bayo

                          

Rose Sellery (left) Charlotte Kruk’s Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, recycled Tiffany bags and chandelier pieces (middle) Katraa (right)

Rose Sellery

MC Kim Luke thanking Pivot Oraganizers Tina Brown, Rose Sellery and designers, Charlotte Kruk, Tulio Flores, Katraa, Sudnya Shroff, Ruby Roxanne, Ricochet, IB Bayo and Many others…

Food truck fun.

Rose Sellery’s designs and sculpture

D’Arcy Couture models in front of Khaled Akil’s Requiem for Syria.

D’Arcy Couture.

Model Izzabelly Santos in IB Bayo.

Pivot MC, Kim Luke in front of

Sunya Shroff’s designs and painting and models in a moment of pre-composure

Pivot models in front of art.

Jessica Hilltout’s phtographs of handmade balls.

Pillar Aguero-Esparza’s multicultural Crayolas on paper.

Pivot model in front of Miguel Machuca’s Orchestrated Religion.

Butterfly model wafting by Teresa Cuniff’s There and Back

Glowing butterfly floating by Alan Silver’s oils on canvas.

Finally alighting on chair sculpture.

The morning after….picking up my work there are still a few remnants from the Art Party – Bill Gould’s sculpture tinkling overhead and the fabulous murals painted with Empire 7 glowing in the early morning sun. Farewell Wonderland, you will haunt my dreams until the next occasional and irrational art fest! Thanks to all involved with Anne and Mark’s Art Party – you’re the best!

Update – I’m delighted to hear that Anne Sconberg and Mark Henderson have just been presented with the Creative Impact Award for their extraordinary vision and hard work with Anne & Mark’s Art Party!  So well deserved!

In case you’re still game for more and missed previous Art Party posts, here are the links:

Tower of Bauble

Angels Among Us

Down the Rabbit Hole

Anne & Mark’s Art Party 2014

Charlotte Kruk – Open Studio

Sweet!

I finally got to meet Charlotte Kruk, at her open studio last weekend! I first saw her work through Image magazine (the M&M Toreador and Flamenco Dancer couture) and then I saw Let Them Bake Cake (the Marie Antoinette inspired convection made of sugar and flour bags and all the cake making ingredient trappings) at the Triton Museum of Art.  I’m such a big fan of her fun and fabulous wearable art made from colorful candy wrappers and the like – it’s full of joy and playfulness!

Turns out her studio is just as playful as Charlotte Kruk’s work. She’s having more open studios this weekend and next from 11-5  Sat & Sun so don’t miss it! Check this Silicon Valley Open Studios link for directions.

I couldn’t wear Let Them Bake Cake home but I took a little sugar with me anyway!

Studio Visit with Michele Pred

Permission to gush?

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (Me, Michele & My Purse!) - Marie Cameron 2016

I got to meet my favorite contemporary artist Michele Pred in her Oakland studio this week! I adore what she’s doing with her Pred-à-Porter line, combining iconic, vintage accessories with birth control pills and electroluminescent (EL) wire to address gender and racial equity issues. Oh, so fabulous and conceptually spot on! Unlike most political art, these pieces are not confined to a gallery space or some public installation but are portable, fashionable bill boards that you can take with you out on the town and engage with personally.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (Pill Box Hat with birth control veil and Pro Choice Purse) - Marie Cameron 2016

I think the purse, the shoes the hats, they’re all perfect anthropomorphic objects, something we can really identify with. They are metaphors for where our heads our at, where out feet lead us, and the purse is a vessel, a symbol of our wealth and personal power.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (Pill Box Hat detail) - Marie Cameron 2016

Detail of vintage pill box hat with birth control veil.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (Pred-à-Porter Birth Control Suitcase) - Marie Cameron 2016

Vintage hat box travel case with birth control target.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (Pred-à-Proter  Earnings Purses) - Marie Cameron 2016

This wall of vintage skin toned purses laced with EL wire is quite profound, offering gender and race based earnings when compared to that of an average white male.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred - Comparing Skin Tones with 79 - Marie Cameron 2016

Matching up my skin tone…

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (Pred-à-Porter My Body My Business) - Marie Cameron 2016

The Pred-à-Poter purses come in array of empowering limited additions messages, such as, MY BODY MY BUSINESS, PRO CHOICE, #ACCESS, FEMINIST and EQUALITY. Of course each is one of a kind as they are made up from carefully selected vintage bags with their own unique shapes, colors and handles.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (studio wall) - Marie Cameron 2016

Some of the Pred-à-Porter purses can be seen here, unlit and reflecting the light from the windows, with Refelections. I was so happy to see these pieces in person, but for much better photography, check out Michele Pred’s website, michelepred.com While you’re there you can check out what Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, Rachel Maddow and others had to say about her work or check it out at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York or Johansson Projects in Oakland.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (Feminist Mirror) - Marie Cameron 2016

Seeing my inner feminist shine back at me with Reflections.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (Beautiful Mirror) - Marie Cameron 2016

The artist at her desk.

Studio Visit with Michele Pred (studio supplies) - Marie Cameron 2016

Poking around the studio was so much fun – vintage treasures / supplies everywhere!

Pro Choice Purse - Michele Pred - Pred-à-Porter- photo Marie Cameron 2016

Permission to gloat?

I’m now the proud owner a Pred-à-Porter original! I feel like I need to go some place fabulous and start making some waves!

The Hunger Games: The Exhibition : The Fashion

Marie Cameron at Palace of Fine Arts - photo OP 2016I don’t know about you, but The Hunger Games (books and movies) have been a big hit at our house for quite some time! The Hunger Games: The Exhibition has just opened up at the Palace of Fine Arts this past Saturday and since the kids are out of school for February break we went up to see for ourselves the film set recreations, the high-tech interactive installations and games but the most excitingly  (for me) the many amazing costumes that were specifically designed for the series… Oh la lovely!  Show runs until July 31.

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016            The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016             The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - 22 - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - 19 - photo Marie Cameron 2016

The Hunger Games Exhibit - Palace of Fine Arts - 24 - photo Marie Cameron 2016

 

Hankering for High Style?

I had a chance to catch a ride with a van load of artists to High Style at the Legion of Honour for a docent led tour. This exhibition is on loan from the in Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection and covers designers influencing  American fashion from head to toe.  I took a few snaps of pieces that caught my eye in that super low light (it was like being in somebody’s closet), all the better for those delicate garments.

Can’t say I’m a high fashion devotee – but I love compnents of it, textiles, form, craft, beads, embroidery, seguins and bugs.

There were some amazing sculptural prototypes by Stevan Arpad whose shoes were produced by Balenciaga and Delman among others. Daring and theatrical and incredibly modern, Arpad’s designs were completely innovative!

Legion of Honor - Steven Arpad - High Style cut out heel

Legion of Honor -Steven Arpad - High Style                            Legion of Honor - High Style - Steven Arpad                              Legion of Honor - Steven Arpad - pronged shoe - High Style

This flapper dresses were by Jeanne Lanvin (French) who had started her career as a milliner before working with the Syndicat de la Couture  and designing dresses for her opera singer daughter.  She even owned her own dye factory and became famous for Lanvin Blue  – to have a shade of blue named after you – how heavenly!

Legion of Honor - High Style Flappers

 

The underside of the Japanese styled train on the embroidered flapper dress (like periwinkle).

Legion of Honor - High Style - Jeanne Lanvin

I”ve been a fan of Elsa Schiaparelli  (Italian) for a while without even knowing her name – only her lobster dress. Unsurprisingly, her pieces stood out to me as my favorites in the exhibition. Her butterfly dress and parasol, her bug necklace and her embroidered and bedazzled velvet zodiac jacket in which you can make out the little dipper on her left shoulder, echoing the little moles on her face.

Legion of Honor - High Style - Butterfly Dress and Parasol - Elsa Sciarapelli

Legion of Honor - High Style - Necklace - Elsa Sciarapelli

Legion of Honor - Elsa Schiaparelli - Zodiac Jacket

During Wartime fashions became more sober and practical, reflecting both the limited resources located to dressing and the evolving nature of women’s roles entering the work force  en masse (beyond the home) and taking on new responsibilities.

High Style - WarTime

Roar!  Postwar there war a return to volume and fantasy and a push to have women return to the home. The Tigress was by Gilbert Adrian (American) was a costume designer whose most famous pieces were for The Wizard of Oz (including those ruby slippers), but designed for some 250 films!

Legion of Honor - High Style - The Tigress- Gilbert Adrian

Chic and flirty Arnold Scassi (Canadian) designed for a host of famous actresses, socialites and political celebrities.

Legion of Honor - High Style - Evening Dress Stripy - Arnold Scassi

Legion of Honor - High Style - Evening Ensemble (dots) - Arnold Scaasi

Legion of Honor - High Style - Evening Ensemble - Arnold Scaasi

Diva worthy James Galanus was represented by many show stopping pieces.

Legion of Honor - High Style - James Galanus - Cloverleaf design muslin prototype

Here is one of his protypes in muslin for an evening gown in which the skirt is based on a quatrefoil  (or a four leaf clover design).

Legion of Honor - High Style - James Galanus - Fish Tail Evening Gown

The cut of this fish tail evening dress was exquisite though certainly not made for sitting (or even walking).

Legion of Honor - High Style - James Galanus - Red Evening Gown

The final piece in the show was this dramatic red number!

Of course this is just a sliver of what was on exhibit – It was fascintating to see how quiclkly and radically women’s fashion changed from high buttoned neck lined and corsets one decade to loose flowing unstructured pieces the next. Opulence and frivolity to demure practicality then to voluminous fantasies.  All of it reflecting what was happening with women in the cultural and economic context of the time.

High Style runs until July 19th.