We Experienced: LACMA- Gaining Fashion Inspiration from Art

 

Kerry James Marshall, De Style, 1993

 The "Black Paintings" of spanish old Master Francisco Goya and the expressionist drawings of American artist Charles White helped inspire Kerry James Marshall's series of moody paintings of shadowy figures. De Style alludes to two traditions in Dutch painting. The title is a pun on De Stijl, a modernist art movement that emphasized line, abstraction, and primary colors, while the scene of men gathered in a barber shop recalls Dutch group portraiture of the seventeenth century.

It took two 4 hour visits to LACMA just to get through ninety percent of the exhibitions. This, not including the Tim Burton Exhibit (going thru October), nor stopping by the Pavillion for Japanese Art, or the Children's Gallery. So little time, so much art to stop and take in! What's a girl to do... However, among the hundreds of pieces I viewed, there were a few that resonated with me. One of which is Kerry James Marshall's painting De Style (pictured above) which can be found in the Broad Contemporary Art building.

As a person always looking to my surroundings for inspiration, I tend to do a couple of things when something catches my eye: (1) Observe the item for what it is, (2) Look closer at the detail texture or color that intrigued me, and (3) Figure out a way to incorporate my new found interest into something completely different. Most times I'm looking for fashion inspiration, so here are my 3 favorite paintings translated into clothing...

LP&S!
Irene



Joan Brown, Girl in Chair, 1962





Edouard Vuillard- Walking in the Vineyard, 1897-99



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