www.dezeen.com: New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art will draw connections between religious art and contemporary couture for its next major fashion exhibition, to be designed by architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination will be a joint between The Met's Fifth Avenue location and The Met Cloisters – the museum's satellite location at the northern tip of Manhattan, which exhibits medieval art.
5 comments:
I would actually really like to see this. I think the intersection of religion, art, and fashion is an interesting one. The layers of history, symbolism, and meaning can be deep and complex. First, you have the long history of the ways in which the church used vestments and clerical clothing to project an image of wealth, power, reverence, or devotion. The color, volume, fabric, and shape of these clothes and accessories all carried symbolic weight. It was also one of the ways in which the Church denoted and solidified a sense of a hierarchy within and without the church. Then, you have the way individuals chose to dress for portraits. This is how they especially wanted to be seen. This is another layer of projection. And then you have the way in which both of these things have been transformed into archetypal symbolism… something a designer can reference in their work and everyone (or most) will recognize, yes, that is a reference to the Catholic Church or religion of divinity, etc.
This study is very interesting to me. Growing up Catholic, it had never dawned on me that the clothes that Catholic figures wore could be considered fashion. To me, those robes a simply for function. Even so, these functional uniforms are a style of fashion themselves. I can imagine that this exhibit will be very interesting for all who attend, many being of the same mind set as me. It is interesting to think that the Catholic Church has influenced modern fashion as we know it. Looking at the pictures from the article, it is easy to see but not thoroughly explained. I know that that was not the function of this article but I hope the exhibit not only shows the influence but also tries to explain it. It is cool to think that even today, when religion is not a widely held principle, that we still see its influence.
I love the Met Cloisters. It is a bit of a trek to get to the tip of Manhattan, but I would say that it was definitely worth the journey. The objects on display at the Cloisters and the layout of the museum make you think you are no longer in New York, but wandering through a museum in some small European castle. I suppose I have never thought of Catholic vestments as a form of fashion. Especially in medieval religious art, because the figures are so non-proportional, I have not really ever connected medieval art with medieval people. The figures depicted are so detached from reality I kind of just thought of medieval art as art non-representitive (or at least not representative enough) of real people. The range of design in modern Catholic vestments is so narrow in form, yet so wide in so many other factors, I am interested to see how the exhibit is curated.
As a child who was made to attend Catholic school for eight years, you learn just how pervasive a system it is and how much its influence becomes subconscious. The faith was specifically crafted to infuse itself into every single part of a person's existence. Although in the last few decades especially the Church's influence as a power structure and political force has waned, its influence throughout our society as a whole is very much still present and has its lingering effects in many parts of our lives. This exhibition looks like it is going to be a beautiful exploration of this (it's also extra exciting that it will be happening while we'll be in town for showcase). One thing I would like to see (though I doubt will be featured) is not only how Catholicism is still influencing high fashion, but also how it is influencing the every day. There are aspects from the seamlines in the clothing we wear to certain types of jewelry that still bear a resemblance to a more ubiquitously Catholic past that it would be interesting to explore.
This is another article that addresses another fascinating interdisciplinary thread. This one focuses on the fascinating exchange between religion and fashion. Coming from fourteen years in a Catholic school, I am aware of the influence and justification that the Church has towards behaving and carrying yourself in a different way. While I was never told directly that I was taught modesty and pushed into a uniform for so long because of the expectation of my subdued behavior in front of an ever-present God, that was the undertone to every lesson. I am highly curious about how this translated to clothing of the greater community. Building in another direction, the Catholic Church is infamous for its flashy and excessive behavior in terms of lavish beauty. While some see the hypocrisy of an institution that teaches giving but exists in gilded and hand carved buildings, they carry on in their beautiful fabrics and jewels. I am highly interested in the outcome of this exhibit, and hope to view it at some point.
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