The skulls and skeletons that pervade rock and pop culture signal danger and rebellion, offering a vehicle for engaging with death in secular society. This DW Collector Series drumkit in maple and aluminum, created for Alejandro (Alex) Gonzalez of Latin rock band Maná, deepens the symbolism. Expressing the group’s Mexican heritage, it features the iconic skull imagery of Dia de los Muertos, a celebration that openly acknowledges death and its equalizing power. Continue reading Dia de los Muertos Drumkit→
Rich purples lend lushness to this overstuffed interior, whose piles of clothing and jumble of furnishings suggest the morning after a raucous night of mayhem. The painting’s title, Hangover Square(2005), is a pun on London’s upscale green Hanover Square, one that artist Cecily Brown gladly borrowed from a 1941 novel. With its unabashed clutter, the disarrayed room foreshadows Brown’s return to painting crowded interiors 15 years later, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Infinity and timelessness characterize the 2012 collaboration between Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, and the recently departed contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama. Her trademark dots – derived from childhood hallucinations – are neurotic and obsessional. Alongside the coat, Red and White Pumpkin, composed of meticulously aligned, variable dots, mirrors the painstaking repetitive process she employed to achieve what she referred to as “self-obliteration.“ Continue reading Eye On Design: Yayoi Kusama-Inspired Trench Coat By Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton→
Alexander McQueen never designed clothing simply to be worn — he created unforgettable experiences. This dramatic evening gown from his Spring/Summer 2001 collection perfectly captures the British designer’s gift for transforming fashion into performance art, blending meticulous craftsmanship with theatrical storytelling.
Currently on view in Costume Art, the inaugural exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s expansive new 12,000-square-foot Condé Nast Galleries, the striking ensemble immediately commands attention. This exhibition explores how fashion and fine art have long inspired one another, pairing nearly 400 historical and contemporary garments from The Costume Institute with artworks drawn from across the Museum’s remarkable collections. Continue reading Eye On Design: Alexander McQueen’s Fiery Vision Still Burns Bright→
George Morrison (1919–2000) was one of the most significant yet often underrecognized figures in twentieth-century American art. A member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe), Morrison became known for his richly textured abstract paintings and later for his celebrated wood collages inspired by the rugged shoreline of Lake Superior. After studying at the Art Students League in New York, he became part of the city’s vibrant postwar art scene, exhibiting alongside many of the leading Abstract Expressionists. While his Indigenous heritage informed his deep appreciation for the natural world, Morrison resisted being defined solely as a Native American artist, preferring to be recognized first and foremost for the strength and originality of his modernist vision. Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: George Morrison, The Antagonist→
