One dumb-ass "High"-dea. (image via smh)
In the same goddam righteous spirit that compelled us to call out artistic hustlers Damien Hirst and that clever bullshitter Christo (Along with his accomplice-pimp "Jean-Fraud"), we have to stand athwart Jean-Paul Gaultier's noxious progress yelling "Halt; Bullshitter, 12 O'Clock!" Granted, Taste has taken quite a beating as this age of Attention Deficits drove many, if not most, to put aside novels in favor of magazine profiles. And, granted, Nietzche's "God-is-Dead" proclamation presaged the end of widespread belief in teleologies like "Love" and "Heaven" -- at least as naively as our ancestors believed in them. But does that mean that all Art is now to be merely "stunts," and witty tricks? We hate that shit. Whatever happened to Velasquez?
And now the stunting infects the Fashion world. From DailyVogue:
"HE'S the designer who always manages to catch his public off guard - be it with breast-baring corsets or championing skirts for men - and now Jean-Paul Gaultier's unconventional approach to design will be honoured by Fashion Group International (FGI), who have named him as the recipient of its Superstar Award this year. The annual Night of Stars dinner and awards ceremony, themed 'The Rule Breakers' for 2007, will take place on October 25 at hip A-list eatery Cipriani in New York. 'Jean Paul Gaultier embodies the spirit of this year's event,' Margaret Hayes, FGI's president, tells WWD. 'His rule-breaking design philosophy has secured him a unique place in fashion and identifies him as a true superstar.'"
A superstar, you say Margie? And what, you may ask, warrants this maverick status? How about this, from the Beeb:
"Another French icon, Jean-Paul Gaultier, has joined forces with the bakers for an exhibition at the Cartier Foundation which may also whet the nation's appetite for bread.
"Visitors in Paris are flocking to an exhibition which combines the country's two great passions - food and fashion.
"... Every garment is made of bread, even the conical corset he once designed for Madonna.
"... Elegant dresses made out of baguettes and bread rolls dominate the room, while the scent of newly baked bread from the bakery installed downstairs wafts enticingly through the air.
"It persuades many visitors to buy the distinctive Jean-Paul Gaultier baguette - a blue-and-white-striped loaf, reminiscent of his trademark stripy T-shirt."
Madness!
No comments:
Post a Comment