Solid Gold

A title of a new exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum reminded me of a tacky variety show on TV during most of the 80s, but "Solid Gold" turned out to be a lot of fun.

.

"Siren (Kate Moss") by Marc Quinn (partial, 2008)

Cleopatra, the most anticipated film of my childhood,  and Christian Dior--during John Galliano's brilliant reign--introduce visitors to the deliberately flashy show.

Yep, that's an asp necklatce.

Elizabeth Taylor by Bert Stern (1963)

Fashion dominates the show, probably no surprise given that Dior is a sponsor.  But the curators have included other designers, too.  Like this dress made for shakin'!

Dress Designed for Tina Turner by Azzedine Alaia (Spring 1989)

Fabric from Eames Collection by Anna Sui
(detail, Fall/Winter 2007-8)

I can't say I spent a lot of time thinking about the organizing principle behind the items on display.  The exhibit goes for the eye, not the brain, as demonstrated in this video which includes  "Path To Nine" by Zadik Zadikan and "Gold Waves" by teamLab.

 

"Golden Venus of the Rags" by Michelangelo Pistoletto (1967-71)

Inca gold embellished this busy painting.

Saint Joseph and the Christ Child from the Cuzco School
(Peru, late 17th-18th Century)

"Bee" Bottle for Eau de Cologne Impériale by Guerlain (1853)

I almost always crop painting frames out of my photos but David Hockney included one in the name of this work.

"Picture of Melrose Avenue in an Elaborate Gold Frame" (1965)

Shakyamuni Buddha Reclining (Burma, 19th Century)

Golden Buddha by Nam June Paik (2005)

"Royal Tide II" by Louise Nevelson (1961-63)

"Back of the Neck" by Jean-Michel Basquiat (1983)

Mummy Portrait of a Man (partial, Egypt, ca 120-30)

More Dior dresses in a gallery called "Symmetry and Pattern" which evokes Versailles.

Silly me, I never knew that Henri Bendel designed dresses, not just sold them.  His estate--which included more than 11,000 sketches by nearly 200 other designers--donated them to the Brooklyn Museum.  "Solid Gold" features 45 of his own.  It's unclear how many of them ever made it into production.

I wonder if the museum's board regrets donating its costume collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art? 

Garments by Balenciaga (1947), Charles James (1955) & Marc Bohan (1962/3)

Necklace by Alexander Calder (1947)

Golden Ballroom Dress by Demna (House of Balenciaga, Spring/Summer 2020)

Gown and Halo by Thierry Mugler (Fall/Winter 1984/85)

Wedding Gown Ensemble by Yves Saint Laurent (side, Fall/Winter 1993/94)

Antonio Lopez created a fine art monogram for YSL in 1980.

No doubt the Puerto Rican fashion illustrator caught Grace Jones at her Studio 54 performance on New Year's Eve in 1977.  You can see her gold outfit in a slide show of photos that Ron Galella took that night.

Lopez drew the gold-plated diva in 1984 at the height of her fame.