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Windows at Henri Bendel's, June 2008
Great concept for an pictorial of exquisitely fashionable earrings.
I think I’ve identified them all! Special thanks to B. Lautz!
Who do you know has the patience to flip though books and magazines, check museum collections online, persistently double-check with friends in order to properly identify the inspiration behind an elaborate advertising campaign? ME. I know it’s maniacal, but well-worth it!
Here I have my two favourite scandalous combinations: Both the Courbet and Manet caused a stir with their styles, both influenced by Photography. While the Courbet was a specific commission for the private male gaze, the Manet was a defiant public declaration. Delicious, is the fact that Kate Moss in a suit, surrounded by two naked models would probably cause a bit of a stir, even today. A woman, in a dominant (well, assertive, really!) role with two nude male nymphs? Outdoors, at a picnic? Both the original painting and Sorrenti’s photograph present relevant interpretations of social taboo.
In Mario Sorrenti’s homage to Courbet, the female embrace of the effeminate probably passes unnoticed, but I believe it is there. I could go on, indefinately…
Photographs by Michael Sanders, for The Face magazine in 1997, styled by Paul Frecker. This is a fantastic editorial featuring one image directly referencing Leonardo Da Vinci’s Lady with Ermine (left), and another image of Madonna and Child (below, right). The title of this editorial was “Kick the Habit”, as in the monastic garment. Very innovative for its time.
