Lehmann Maupin "The Glamour Project"
In conjunction with Glamour magazine in celebration of its 70th anniversary, Lehmann Maupin gallery has organized a group show of prominent women artists titled “The Glamour Project.” Boldfaced name artists like Tracey Emin, Kara Walker, Marilyn Minter, Rachel Feinstein, and Rita Ackermann were asked to create works translating their own interpretations of glamour. The south gallery space features black-and-white portraits of the ten commissioned artists by photographer Brigitte Lacombe.
Lehmann Maupin - The Glamour Project - Tracey Emin - I Promise to Love You Too
According to Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Lieve, “Ask ten women artists, and you’ll get ten showstopping, brilliantly realized visions – some of them sweet, some of them shocking, but each one a very personal manifesto on the meaning of femininity in 2009.”
RELATED LINKS
Jason Wu, Thakoon Celebrate Glamour’s 70th Anniversary [Huffington Post]
Party Watch [Vanity Fair]
Glamour Celebrates 70th: Portrait Artists [WWD]
“The Glamour Project” brings out the glamourous [Guest of a Guest]
Glamour Turns 70! [Mediabistro]
more story and images after the jump…
Lehmann Maupin - The Glamour Project - Laurie Simmons - Pink and Yellow I
Lehmann Maupin The Glamour Project
Derived from a word meaning “occult knowledge,” glamour was initially a term associated with enchantment or the casting of a spell. Over time it has come to represent “seduction, luxury and empowerment,” and so the magazine’s photo director, Suzanne Donaldson, helped select these artists who embrace (Emin, Mickalene Thomas) or rebel against (Ackermann, Nina Chanel Abney) the word’s contemporary associations. A neon love note constructed by Tracey Emin is a far glossier statement than an unmade bed, while a photo-booth snapshot montage by Lorna Simpson relies upon nostalgia for its dose of carefree glamour. Marilyn Minter is likely the most obvious choice of artist, with her blown-up images of diamonds and indulgence, a theme that seems ever decadent – and ironic – as the economy continues its nosedive.
Sexy nymphs and mythical landscapes collide on the palette of Rita Ackermann, who has morphed and progressed through various media since her gritty 1990s heyday. The inclusion of Abney is an inspired one, as her politically-charged caricatures of life in contemporary America effectively serve as an antithesis to the very definition of glamour.
Artist Rachel Feinstein at The Glamour Project opening – by Patrick McMullan via Guest of a Guest
Lehmann Maupin - The Glamour Project - Marilyn Minter, Chewing Pink
Lehmann Maupin The Glamour Project
Lehmann Maupin - The Glamour Project - Mickalene Thomas - Portrait of Qusuquzah
Designer Thakoon Panichgul, Glamour editor Cindi Lieve, and designer Jason Wu – via Huffington Post
Amanda Peet at The Glamour Project – by Patrick McMullan via Guest of a Guest
Hedi Ferjani and designer Erin Fetherston – via Huffington Post
Actress Diane Kruger and Ingrid Seynhaee – via Huffington Post
Singer Ciara and Glamour publisher Bill Wackermann – via Huffington Post
Artist Waris Ahluwalia, designer Thakoon Panichgul, and actress Amanda Peet – by Patrick McMullan via Guest of a Guest
