Art vs Fashion
I think this statement is true. I think this statement is not true.
Groovy, Man
My mother had a favorite artist when we lived in Connecticut. He did sort of psychedelic groovy paintings of rock stars and others. I think we had at least 3 of his paintings, maybe more. At the time (I was a teenager) I thought they were trendy and faddish. They seemed too attached to fashion, to the look of the times in clothing, magazines, etc. Almost like an illustration rather than fine art. I still have a one of the pieces, it’s stored away. I think someday it might be looked at fondly, as a reminder of a particular time, like looking at an old fashion magazine, but I don’t see if ever appearing timeless or beautiful. To me, it screams it’s birth date and death date all in one visual breath.
Art outside of Time
During that same time, we also bought a painting by my mother’s best friend. She had been an artist her whole life, was a crucial mentor to me in my early years as a learning artist. This painting was in the style reminiscent of the Abstract Expressionists of the 1950s. It had the energy and colors of that era. One perhaps could look at it and feel it is also trendy and faddish. But I don’t see that. I see a style, yes. But the beauty of the image transcends the limitations of it’s stylistic roots. It is not a prisoner to it’s era.
Funkadelic, baby!
In fashion there is a similar phenomenon. You can look at some outfits from the 70s and just know they will never escape their time. People might like them more this year than next, but that style will always be seen as attached to that moment in time, it will not transcend. It doesn’t mean it isn’t cool or fun. It just means it is a trendy statement, not a classic statement.
Little Black Dress
But while some of the outfits scream their date, some have become synonymous with style outside the confines of a particular time. You might know when they arrived on the scene but they are not shackled to that era.
I Love Fashion
I love looking at fashion, I love looking at art. I like fashion that screams it’s era, it is fun and exciting to watch as part of the passing parade of life. I also love fashion that is timeless. In art, I like transcendance, not trendiness. I like art that can tell me around when it was born but can also tell me it will never die.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who had tight polyester pants and is damn proud of it!
Quote by Jean Cocteau, French writer and artist, 1889-1963
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