The Genius of Guy Bourdin

Salutations! Having spent a week doing too little revision for too long and watching Capra films, I realised with a jolt that I had not posted since last Monday and, since I did not wish to do the whole Monday-Monday (whoops! I have not posted for a week) thing, I felt I should post this sooner than I otherwise intended to. Anyway, the caffeine and bruise on my head is keeping me awake so I came to the conclusion that posting would be a more valuable use of my time than surfing BBC iPlayer or Youtube in order to find a random video or programme that I would be happy to watch until I felt ready to curl up into a ball and sleep.

I am here to present those of you who do not know to Guy Bourdin. Photographer - one of the greatest fashion photographer's of all time.

Guy Bourdin was born in Paris on the 2nd December 1928. When his parents separated, and his mother left approximately a year after giving birth to him, he went to live in Normandy with his paternal grandparents who owned a brasserie. When his Father remarried, he moved back in with his father, stepmother and stepsiblings. By all accounts, he only met his mother once and his only abiding memory was of a sophisticated parisian woman, with pale skin and red hair, an image that was recurring in many of his photos. Abandonment became a personal and professional motif. At the age of eighteen he went on a tour of Provence and met Lucien Henry, an art dealer. He stayed with Lucien for six months where he seriously applied himself to drawing and painting and initially decided to become an artist. When it was time for his military service he ended up in Dakar as an aerial photographer in the Air Force.

After his military service he returned to Paris. He still drew and painted and started taking pictures for himself. He was influenced by Surrealism and of all the Surrealists. His greatest influence was Man Ray (a notable work is the Violon d'Ingres) with whom he became friends. Man Ray  even wrote the catalogue text to Bourdin's first exhibition in 1952.

It was two years later that, at the age of twenty-seven, he was offered a job at French Vogue. His debut was four pages of hats. One of the pictures featured a woman standing below three skinned calves' heads. It was a statement that marked out the direction of his style as a photographer.

He was best known for his work for French Vogue from the mid fifties to the mid eighties.... and it was typically dark, theatrical and even disturbing. In fact, I'm going to set this straight, to a relatively innocent 1970s audience, some of it was perversely shocking (for general appearance in a Fashion Magazine) and much of it was macabre. Guy Bourdin's advertisement for Charles Jourdan shoes showed the chalked outline of a woman on an apparently blood spattered pavement, her gorgeous red shoes and red sunglasses abandoned near where her body had fallen. A lot of the darker pictures that Bourdin did take were never even published. One such unpublished photograph, taken in 1978, showed a naked woman draped across a desk, her throat cut, surrounded by blood. So yes, there is something more than a little strange about his obsession with death and desire. People have called him a misogynistic puppet master, which is perfectly fair considering - Guy Bourdin was a short man with an apparently whiny voice, and had a reputation of being incredibly demanding. Dark rumours (which were not really rumours, more unpleasant truths) surrounded him: his mother abandoning him as an infant, the suicides of his wife and two of his girlfriends, and the cruelty in which he treated his models.

Whatever can be said about Guy as a person, (and obviously, a lot of controversial things could easily be said) his photos are incredibly striking and incredibly recognisable. He shattered taboos (though I think the made-up ten year old is still something rather disturbing to anybody)
In many ways he was like Warhol and Hitchcock, using photography in a more psychological way and using the personal understanding of an outsider looking in.

He died of Cancer in 1991.

His son Samuel Bourdin released a book with the finest prints of his father's work, called "Exhibit A" in 2001. His first retrospective exhibition was held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London 2003, and then toured the National gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and Jeu de Paume in Paris.

In 2003, Madonna's music video for Hollywood (which I have posted here, purely for the purpose of illustrating my point than any great love of this song) was greatly influenced by the photography of Bourdin, so much so that a lawsuit was brought on against her by Bourdin's son for copyright infringement.

Anyway, thank you for reading - if you did indeed read, and did not simply glance up and down the pictures. Please comment and feel free to follow (Really. Do so.)
I should be back with something lighter next time because, after a post in which I listed forms of human sacrifice then this one, in which I discussed someone who very much thought of himself as 'un poete damne' whose emotional pain was self-inflicted, I think something lighter would clear the air.

Ciao.

We are Creatures of the Wind...

Greetings! Today is Monday. Normally that would mean fatigue, mild headache and a semi-wasted day spent doing the minimum but, since I have a week's holiday, it still means fatigue, mild headache and a completely wasted day doing nothing - other than writing this, of course. :)
Anyway, so today I have decided to present you with a collection that I was intending to present you with as far back as Thursday or Friday where I believe my commentary would have still been quite fresh. Instead, I am posting it today. Ha - I care not a jot for the limitations of time... except when I have a coursework piece to hand in and I am being threatened with detention.

"This bridge will only take you halfway there
To those mysterious lands you long to see:
Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fair
And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.
So come and walk awhile with me and share
The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known.
But this bridge will only take you halfway there -
The last few steps you'll have to walk alone."

 - Shel Silverstein

So, in contrast with my relatively reserved Giulietta post, here comes 'Creatures of the Wind'  - Autumn 2012 collection.

Shane Gabier and Chris Peters are designers with a unique, offbeat vision. Their latest collection, they explained, was inspired by The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies, a seventeenth-century book by the Scottish Episcopalian minister Robert Kirk in which he collected his parishioners' tales of the supernatural.
I do not think there was anything extraordinarily otherworldly, per se, about the clothes, but they were certainly creations with a difference. Exhibit A: a white button-down blouse embroidered with a quote from The Last Unicorn.
Also appearing was a trim blazer constructed from distressed leather and Lurex-shot striped wool with a heat transfer of multicolor Swarovski crystals on its back... and a lace skirt dipped in silver.
The overall feeling was folksy, but with a couture touch - though if I had organised the show it would have finished with morris dancing or a 'rite of spring'-alike sacrifice. We could have picked the one with red hair and the beautiful black dress (one of my favourite items in the collection) and tied her to a stone table. Alas, that may have shocked the audience slightly and I might have failed at encouraging them to join in with the maypole dancing.

"What is plucked will grow again,
What is slain lives on,
What is stolen will remain
What is gone is gone...
What is sea-born dies on land,
Soft is trod upon.
What is given burns the hand -
What is gone is gone...
Here is there, and high is low;
All may be undone.
What is true, no two men know -
What is gone is gone...
Who has choices need not choose.
We must, who have none.
We can love but what we lose -
What is gone is gone." - Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

Probably not a recipe for surefire retail success, and I am all the more relieved for it, but Gabier and Peters might have something better: a finale gown made from tiers of pale blue chiffon and taffeta with a silver lace yoke that, should it be worn at the Oscars by the right Hollywood Star (one of the ones I have heard of) could earn them renown.          

<<< I think this is strangely gorgeous. I thought the colouring was similiar to this pre-raphaelite painting painting on the right - >>> - since I can't resist any opportunity to thrust the pre-raphaelites under my willing victim person-who-I wish-to-educate's nose. Oh, and this is the one we're going to sacrifice. (That is a Joke. I do not in any way recommend or support any form of human sacrifice or ritual killing, including having people entombed in walls, buried alive, strangling them with colourful silk scarves in the name of Kali,  building wicker figures with humans inside which are then burned, Sati/Suttee, any form of sacrifice involving an altar, headhunting or cannibalism. Unless of course, you wish to fight a war against Troy, where I would promote it.)


<<< Another beautiful dress, though less waist than I generally like. If I were a hollywood star (which I should be ;) I think I would wear it, although this sort of layering in the skirt is not normally what I opt for. It would look nice with a bun or half-ponytail, simple heels - maybe bright red - and no jewellery .

>>> Evidence of some peplum inspiration in the collection. I would have said that I would not be seen dead in that skirt, but I have a new policy of giving anything a go - apart from that strange cardigan concoction. *Shudder*

If I had the money to waste (because, never in a million years am I going to find a high street alternative) I would possibly wear the skirt with a simple black turtleneck, a high bun, some black high heels, a slick of red lipstick and a tape measure about my neck.

<<< Clashing patterns add to the Folk feeling... though I think the shoes are horrendous. If there is no figure in an outfit then, at the very least, a pair of stiletto heels should be worn. That's just the laws of common decency. ;)

<<< This one is actually really cool. I am still wholly unappreciative of the shoes, though I am sure a lot of hard work was put into creating them. On the other hand, the hat looks really sumptuous and I think that (with the possible addition of a slim belt) the clothes themselves look gorgeous too.

^^^ Absolutely gorgeous hairstyle. Maybe I can find someone to do something like this for me since (when it comes to hairstyling) I am all thumbs. ^^^

On a last note, anything slightly 'The Wicker Man' about the collection?

"All the ancient classic fairy tales have always been scary and dark." - Helena Bonham Carter

Thank you for reading my wild ramblings (I wish to stress one more time that I do not actually approve of human sacrifice, or animal sacrifice for that matter) and I encourage you to comment. I enjoy reading them, even if they are negative, just as long as they are based on a fair and informed judgement. Oh, and please follow. :)


Ciao!

Slightly ecclesiastical Giulietta

Salutations! Forgive my temporary absence in the face of a dreadful cold and variety of other things. So, having spent a day obsessively listening to The Ditty Bops and Doris Day, watching Anime, probably being the last person I know to find out about Whitney Houston's death, and drinking Pepsi Max like the addict I am, I am quite tired. More commercially, I have also been keeping an eye on all the updates from New York Fashion Week and watching the BAFTAs, where The Artist rightly won Best Actor, Director, Screenplay and Film. Moi = Satisfied.

So... what from New York Fashion Week? Well, although I intended to analyse something else first, I have come to Giulietta's Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection... which was far better than the Spring 2012 one, in my opinion at least.

 

 Of course, there was rather a lot of brown (not necessarily a bad thing in most circumstances) but I was sold on the pussybow blouses and dresses. Puffy, whimsical or lady-like blouses have always been a clothing win for me. I do not have enough of them. I need Poet Shirts, and Pirate Blouses... Pussybow blouses are (in many ways) simply a toned down version. The Official 'I-want-it-so-badly-it-hurts-that-I-can't-afford-it' of this collection, was this beautiful yellow dress with gorgeous sleeves and pussybow. *Sigh* I think I am going to try the sweet, ingenue look again. If I could only find a dress somewhat like the white one to the left, and some beige/black ballet pumps with strap... then I could tie my hair back in a half-ponytail with a white ribbon and have a go at the wide-eyed innocence. I can act as candid and wholesome as Mary Pickford - though she was a good 10cm less than me and often played children. I shall re-evaluate. I can act as candid and wholesome as a less-blonde version of Doris Day. Until I get angry, of course. On that note, when it has all been arranged, I will make sure you are the first to know. Cross my heart and hope to die. I read with interest the suggestion that Visconti's 1963 Italian film “Il Gattopardo” (which I know under the name 'Le Guepard' and, for the english-speaking, the Leopard) set the tone for Sofia Sizzi’s Autumn Giulietta outing. It started with a brown cashmere vest worn over a white collared blouse and pleated skirt - it felt a bit ecclesiastical yet was still wearable - culminating with the fancy ball gowns, such as a citrus green below-the-knee dress with crystal beads. I suppose I see where the suggestion comes from, and it gave me a wonderful excuse to pop the DVD into the player at two o'clock in the morning, just to evaluate how true. Any reason to be watching Alain Delon circa 1963 is appreciated... oh, and Claudia Cardinale in beautiful dresses.  Otherwise, what else can I say about the collection? Waists on every outfit, which is always nice to see. Great collars and some fantastic monochrome patterns as well as a few floaty skirts (Yes!) almost none of which were too short. Some lovely shoes, mostly in neutral tones, with a couple of light blue metallic colours, some shiny red and orange. Very simple hair. Low Ponytail (which I honestly prefer to the high one on most people's faces)  and white tights. Indeed, if I have picked up anything, then it is the belief that investing in a nice pair of white tights would be a valid style decision.

 Suffering from immense fatique and the beginnings of a migraine, so all I have left to do is to say 'over and out', ask you to comment and encourage you to follow.

On a last note, just look at this blouse on the left! *Flails hands wildly* Gorgeously, luxuriously wonderful sleeves. I am going to have a huge amount of trouble finding a charity shop or high street equivalent. Wish me luck.