Basquiat Bash

Graduation is HERE!

No, it's in two weeks. But in senior year terms, it's practically tomorrow.

Some would say that your senior graduation is symbolic of the next steps ahead of you, your future, your career (that word alone is already scaring me). But as a senior, I like to push all those icky topics to when college actually starts. I still have the summer. And what does summer mean? Well, excessive sweat and an extremely lazy mentality, but also freedom, lack of responsibility (in the good sense), and a carefree mentality. That's more like it.

And to celebrate this carefree mentality (no more having to write three essays in under two hours!!!), I dressed like it and also attended the Basquiat Bash at the High Museum, which is just a fancy term for attending the new exhibit of Jean-Michel Basquiat's work.

Dress by J. Crew. Sandals by Topshop (or try these). Bandana is my mom's (please don't spend $15 on one at Urban Outfitters. I promise you will find one somewhere)

Usually when I go to the High Museum (like this time and that other time), I do my best to to look like an artist -- wear the most unconventional items that scream individuality. Corduroy and Adidas? A graphic dress paired with a turtleneck and patterned tights? Now I decided to do the opposite because, well, it's basically summer and your look has to look ~effortless~ to celebrate all your freedom.

Does that make sense? More freedom, less effort.

So you could go the lazy route and just wear a really complex jumpsuit or dress, or you can go the even lazier route -- an over the shoulder dress with sandals and a bandana-choker. While many people are going back to the maximalism philosophy in fashion, I'm going back to minimalism because a) it makes me look très cool or b) it's easy.

The beauty of over-the-shoulder tops/dresses is the simplicity -- shifting those sleeves over your collarbone makes any dull piece look like it came straight out of a famous blogger's Instagram. It's the unconventional nature of the shape that gives it the effervescent style (is this situational irony?). I mean, the straps of your dress are practically falling down your shoulders, of course you'll look set for summer. And then to maybe make your look not fit for a day on the beach, add a choker, like a chain one or a homemade bandana one. That accessory will add a finishing touch to the outfit but also draw people's eyes to your gorgeous collarbones, and that's the whole point of the dress -- to show off what you've got.

It felt fitting to wear something like this to an event for Basquiat because this artist is different, unconventional, and ahead of his time. What I wore was exactly this, for me at least (maybe not ahead of my time, weren't bardot dresses from the '90s?). Basquiat created pieces that were out-there but seemed to resonate with the population, and I'd say that these dresses do the exact same. A trend that seems to be worn by nearly everyone who is ahead in fashion, yet the style is almost, well, strange. But even better, Basquiat and the dress share a lack of structure/sophistication (and that's a compliment in this situation). You'll understand my point when you look at some of his work below, but the idea is to commend our independence, our newfound lack of routine, and the fact that we're not restrained by the public school system anymore (or if this isn't your case, at least you get summer). And we're graduating in two weeks. It's about time to just not care.

All art documentation photos shot by me. All photos of me shot by Kendall.

To all my Atlanta readers -- the Basquiat exhibit will be closed on May 29th, make sure you check it out before it leaves!

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Your Art Matters

Guess what? I'm doing that rarity where I don't talk about fashion. Not even a pinch of the subject. It's time for you guys to get to know me as an artistic photographer, not a fashion writer/connoisseur. 

Lately, I've been rethinking my entire future after I got waitlisted from my dream of five years (it's no big deal...). This led me to thinking the terrible question of am I good enough? Then I realized that of course I am, because I got accepted to more than half of my queue of schools. Then that led me to thinking about my art, even though I only submitted it to one school. Is my art good enough? I feel like all artists ask themselves this question daily, and criticism is healthy until it gets to a point of destructive thoughts. And what does enough mean? Is there a certain threshold of quality that determines the overall greatness of a piece? I've come to realize that all art is good enough if it truly matters to you, which leads me to the cliché One Tree Hill quote of, "Your art matters. It's what got me here." Maybe Lucas said this to Peyton 100 times in season one so they ended up getting married seven years later but in this case it's not about getting the girl of your dreams, it's about getting the artistic mentality of your dreams. 

I don't practice photography because I think I look really cool with a vintage Minolta film camera or because I want to be artistic but paint and I just don't get along. I do it because it matters to me. It gets me through difficult times (which I'm definitely stuck in), and, well, I love doing it. There are really no words to describe it. I wrote an entire essay about it which got me into where I'll probably be next fall, but now I realize it's not about the technique or the methods or the subject matter per se, it's about what it means to others but most importantly, you. 

I use this mindset to create my work, and sometimes I literally call my photos my children. It's borderline creepy but it also explains how much they matter to me. The photos above are all pieces I've made this year, and most of them are going towards my AP art portfolio. The first five are all pieces from my concentration, which is about how an obsession with fears can manifest itself into reality. And I guess that's why I love photography -- I can create a different reality for myself and the people in the photographs. So scroll through those photos, and I hope that they matter to you almost as much as they matter to me.

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When Fashion and Art Collide

Shirt by Loo Gray. Jeans by Madewell. Belt by J. Crew.

Fashion is always art, correct? One could compare the tedious process of creating the frescos in the Sistine Chapel to the difficult task of creating a FW16 collection, and it's also quite clear that many people dress the way they do for self expression, which is basically the core of art. This is one of the thousands of reasons I love fashion, probably the main one, because art comes in so many different forms and it can even fall into the way one dresses. Usually, designers start with their fashion senses, then they incorporate the art into their creations later. But when it's the opposite, when an artist decides to put their artistic talent into clothing, that's a whole other story.

That's how the small online store of Loo Gray began -- an artist with talent who decided to expand his talent from paper to clothing. I couldn't get the chance to actually speak with him, but he's only about my age (17, if you forgot) and he created the store not solely for profit, but as a tribute to his mom, and I think that we should all start appreciating our mothers more often. I'm not sure if he wants to make it big, but he's simply doing what he loves, and I kind of see that same attitude in what I've been doing for the past year. But to get to the actual clothing -- all of his pieces are unique in some way because he does everything by hand (he screen-prints all of his shirts, but he individually paints his jackets). This individuality really shows through his work, and that's probably why I felt compelled to buy one of his shirts.

I'm not really sure why I'm squinting so much or why I'm in that terrible stance in the first photo (thigh gap??), but it's about the shirt in the outfit, because that's where the art is. I'm not one to wear t-shirts in a fashionable manner but I think the really cool art on it is enough to call it fashion, so I created the simplest look with it -- black jeans and black shoes, but also some fun accessories like my black bandana (the neck scarf trend is only just beginning) and gold belt to complement the top, not take away from it. I felt extremely comfortable today, almost too comfortable, but then I looked down at the print on my shirt and remembered how this is going to be on the blog, so I quickly added a layer of NARS to my lips. After wearing this shirt, I would like to buy every other article of clothing he sells on his website. I'll have one of each, please.

Jacket by Loo Gray. Shirt from Record Store Day at Criminal Records (I was there when she got it!). Shoes by Adidas.

Here we have another example of one of his products, worn by my very close friend who decided to move across the country (read about her here!) and actually be the one to tell me about Loo Gray. Instead of following a simple path like me and buying a tee, she ordered a camo jacket with an acrylic-paint face, and surprisingly it is one of the rare moments when camo pattern does not exude racism but instead exudes cool. This is the one I wanted to order but of course, it sold out, and the minute they restock (if they ever do), I'll get one for myself. Until now, I've never wanted to get near camo but that eccentric art attracts me to the military-esque print, and I'm anti-war. Here's evidence that literal art will make anything better than it already is, thanks to Loo Gray.

I have a slight feeling that he currently has two fans of his work, including me, that do not include the people he already knows, but that fan-count should, and will, start rising. Or maybe it won't, because it's obvious that his main goal is not fame, but it's to showcase his talent on a more commercial level. Plus, who wouldn't want to up their jean-jacket game by wearing one embellished with actual art?

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Teen Night Round 2

It's back!! As you may have remembered, last year the High Museum in Atlanta hosted a Teen Night -- free admission for all teens and a p[art]y that included live music, a poetry slam, crafts (not the kid kind), etcetera, and I went, of course. When they announce another one, I start planning weeks in advance. I thought nothing could beat last year's, but this one had an even greater presence (except that I unfortunately missed the poetry slam). And the teen's presence was even greater -- as I said in the last post, art kids seem to carry this artistic and self-expressive grace that you can't seem to fake. Seeing everyone interact with each other was so interesting (I sound like a Discovery Channel narrator observing two gorillas who are about to mate...). I'm glad to call myself an art kid because I like to think I have that same presence, so I quickly transformed myself into the most "art teen" I could get because soon I'd be surrounded by hundreds of others.

Sweater by Madewell. Dress by Zara. Shoes by Adidas. Jacket by Juicy Couture. Backpack by Urban Outfitters.

My new cut + color definitely worked into the art kid equation (platinum bobs are so self-expressive), so my plan for the rest of my look was to pile on a bunch of clothes and hope it would work. Kinda like what Leandra Medine does (but she does it so well), I did so in an artistic way (fitting, right). I found this Madewell sweater (very similar to this one) that can hardly work at a Teen Night meant for art kids, so I grabbed a dress to layer it over, my loudest one that started a fashion revolution and that caught the eyes of many during Montréal Fashion Week. Obviously it worked. Then I kept going -- I slipped on pair of semi-sheer tights and my Stan Smiths (who knew sneakers and tights could work?) and then [finally] tied my denim jacket around my waist, or layered it over everything when it got chilly. This is giving me serious déjà vu, back to when I had, like, ten layers of clothes on. But I basically put items that shouldn't work together, well, together, and it happened to work. That just sounds like an artist's statement in itself. 

I walked around the exhibits finding myself taking mirror selfies with the art and taking photos with Iris Van Herpen's magnificent pieces and I realized -- I'm not a true ATL teen, I'm a true ATL art teen. And how fitting is it to go to a Teen Night in Atlanta that is filled with art? That's my kind of p[art]y. Last night was definitely a way to find my "social standing" (I despise that term) because everywhere I looked, I felt like I belonged. An art teen. That sounds suitable.

Along with the Teen Night events, I finally got to see Iris Van Herpen's pieces in real life, and I had a similar moment to when I saw Oscar de la Renta's:

 

Museum photos shot by me. First two photos of me shot by my sister Kendall, third photo shot by my friend Makinsey.

It felt strange walking out those doors at 10:00 because I realized this would be my last one ever (it's a big deal, I've already been to four in my high school experience). I'll still be a teen next year, but it's likely that I'll be hundreds or thousands of miles away in college doing adult things. Growing up is weird. I'm glad that I could spend a night so close to adulthood participating in something that celebrates our youth. 

People who went last night: feel free to share your experience in the comments below!!

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