FINISHING TOUCH The giant charm bracelet by Nicola Malkin, a designer and ceramicist, is typically displayed on chairs, large tables or bedposts, as at the J. Roaman furnishings store in East Hampton, N.Y.
I don't think anything could better express the empty hideous aesthetic which is companion to our new age of robber baronry than this image of monied, store-bought style which succeeds so perfectly in evoking the late Victorian, Philistine monstrosities of the last one.
The NYTimes article in yesterday's "Home & Garden" section begins:
At J. Roaman, a home furnishings store in East Hampton, N.Y., a painted white iron bed wears a giant charm bracelet over its left head post. The bracelet isnt there because the bed wants for visual interest; its already enveloped in a brightly colored quilt by Lisa Corti, a Milanese designer, and topped with four pillows, five throw pillows and a bolster. The reason for the jewelry, according to Judi Roaman, a former fashion retailer who opened the store in May, is that furniture, like any carefully curated outfit, should express its owners personality. Accessories make the bed into who you want her to be, she explained.I thought at first it must certainly be a satire. While it certainly is, it's not intentional.
I can only hope this is the beginning of the end.
[image and unexpurgated caption from the Times]
Please pass a bucket I have to puke. You really said it in the 1st paragraph James. I couldn't believe what I was seeing in the Times yesterday when I spied that mess.
Sure, you have a point. But I quite like the idea (regardless of the excess) of a room being dressed, or conceived, as a person. It opens up a whole realm of ontological possibilities! I can't help thinking of Dali's Mae West's lips sofa. So, if you approach it as Surrealism, perhaps it becomes more beareable. Although I did calculate how long I could live off the price of one of those objects mentioned in the article...I think at least four months and four months of freedom is worth more to me than a couch that wears a scarf!!! (which by the way is not such a new idea; my bookcase is draped with necklaces that i actually wear) But may I point out that Jann Haworth, who worked with Peter Blake on the Sergeant Pepper album cover (she was then married to him) also made giant charms out of fabric. She is a pop artist who is still going strong. Her charms are far more beautiful than the ones you mention. And they have a feminist ring to them that make them quite bearable/wearable (by a wall)...you can see one on http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424614698/725/charm-bracelet.html
and read more about her on http://www.slcpepper.org/jann_haworth/press/Mom_of_Pop.pdf
She was making soft donuts in parallel to Claes Oldenburg, and is often referred to as "The Mom of Pop"
Three cheers to that wonderfully beleaguered first paragraph, James!