MANIFESTO

#61

ART NOW

FONDAZIONE PRADA

2022.02.22

by MUSE Team

Comprising a selection of photographic, video and performing works by 11 international image-based artists, the exhibition curated by Melissa Harris, will be on view until June 27th, 2022 at the Osservatorio in Milan. 

Curated by Melissa Harris, editor-at-large of Aperture Foundation, where she has worked for more than twenty-five years, including as editor-in-chief of Aperture magazine from 2002 to 2012; the exhibition  explores the notions of the search, projection and invention of possible alternative identities, hovering between authentic, idealized, and universal selves. Playing with gender tropes, stereotypes, sense of place, and future perspectives, the artists who make up “Role Play” interrogate individuality as we know it and as it might be. Since its invention, one of the most suitable visual languages to investigate otherness is undoubtedly photography. 

Exhibition view. Photo: Delfino Sisto Legnani

“ An alter ego, persona, or avatar may be aspirational; it may relate to one’s personal and cultural history and sense of otherness; it may be a form of activism, or a means of maneuvering through entrenched, even polarized positions, toward empathy: putting oneself in another’s shoes.” 

-MELISSA HARRIS

Its evolution and transformation in filmic languages, the widespread diffusion of online social communities and virtual platforms, the future developments of the Metaverse and the subsequent emergence of digital avatars have intensified the urgency to explore self and others through role-playing, reinforcing our obsession with alternative selves. Hence, the alter-ego creation and the proliferation of selves are possible strategies for understanding each individual’s essence and persona.

“Role Play” features works by artists Meriem Bennani, Juno Calypso, Cao Fei, Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley, Beatrice Marchi, Darius Mikšys, Narcissister, Haruka Sakaguchi & Griselda San Martin, Tomoko Sawada, Bogosi Sekhukhuni, and Amalia Ulman in a light installation project, conceived by the creative agency Random Studio for the two exhibition floors of Osservatorio. 

PHOTOGRAPHY

LUIGI & IANGO. UNVEILED

2023.09.21

A visionary creative expression characterized by breaking roles and codes, the invention and construction of characters that create a unique visual narrative, but above all reveal a truth that only Luigi & Iango know how to capture.

LOUIS VUITTON

GHESQUIÈRE OCTOBER 2014

2023.09.20

The GO-14 bag, an acronym for Ghesquière October 2014, originated as one of the first creations to mark the designer’s debut at the head of the Louis Vuitton Maison.

NEWS

On Foot

2023.09.19

The exhibition On Foot, curated by Jonathan Anderson at Offer Waterman Gallery, will bring contemporary artists in dialogue with works of modern British Art and some interventions conceived by the designer himself.

EXHIBITION

MODE ET SPORT. D'UN PODIUM À L'AUTRE

2023.09.18

Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris presents Mode et Sport: from September 20th 2023 will be possible to discover the fascinating interconnections between fashion and sport from the ancient world to the present day.

V&A Museaum

FASHION MANIFESTO

2023.09.15

The first exhibition in the UK dedicated to the visionary couturier Gabrielle Coco Chanel – Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto will open on September 16th 2023 at the Victoria & Albert Museum.