A New York based designer has breathed new life into the once stagnant art medium, as his artsy mannequin minions are now on showcase at a museum exhibition in New York City. They are not simply dummies, but creations, of designer, Ralph Pucci, who has essentially developed a new sculptural art form.
The exhibition, “The Art of the Mannequin”, was installed at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), in New York, on Thursday, March 26. It is the first exhibition at the museum to showcase the form of the mannequin and runs from Tuesday, March 31, until late in the summer, on Aug 30.
Pucci experimented with the mannequins, playing around with anatomically correct creations, to abstract forms. Although Pucci states that the mannequins are reflections of cultural trends in the past 30 years, some of the mannequins can be caught in strange poses, one doing a handstand, and another, decidedly pregnant.
There is also an in-gallery recreation of the artist’s studio that showcases how the artist and longtime co-collaborator Michael Evert, created the fully finished models. Idea boards and models in various stages will be displayed as well.
Over the years, he has worked with famous designers and models, including Diane von Furstenberg, Christy Turlington, Kenny Scharf, and Anna Sui. A specially curated selection of a separate collection, a collection on jewelry, will be on display in conjunction with the exhibition.
Philanthropist and visionary, Aileen Osborn Webb, founded the museum back in 1956. The mission of the museum is to collect, display, and interpret objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. Today, Museum of Arts and Design provides an international platform for practitioners who influence the direction of cultural production and drive 21st century innovation, with skillfully made and compelling works of art and design.
