Thursday, April 28, 2011

MEMENTO MORI

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FIRST OF MANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO ELYSIUM EDITORIAL :




|məˈmenˌtō ˈmôrē|
noun ( pl. same)
an object serving as a warning or reminder of death, such as a skull.
ORIGIN Latin, literally ‘remember (that you have) to die.’















"DEATH MUST BE SO BEAUTIFUL. TO LIE IN THE SOFT BROWN EARTH, WITH THE GRASSES WAVING ABOVE ONE'S HEAD, AND LISTEN TO SILENCE. TO HAVE NO YESTERDAY AND NO TO-MORROW. TO FORGET TIME, TO FORGET LIFE, TO BE AT PEACE." - OSCAR WILDE


Fashion is not as subversive an art form as it so infamously is made out to be. Refreshingly modern stylists and photographers have taken cues from antiquity by generating their own little reminders of death, using fashion as a medium, to create impactful and intoxicating imagery that subtly wreaks of decay. Hedi Slimane, Gary Armstrong, Baldovino Barani and Alison Scarpulla (just to name a few) are revitalizing and perpetuating the humbling artistic tradition of reminding of us of life's preciousness, that we are only human, and that all that we know today will be gone tomorrow.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

JUST KIDS


I go through phases. Sometimes I read compulsively, easily going through 2 or 3 books a week. Sometimes I can't read at all. The latter has been me for months now. I don't know if it's a lack of time, lack of interest or a combination, but the moment I picked up Just Kids, I knew, for at least a week or so (due to a busy schedule) I'd found a home nestled deep inside an illustrious love affair. Being the natural romantic that I am, reading Just Kids has been a sort of emotional affair. The book chronicles Patti Smith and Robert Mappelthorpe's childhood histories and romance set against the stormy backdrop of 1970s New York; Broke, Starving, inspired and undoubtedly in love.
The book, and the work of both talented artists have given me new inspiration. Also, Robert Mappelthorpe is my dream man.