May 29 to September 28, 2008
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
The First Retrospective to Span 40 Years of Creation
See also the Yves Saint Laurent, Biographical Notes.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco have designed and developed, in partnership with the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, the first retrospective spanning the forty years of creation of the Maison de haute couture Yves Saint Laurent. Presented from May 29 to September 28, 2008, the exhibition Yves Saint Laurent focusses on this virtuoso of haute couture, whose unique style blends references to the world of art with allusions to pop culture and social revolution. Structured around four themes, the exhibition develops the revolutionary nature of a body of work that has marked both the past and the present with a new definition of femininity and left a signature that transcends fashion. The display will include 145 accessorized creations belonging to the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, as well as drawings and videos. After Montreal, the exhibition (which is the first co-production of these two museums) will be presented at the de Young Museum of San Francisco, from November 1, 2008, to March 1, 2009.
Yves Saint Laurent is famed for revolutionizing the haute-couture tradition and laying the foundations of modern women’s wear. The wardrobe basics that he designed – pantsuit, culotte skirt, pea coat, blazer, safari jacket and tuxedo – shone with his innovative style and became true timeless classics. His designs were equally remarkable, reflecting wide-ranging sources of inspiration. In Saint Laurent’s stylistic vocabulary, music, art, performance, literature and impressions of far-off places were just as important as the new shapes he introduced.
“Why present Yves Saint Laurent in Montreal? Quite simply because the work of one of the twentieth century’s greatest couturiers is a thing of great beauty. The poetry of each of his creations reflects this man’s incredible sensitivity and vast cultural knowledge. Every square inch of fabric is compelling… Experiencing haute couture up close cannot possibly be compared with viewing its image, which at times becomes hackneyed from its omnipresence in the media. Personally, I was blown away, if you will excuse the expression, when I first saw the storage areas of the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, and I still am. Kudos to this young institution, a model of its kind! In my opinion, to offer all our visitors this ultimate fashion experience in the setting of a fine arts museum is perfectly justified, especially since our city (like the Museum’s multidisciplinary collections) supports creation, art and design in particular.
Another aspect of Yves Saint Laurent’s work that touches me is his desire to empower women day and night. He appropriated masculine codes of dress, creating a wardrobe for modern women who were stepping out of traditional roles. This was in stark contrast to the practice of depicting women as Barbie dolls designed to sell products. But above all, he idealized the beauty of all his models, whatever their ethnic background or the colour of their skin (he was the first to use a black model), and his inspiration was nourished by a beautiful soul. Today, more than ever, young designers are re-examining his complex work.” (Nathalie Bondil, Director)
Exhibition Layout
The exhibition is divided into four main themes: “The Stroke of a Pencil” where the designer’s idea is followed from the original sketch; “The Yves Saint Laurent Revolution,” where feminized versions of men’s attire rub shoulders with seductive apparel; “The Palette,” which shows how traditional rules of colour harmony were reversed in new contrasts inspired by cross-fertilization; and “Lyrical Sources,” which explores the historical, literary (Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Louis Aragon, Jean Cocteau…) and artistic influences that were interpreted and translated by this genius of couture. Throughout his career, Yves Saint Laurent examined the work of the great artists of our day, expressing his personal tastes and the paintings he admired by transforming painting into fabric. Some of his creations reflect the visual sensations of Impressionism, while others liberate the expressive power of some of the great names and movements of modern art: Mondrian and Poliakoff in 1965, the “Pop Art” dresses in 1966, Picasso in 1979 and Braque in 1988.
Publication
The exhibition catalogue features texts by Florence Müller and Hamish Bowles. Published in separate English and French editions by Abrams and the Éditions de La Martinière respectively, it distinguishes itself from previous publications devoted to Yves Saint Laurent through its presentation of little-known ensembles and numerous sketches, as well as detailed captions and an illustrated chronology. It includes photos by Alexandre Guirkinger that were shot especially for this publication.
http://www.mbam.qc.ca/
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