Leather & Lace & Kiki Smith: dearest darling

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Leather & Lace & Kiki Smith

In addition to this leather and lace ensemble, we'd love to share a little bit about one of our favorite artists, Kiki Smith. This will be the first in a new series highlighting talented lady artists, musicians, writers, scientists, and people. Hope you enjoy!

Art museums are kind of my jam. As a former art student (I have a BFA in sculpture) and a current artist (I work when I can), I get a thrill from art museums that very few other places are able to achieve (maybe the zoo, because…penguins). Every time I go I find myself inspired and compelled to create. So, naturally, when I had some free time Sunday afternoon, I begged Lindsay to go to the Akron Art Museum with me.

The AAM happens to own Banshee Pearls, by Kiki Smith, which is my absolutely favorite lithograph series, created by my absolute favorite artist, Kiki Smith (Funny story: I set off the alarm at MOCA in NYC because I got too close to one of her works.) In fact, I've created prints of my own inspired by this series.

Banshee Pearls is a 12-print series of lithographs with aluminum leaf additions on handmade Japanese paper. The work’s title comes from Kiki’s father, sculptor Tony Smith. Tony was sick throughout all of Kiki’ s childhood. He called Kiki his “little banshee,” inspired by the old Irish belief that a banshee will foretell death in a family by wailing outside their home.

The emotion in these lithographs is nearly catharsis invoking. You can feel the intense sadness and anger. My own art has tends to focus on the human condition, so I suppose it’s not surprising that I am so enthralled with this very emotion-driven piece.

I first became familiar with Kiki Smith because she is one of the most renowned living female sculptors in the world. Kiki’s sculptures tend to present the female form in a way that undermines eroticism. The sculptures display the inner biological systems of women in a way that stresses their humanity rather than their sexuality.

If you have the opportunity, you should definitely check out some of Kiki Smith's other work. For now, let's get back to the fashion, shall we? The Akron Art Museum is architectural and industrial, and we love the way this delicate lace crop and leather pencil skirt play on that. This will be my new go-to outfit for anytime I need to feel sophisticated and edgy.