Hasta La Ideas

“The Art of the Mannequin” doesn’t open at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design until March 31. But for those looking to bone up on the history of mannequins and how it all led in the late 1970s to exhibit star Ralph Pucci’s enhancements, there is today’s GOOD magazine article.

Staff writer Tasbeeh Herwees has compiled some fun historical info about both gender sides of the mannequin equation. She also sets the scene, nicely, for when Pucci started to work his magic:

Pucci designed his first mannequin in 1979. Pucci was bored with the stiff, motionless figures that populated store windows. A fitness craze had seized pop culture. The new Rocky film had just premiered. Jane Fonda was about to release her famous exercise videos.

Barbara Paris Gifford, a curatorial assistant for “The Art of the Mannequin,” said Pucci wanted his new mannequin to reflect the visual tastes of the period. “It was modeled after a really athletic guy. They dressed it in very tight clothing,” she said. “People related to them in a very different way.”

This is the first museum show honoring Pucci’s mannequin work. The exhibit will include more than two dozen RP mannequins as well as an in-gallery replica of his sculpture studio. Pucci master sculptor Michael Evert will be in residence as well during the show, which is scheduled to run through August.

Essentially, the show picks up where the 2009 book Show left off. Pucci is now also firmly established as a furniture designer.
 
[Jack cover courtesy: Glitterati Incorporated]