In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 2.55 quilted Chanel handbag (and in an effort to further blur the lines between fashion, commercialism and art), Karl Lagerfeld has done the unthinkable — he’s created a movable homage. Chanel Mobile Art, a 7,500-square-foot traveling art pavilion, designed by celebrated starchitect Zaha Hadid, includes twenty commissioned art installations — a mixture of sculpture, video and photographs — all of which were inspired by CoCo’s iconic 1955 bag. Starting yesterday, CMA, the first art installation to transitorily grace our beloved Central Park since “The Gates,” will be sited in New York, the third stop on its two-year world tour, which also includes Tokyo, Hong Kong, Moscow, London and Paris.
Upon entering the pavilion, you are outfitted with a headset from which echoes the breathy prose of your virtual tour guide, French actress Jeanne Moreau. Moreau’s sotto voce will henceforth usher you through a thirty-minute “experience” inside of the pavilion, a synthesis of music, art and Hadid’s wonderfully deconstructivist forms. And if you happen to get lost and confused (or forget which brand you’re being accosted with), don’t fret: An aloof army of Chanel-clad “guides” are on hand at every single installation.
The twenty installations, which explore different meanings and elements of the famous bag, were conceived by an international cadre of notable contemporary artists like Sophie Calle, Subodh Gupta and Yoko Ono, to name only a few. My personal faves were Leandro Erlich’s “The Pavement,” where the facades of buildings on an ersatz Rue Cambon are reflected in puddles of water, and Sylvie Fleury’s “Crystal Custom Commando,” a video documenting the perpetual execution of Chanel handbags (think Annie Oakley on speed) that is projected on the inside of a giant powder mirror.
Despite the somewhat hackneyed marketing pitch, the artworks were actually very appealing and the artists embraced the challenge at hand. Furthermore, the opportunity to be inside of an elusive Hadid “building” is not to be missed.
Images courtesy Chanel
