A Review of the Rodarte Exhibit at the MOCA PDC

I always liked Rodarte. Given the Mulleavy sisters meteoric acendancy to international, fashion stardom, it was a pleasant surprise to read that they're from Pasadena. While the exhibition was small, it was set up in a way that you could get pretty close to the pieces and inspect them from all angles. The tutus were quite impressive and admittedly, I'm inspired to make one of my own and than prance around on tip toe as if I were a primadonna!

I tried to examine the pieces through the lens filter of an art critic rather than one of a fashion designer and upon reading the press release, the pieces began to make more sense within the context of the venue. This particular installation was intended to comment on the temporality and idea of fashion as art. Instead of being shown on plastic dress forms, the pieces were shown on what they call "a series of interrelated vignettes, both static and in motion, displayed off-figure and portrayed as charged sculptural objects. The installation will present inanimate objects in a state of flux, or animation, signifying the temporary states that material can assume."


It even began to remind of some of Robert Rauschenberg's works, a 20th century modern artist who's been featured by MOCA on numerous occasions. 

Robert Rauschenberg, Canyon 1959
http://www.westcler.org/GH/curlessmatt/arthistory/20/RauschenbergCanyon1959.jpg