Under the tonal shifts of the coastal sky and amongst a meadow of native grasses one can imagine entering New York’s East End of Long Island for peace and contemplation. Honoring and illuminating art and place, handsomely stretching along The Montauk Highway in Water Mill is a space that holds particular meaning to me, the Parrish Art Museum. I feel that it is no accident that I spent a summer in 2012 living in Water Mill across the street from the museum while it was under construction watching as the undecorated shed came to form. Honest architecture that is spawn from the natural beauty of its context was my ominous reminder to return to self. The idea is straightforward, to play off of what is ever shifting around you while stripping down and stepping into your own truth in pursuance of originality. A series of three very different posts, each representative of the dualities that exist and the ironies at play. In collaboration with two people whom I admire and whose creations I find exciting in their subtleties, with art direction by Lucas Lefler and photographs by Richie Talboy, I’ll start with a splash in the middle, with Roy Lichtenstein’s Tokyo Brushstroke I & II. Sweeping skywards and standing as a symbol of something it isn’t Lichtenstein’s primary colors and Ben-Day dots boldly mark the entry curiously drawing you in. An essential pairing with Versace, the OG creator of the fashion alphabet, and always one to celebrate heroic individualism, J.W. Anderson. At some points dramatic, my desire to achieve compositional unity ensues.
Above left: J.W. Anderson lurex dress, J.W. Anderson belt, J.W. Anderson boots
Above right: Versace turtleneck sweater, Versace flare pants, Versace suede sandals
Lower center: J.W. Anderson patent leather top, J.W. Anderson napa leather skirt, J.W. Anderson corduroy leggings, J.W. Anderson boots
Parrish Art Museum, Roy Lichtenstein, Tokyo Brushstroke I & II
Art Direction by Lucas Lefler, Photographs By Richie Talboy, Makeup by Dana Bosco