'Années 80' at Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
EXHIBITION REVIEW
'Années 80. Mode, Design et Graphisme en France' at Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
Featuring 700 pieces of French luxury fashion and design, the exhibition ‘Années 80. Mode, Design et Graphisme en France’ at Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD),from 13 October 2022 to 16 April 2023, is an homage to the effervescence of the 1980s. The exhibition’s central theme is the rejection of traditional design principles, thus, illuminating avant-garde shape and unique form.
Interconnecting the socio-political milestones with corresponding visual expressions of pop culture in France from the 80s, the exhibition acts as a showroom. The daringly bold and modern scenography by Adrien Rovero, comprising angular shapes, complementary colours, stark shadows and silhouettes, visually juxtaposes the grandeur and classical architecture of the main hall of Musée des Arts Décoratifs, located in the Pavilion de Marsan. Influenced by Art Deco and mid-century Pop Art style, Rovero’s display is kitsch and colourful, hereby establishing playfulness and eclecticism as the tone of the exhibition.
The MAD’s catalogue front cover for the exhibition (fig.1) includes the Duplex Stool (1980) by Spanish designer Javier Mariscal. Arguably, this steel stool is a symbol of the exhibition’s postmodernist ideals. The utilisation of primary colours on the three asymmetrical legs connected by circular shapes (the black leather seat and two hollow rings) forms a simplified colour-palette and a distinctly geometric style. Moreover, the stool’s undulating yellow leg entices a sense of movement, which alludes to the zigzag curvatures of the Milan-based Memphis style of the 80s. Consequently, the stool resembles an exciting, new age in aesthetically captivating European design.
In fact, the stool’s tall stance is somewhat human-like, especially as the blue leg’s arch mirrors the curved shape of a human spine, hinting at how designers in the 1980s sought to imitate and distort natural forms and the body. The exhibition’s eclectic array of media illustrates a continuous interchangeability between furniture and the human form, further expressed in the catalogue’s front cover (fig.1) by the juxtaposition of the stool’s silhouette and the retro-futuristic model, photographed by French designer Claude Montana for his Spring-Summer Collection (1979). The model’s masculine silhouette, embracing extra-wide shoulders and voluminous sleeves, shows how fashion transcends gender, which was paramount in the decade.
Accordingly, Jean Paul Goude’s painted photograph, Blue-Black in Black on Brown, displayed in the exhibit (fig.2), depicts Jamaican singer, Grace Jones, as an androgenous embodiment of the shifting beauty standards of the 80s. Her black Armani broad-shouldered suit and iconic flat top haircut creates a stark shape; both triangular and flat, with the dull beige backdrop outlining this form. Goude’s deliberate definition of Jones’ torso and cheek bones, dusted with an indigo pigment, highlights the distinct undulations of her muscular form. Hence, this photograph is a prime example of the surge of the androgenous subject in photography, similar to Jean-Baptiste Mondino’s The Face Magazine cover 1987 or pop culture icons like Madonna, Boy George, Prince. The exhibition’s inclusion of multimedia, such as streaming music videos or playing soundtracks, is a testament to the enduring legacy of music in the design world. Interestingly, Goude’s photograph is the cover art for Jones’ new-wave, post-disco ‘Nightclubbing’ album, proving this cross-cultural collaboration between musicians and visual artists in this decade.
In summation, the exhibition convincingly reflects the nuanced design landscape of the 1980s. Undoubtedly, furniture and fashion transcends its traditional purpose through audacious experimentation and design, replicating the zeitgeist’s pursuit of a transgressive cultural exchange. Appealing to a plethora of international tourists in Paris, the exhibition’s diverse collection provides a visually accessible glimpse into the past, compelling us to recognise the 80s as a pivotal era of redefinition- not only redefining French design, but European identity as a whole.
Fig.1
Exhibition Catalogue: ‘Années 80. Mode, Design et Graphisme en France’. 2022.
Fig.2
(Left photograph) Blue-Black in Black on Brown. Jean Paul Goude. 1981.
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